215 wont run

Any luck with that 215 yet?

Another thing to do is to disconnect and plug off all of the vacuum supplies; - including power brake, and try to run the engine on it's own. There could be vacuum leaks in the transmission, brakes, whatever, that you haven't been able to find.

Even with 2 low cylinders that engine should fire. There is one thing that hasn't been considered; - what about the coil? How old is it? And there is that cap thing again; a cracked or crazed old cap will shoot sparks across itself and randomly fire cylinders. The rotor could also be pooched, and it it wasn't properly seated who knows what could be going on in there.

From the sounds of it, it all has to do with the basics; - spark, gas, timing, and vacuum.

Frustrating as all hell, I know, but until you've eliminated every simple wear component or checked it all out 1/2 a dozen times, it never hurts to go through it again. Chances are it's something really simple that'll leave you scratching your head as to why you missed it in the first place, - these problems usually are.

Also; - never assume new replacement parts are any good unless they've been tested, either in a car that works or with the proper testing equipment. I've had brand new condensers and points that were defective right from the start.

 

One other thing; did you ever check the dwell angle when you installed those points? Setting the primary gap is one thing, but GM cars were very finicky when it came to dwell angle; - it had to be a certain amount otherwise the car wouldn't even fire. I can't remember what it is for that 6; but for a V-8 it has to be between 25-32 degrees, with 29 preferred. I'm not sure if the V-6 of that year had a similar distributor cap that the V-8s had; - one with a "window" on the side to set the dwell using an allen-key.

All I know is that I've always had to adjust the dwell after I've loaded in the points and set the primary gap, otherwise if it even runs it runs like a toilet.

 

i havent checked dwell yet, might have to source a dwell meter and figure it out.

this is a V-8

i've inspected the distr cap under a bright light andi dont see any evidence of cracking.

i looked through the junkyards and didn't find a good rover candidate to swap. i'm thinking ill pull the og motor, remove the heads and see what needs to be done.

 

Sorry for the brain fart, of course the 215 is a V8. The V6 would have been a 225 if I'm not mistaken, which is a good possibility.

Now that that is out of the way, yes, check the dwell. As for cracks in the distributor cap, it's sometimes better to crank the motor over in the dark and watch for a spark show. You'd be surprised that a perfectly good looking cap can sometimes have hairlines in it that are only visible when it arcs across itself in the dark.

Just a suggestion though...if you decide to proceed with the Rover let the rest of us know how it works out; - it'll probably make a good write up.

 

i got my friends car to my house so i can work on it. i removed the valve covers and watched as i cranked. the valves don't move much, and the lifters aren't pumped up at all.

do i need to prime oil pump with petroeum jelly?
can you spin the oil pump with a drill to prime it?

it looks pretty nasty up in the valve covers, years of oily build up on everything. i'd like to try and get it running without pulling the motor. but pulling it looks about like the easiest way to work on it.

 

It might be an idea to repack that pump with petroleum jelly, and yes, you can spin it with a drill.

From the sounds of it, you might have a busted chain, which might be the original reason why the thing was parked. Even with the lifters totally bottomed out you should see some movement unless the cam is completely flat or the cam isn't moving. So it could be a busted cam, and if it is, the distributor might still turn but the rest after the break might not. If the chain is loose or slipping then it'll be jerky, and it might still hit off on one or two cylinders. The pump will not be turning if the distributor doesn't turn, - here again, busted cam or busted chain, = screwed motor.

If this is the case, then your idea about swapping in a Rover might be the better one...but I have no idea how easy or difficult it would be.

 

"busted cam or busted chain, = screwed motor"

Really? Cant you just buy a new chain or cam? Dose this have anything to do with the "interference engine" design? Are the 215s "interference engines"?

 

The 215 is not an interference engine. Hook up an oil pressure gauge and run it as best as you can. Pumping the throttle to keep it running tells me that the fuel supply is adequate. BUT, the minimal rocker arm motion tells me that the poor thing is worn out. Damn, she's almost 50.

