I usually just roll it approximately 90 degrees past when the intake valve closes. Having a PTO shaft come off the front of the engine helps with this so you have something to grab with a pipe wrench. The cam minor diameter runs a relatively long way along the circumference of the lobe. You don't have to be at TDC to get the valves set correctly.
I forgot the last resort to starting is a pull start. That will get your cranking speeds where they need to be. Definitely confirm the valves are set correctly first though.
Tore down the engine today, I couldnt get the thing rolled out the gate from where I had the seller drop it. I pulled the head off with the valve guide still attached and scraped the gasket off both sides. The oil pan is a pain to get off with 4x4, its still stuck between the oil pan pickup and the drive shaft...any ideas? Heres some pictures of the progress in chronological order.
I cant feel a ridge on the top of the cylinder so thats a good sign. I tried to take a picture where you guys could see the walls. Cylinder 2 is closer to the top so theres not much to see. I didnt get any pictures of the pan, but I need to figure a way to get the drive shaft out of the way so I can work on those rods, and get the pan out of the way. Also to torque the head back down Ill need to disassemble the valve guides which Im not 100% sure about. Im worried ill get something mixed up there so I wanted to wait til I posted this and got some answers...and it was dinner time.
I believe four small bolts hold the front drive shaft on around the front universal joint. I think there is a split housing that needs to come off first. The rear should just slide out after that but if not check for a split pin holding it. I just got done with the Iseki so I remember that but the Satoh has been too long for my feeble memory. It's hard to see the condition of the walls but if you can't feel a ridge that is a very good sign that it is probably just stuck rings. I've never opened one up that didn't have a "feelable" ridge. Look for any pronounced vertical score marks. The G154 I just went through did not have any significant scoring on the cylinder walls which is not typical to my prior experiences.
I didnt check timing, not sure how to do that, but maybe its in the manual? I didnt see the injector spray pattern right from the nozzle, but I know theres spraying in there. I took them out but didnt take a picture, they have some carbon but you can still easily see and feel the nub. Valves have a lot of carbon on them and potentially could be stuck slightly open, Ill clean them up in the parts washer and will know more. My machinist friend at work told me to lap them. The valve closest to the front and 3rd from the front were loose where it stopped in the cycle, so there probably needs to be some tightening done somewhere. Someone mentioned turning the front PTO to get to TDC, does that require removing the hood and radiator? My FEL is blocking quite a bit of this job already, but I want to avoid taking it off. I plan on re-ringing either way just because Im in there and I would be very upset having to buy 2 head gaskets and going back in if the head cleanup and lapping doesnt work.
Ill check out the split housing bolts again, I saw them and didnt want to go there hoping there was an alternative. I wanted to drain the oil there anyway, so well do that and see what happens.im just worried about how hard its going to be to get the thing back on.
Yes the rocker arms wobble and there is a large gap between the pushrods and the rocker arms or the rocker arms and the valve springs. These are valves 1 and 3 from the front, 2 and 4 were tight and as expected. Maybe it was just the part of the cycle, or maybe its an issue. I plan on doing the full tuning in the manual when it all goes back together. I wanted to make a note and let everyone know for the record. I didnt measure with a feeler gauge, but its probably bigger than 1/32”.
