Hello I have a 71 skylark with a 455 motor. From what I’m told the engine has been sitting for four or five years and I have been working on it to get it running I have changed out the mechanical fuel pump which was shot then switched out the carburetor. The Engine did turn over with the old carb on it but the Jets weren’t any good so the car didn’t for no more than 2 seconds . I switched it to a different carburetor that was rebuilt and now the car won’t turn over. It makes a struggling sound as if the battery was dead but it’s not it’s a brand new battery. I’m thinking it just needs a good cleaning out. But my main question is ,is marine gas good for these type of things as far cleaning it out?
Turning over has nothing to do with the carburetor or gas. It doesn't need a carb or gas to turn over. That is a starter/battery problem. If it is not firing, then it may be the carb/gas. If you turned it over a bunch, the battery is probably dead. Put it on a charger then try again. Make sure it has oil in it. Also, you could have overheated/burned up starter by cranking it for a long time. Also check the battery connections and ground wires. I don't know about marine gas. I would just use regular gas without any alcohol.
Well I disagree with genuine first hand knowledge. It's quite possible for a carb to hydro-lock an engine. With the symptoms he describes its a solid maybe. I would pull all the plugs and see if there are any full cylinders. I wouldn't attempt to turn it over with the starter until you do this. It's easy to destroy rod bearings if it's hydro-locked
Yes, I agree with Joe. Not sure how much gas was poured into it. If it was a bunch, then yeah it could be trying to compress all that liquid, making it hard to turn over.
It has not been started a bunch of times and I did not pour a whole Lotta fuel in the carb. The battery is fine it’s brand new and the starter should be OK because it fired up before well like I said it only stayed running for no more than two seconds. There is oil in it and the plugs are fairly new
If you pull the plugs and they are dry, and the engine doesn't turn over (this means rotate on application of the starter, not fire) it's the battery, the starter or wiring, or it's locked up. The fact that the starter worked before is not conclusive, everything worked before ;~)
It could easily be the starter or battery cables. Make sure the terminals are good and clean. Give a few gentle wraps on the starter. It could have a dead spot or the brushes might be dirty or rusted in place.
UPDATE so I found out that there was water and and a good bit of Varnish in the tank. I’m cleaning it as we speak. Hopefully that’ll help with the issue as to why it won’t turn over.
Water in the cylinders is trouble. You'll have to pull the spark plugs and turn it over to force the water out. Had a boat once that the tank got full of water. Burned up the starter trying to get it running before I realized the problem.
If you are saying you have filled the pistons with water, that's kind of a big deal? That seems unlikely to me, you would have to keep cranking for a long time? If that happened, definitely dump the oil also, since all that water leaked down into the oilpan. If the fuel is just bad, the car wouldn't run, but it should still turn over (ie the starter should turn the engine).
Pull all the plugs and try to start it (post #3). If it doesn't turn, put a breaker bar on the crank and try to turn it. If it turns see post #6 after you flush the tank and lines. If it doesn't turn you have bigger issues. Worrying about the tank and fuel isn't going to fix a stuck engine! Tell us the results.
***UPDATE*** it wasn’t the spark plugs,starter, or the battery! Due to water being in the gas tank, the gas was simply too weak for the car to burn and fire up. I have be draining and cleaning it out with premium fuel and it’s actually been working so far. I’ll attach a photo of what came out of the fuel line.
Drop the tank and clean it out. Replace the rubber fuel lines at the tank. Use trans fluid carb cleaner and a pack of Bbs from your kids gun... swish it all around and clean that tank properly then new fuel.
Any time I try to start a car that has sit for years, the first thing i do is drain the tank and put in fresh gas in it. You never know what is in the tank. Glad you figured it out.
Yeah and thank you for your help. Now that I have figured it out I can move forward with restoring this baby.