 

well, i've pulled the heads and started cleaning everytihng up. i didn't see a definite answer why it wont run looking at the cylinders, heads, and head gaskets. it does look like the heads have been off before, half of the head bolts had way too much antiseaze on them, and almost looked like it was squeezing out between the head gasket. i'm not positive, it could have just got smeared when i shifted the head. but, once i get to the block, ill clean and inspect it to make sure none of the bolt holes got hydrolocked and cracked the block. everything is covered in oil.

im probably just gonna be cleaning it up, measuring and inspecting, and hopefully just get new rings and bearings, and bolt it together.

first question i have regaurding engine rebuild; can the head bolts be reused, or are they stretch bolts/ one time use only?

 

I am not really knowledgable on the specifics of the 215, but on most engines you can spin the oil pump with a drill and some kind of adapter to the distributor shaft. This kind of problem (as has been said before) always returns to the basics - fuel, air, and spark. If the engine is getting all three in the correct proportion, it will run. With six cylinders in the 120-130 lb range, it should run. Adding oil to the two weak cylinders raised the compression a lot. It could have stuck or broken rings. After such a long sit, I would suspect and hope for stuck. I would be absolutely positive that the distributor is installed correctly and the plug wires are on properly. I am still bothered by your post that there are openings from the venturi base to the outside. Did I miss something? I have never seen that.

 

i'm hoping for stuck rings also. the cylinders look good, and there isn't really a ridege at the top of the stroke. the valves look ok, ill lap them and see how they turn out.

ill take a picture of the carb and open vacume ports later today and post them up.

 

"ill take a picture of the carb and open vacume ports later today and post them up"


Id really like to see the pics. there is a mystery hole by my carb that im not sure about. Its on the manifold actually and i want to see if its the same hole.

 

here are the holes i was wondering about on the carb. its on the backside of the carb, in the carb base plate, right above the throttle plates, both barrels.





this is #1 cylinder, what would cause this erosion, ok to use?

 

I never noticed that hole before but my carb has it too. Hopefully it shouldnt be something to worry about.

Here is the hole thats on my the manifold. Im not sure if its supposed to be there but the engine still runs fine if i plug it.

 

That errosion looks like water...at some point that thing could have had a bad head gasket. That head is pretty much toast.

Is that engine totally aluminum? If so, then that could be caused by general aluminum corrosion, and if so, then that head is, yeah, toast.

As for the hole in the carb, there were some applications that used a hole or a hole in the gasket as sort of an idle compensator; - it's probably supposed to be there.

The hole in the manifold is another story; - I've never seen that before...

 

i found a rochester carb manual at the library yesterday. i looked through it and it didn't mention anything about the holes in the carb, or anything that is supposed to be connected to it. it doesn't seem right for un-metered air to be entering the engine. this to me is a HUGE vacume leak.

progress on the motor so far; block, heads, and crank are at the machine shop getting worked on. hopefully will hear somethng back later this week.

what are some good part sources for these engines?

 

If its a hole that shouldnt be there, its odd that my carb has it too. I looked in my service manual again and there is no mention of that hole. odd

 

well, i thought id post up an update.
couldn't get the motor to run, so i rebuilt it. had the block cleaned and machined, decked the heads, and ground the crank. motor went together ok, only thing i wasn't used to is the rear seal and main seals. hopefully it holds up and doesn't leak. im to the point that today ill be taking it off the stand, mounting it up to the trans, and installing it in the car.

question: anyone have any good info on the dual path transmission? what type of fluid does it use? are there any filters to change?

i'm a little worried that it wont work once i get it in the car and engine fired up.

 

It runs and Drives! The motor does ok, but the trans shifts early. i tried to adjust the throttle / transmission linkage, but have made it worse. now the throttle moves when you select different gears.

this linkage at the transmission seem to be sticky. it moves back and forth, but just seems stiff, and doesn't allow the throttle to close all the way.


here is the linkage up top, is this pivot supposed to move freely? if you open the throttle all the way, then close it, i have to push this pivot for it to close the throttle all the way. its stiff enough that it causes the throttle to hang.
the spring doesn't look like the right one either, might be part of the problem. maybe try a stiffer spring?


anyone know how to adjust the automatic transmission throttle valve linkage?