The Ford Barn

Corley · 07-11-2018, 08:19 AM

By jumping into tearing it down, you have already made the problem harder to diagnose.

The first thing to do when it won't start, is listen. If it turns over with a normal cranking sound, you probably have compression. In that case, go look at spark and fuel.

If it spins over and a higher than normal speed, and sounds like it spins freely, you probably have a compression issue. In this case, pull the distributor cap of and watch the rotor while cranking it. If the rotor is not spinning, you probably have lost some timing gear teeth. Now is the first time I'd consider pulling out any tool, and that tool would be a compression gauge.

If you measure no compression on all or most cylinders, it's time to pull the timing gear side cover, and carefully watch the teeth on the cam gear, while cranking it over with a hand crank. It will take to full revolutions of the crankshaft to see all the teeth, so go slow, and make sure when you turn the crank, that the timing gear is actually turning too. ( If you don't watch the fiber gear turn, you may just see teeth after each crank, because you are looking at the same teeth!)

If all this checks out, only now would I remove any other engine parts. ONLY AFTER ALL THESE CHECKS, WOULD YOU REMOVE ANY OTHER ENGINE PARTS!

07-11-2018, 08:19 AM	#15
Corley Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Battle Ground WA Posts: 293	Re: No compression By jumping into tearing it down, you have already made the problem harder to diagnose. The first thing to do when it won't start, is listen. If it turns over with a normal cranking sound, you probably have compression. In that case, go look at spark and fuel. If it spins over and a higher than normal speed, and sounds like it spins freely, you probably have a compression issue. In this case, pull the distributor cap of and watch the rotor while cranking it. If the rotor is not spinning, you probably have lost some timing gear teeth. Now is the first time I'd consider pulling out any tool, and that tool would be a compression gauge. If you measure no compression on all or most cylinders, it's time to pull the timing gear side cover, and carefully watch the teeth on the cam gear, while cranking it over with a hand crank. It will take to full revolutions of the crankshaft to see all the teeth, so go slow, and make sure when you turn the crank, that the timing gear is actually turning too. ( If you don't watch the fiber gear turn, you may just see teeth after each crank, because you are looking at the same teeth!) If all this checks out, only now would I remove any other engine parts. ONLY AFTER ALL THESE CHECKS, WOULD YOU REMOVE ANY OTHER ENGINE PARTS! __________________ Corley ----------------- Subscribed to the KISS principle!