Rebuilt Ford 1210 NOT starting. Please help!

[ozzymorgan]

This is a sad story:

Bought a ford (shibaura) 1210 with the mother of all knocking. Pulled engine, rebuilt, (new crank, bearings, 1 conrod, rings, head done, the full works). Back together, it was running really nice and starting up good, but something sounded wrong - took a deep breath, pulled it again and discovered that I had forgotten to replace the small end circlip on the new conrod.

Luckily, it had not destroyed the cylinder. So I got it honed professionally, and they measured it all up and gave the all clear.

Today I finished the second rebuild. The gear driven cam is timed to the crank fine, the fuel is fresh, and yet the thing cranks and cranks but will not start. It is puffing white smoke, so the fuel is getting through and there is compression. I did a visual spill test on the injector pump timing and it is injecting at the right sort of moment - maybe a couple of degrees one way or the other, but it worked fine before and hasnt changed, so should be ok now.

What have I missed? the thing has no excuse for not starting. It doesnt even try, it just cranks and cranks. I'm only going to knacker my battery this way.

Any help or suggestion much appreciated.

Oz

 

[ozzymorgan]

it's got more interesting -

I went out after writing the post, put the fuel to mid way and gave it a 40 second blast with a hot air paint stripper in the inlet. After a few seconds cranking it started to phut, as though one cylinder was igniting each revolution.

Anyone ever tried advancing/retarding the timing on purpose?

 

[banjodunn]

G'day oz recheck your valve clearances it sonds like a compression prob to me if you have not moved the inj pump then there is no reason for the timing to be out. Have you bled it up to the inj?


Jon

 

[JC-jetro]

Sorry for your mishap. I don't think there is a way to do "ignition advancing or retarding' with your diesel machine. The injector pump, needs to be timed for for correct timing of fuel delivery so combustion can happen. Did you put a witness mark on fuel pump and the housing before the overhaul? How about putting witness mark on idler gear injector pump gear when you removed the front timing gear cover? Do you think the fuel was timed right when You originally got this tractor other than the bad knocking sound? I'd try to re time injector again using Ford recommended procedure for your tractor and make sure that the glow plugs work as well.

JC,

 

[joes_427_vette]

Re: Ford 1210 mysterious starting problem.

Where did you find a "new crank " for a 1200 series ? I looked for the better part of a year.

 

[ozzymorgan]

Thank-you for the replies, I wasnt sure whether I'd posted in the right forum given the brand, so put a message in the ford section as well. I'm a newcomer to the forum thing!

- The timing is set with aligning marks on the injector pump gear, oil pump/idler gear and the crankshaft gear. Over the last few days I have set it so many times I'm doing it in my sleep, and so I am sure that it is right.
- The distance from the cam to the injector pump is set with shims under the injector housing, but these only affect the cut in/cut out time and amount of fuel delivered - they shouldnt stop it running, just affect how smooth it is. Visual spill test looks like it is sending fuel at the right sort of time.
- Like Banjodunn suggests, I did check the valve clearances and they were a bit tight, but having slackened them off a bit there is no improvement.

It is hugely frustrating - there doesn't seem to be anything wrong, and it is such a small engine it would be tough to miss something. The biggest sticking point for me at the moment is that the glow plug switch doesn't work, so I've been using a hot air gun. Maybe this isnt hot enough for our british winters.

Many thanks for the advice, I'm quite lost here!

 

[JC-jetro]

Ozz,
If the timing is right and you have adequate compression then what might be missing is proper fuel vaporization and atomization in the chamber. I don't know if a solid stream of fuel can be ignited to combustion without adequate atomization specially when everything is cold. Have you actually taken the fuel injectors to verify the spray pattern? I have not done it myself before but the pressure can be very high and dangerous if high pressure diesel punctures the skin. I'd make sure to have eye protection , gloves and etc to check spray pattern from the injector. On the glow plug, even with the bad switch I think you can still glow the plugs by directly connecting it to the battery by passing all the controls. I'd give it 30 second and so and try. The plugs are grounded so I just get a wire and power it up from + terminal of the battery.

For now I think I'd glow the plugs for 30 seconds and give it a go. If not successful, I the check injector spray pattern.

JC,

 

[mostly_gas]

Ozzymorgan you might think about rigging a temporary switch for the glow plugs. The rings are not likely to be seated so you don't have full compression yet. I need glow plugs to start below about 45F. Because the preheat seamed to help can you get something with more BTU than the paint stripper gun?

 

[paratrooper]

Re: Ford 1210 mysterious starting problem.

Considering that it is a 4 cycle it is possible for you to be 360 degrees out . Everything lines up but it all happens backwards .

 

[dlwood]

I just replaced the head on mine, actually had it repaired by Midwest Cylinder Head. It did the same as yours. It wants a LONG preheat to start, maybe a minute or so. And thats even after running awhile.
I'm losing compression around the injectors, you can see a puff on the compression stroke. All is clean and the copper seals are new. Any ideas?