first start in 15-20 years help

[jnmaricic]

Just started to work on my 48 b1b pilot house. First thing i wanted to do is to see if i can get the engine to turn over. So i hooked up jumper cable to the starter with a 12v battery and starter spun. Then went to manuel crank the motor in the front but didnt have the key to do so. So i removed the front clip to get to the front of the motor. I had to take a big digging bar to spin the motor. got it free, went around a bunch of times. Went back to the jumpers connected to the 12v bat and neg to frame and pos to the starter pos pole. it cranks but very slowly. not sure what to do next.

Also the man that gave it to me said the motor was rebuilt about a year before he parked it.

Thanks for any help you can gave me.

Joe

[JBNeal]

If that truck is all original, it is a 6V positive ground electrical system. Using a 12V battery means that the charging circuit should be disconnected before the innards are fried. Pull the plugs out of the head and pour some diesel or thin oil in the cylinders to provide some lubrication.

Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but ya might want to disassemble the motor to get an inventory of what has been done & what needs to be done. Since you've got the front clip off already, going through the motor & adjacent parts would be advantageous to getting the truck up & running reliably. Cleaning out the sludge & varmint poo & spider webs would be another reason to disassemble everything so that the engine runs smoothly in the future.

And take plenty of pictures, before & after. Ya never know when the noggin might slip and ya cain't recall why you have a coffee can of 'leftover' parts.

[jnmaricic]

yeah i removed all wires for the starter before jumping it. i was thinking of put penatrating oil into the spark plug opennings. will this work to lossen the engine.

[JBNeal]

When I first started working on my '48 after it sat by the barn for 20 yrs, I filled the cylinders with diesel and let it sit for a week or so. By then, the diesel had seeped past the rings and into the oil pan. I repeated this a couple more times, and by the end of the month the motor would turn over, but with some difficulty.

After pullling the head off, I found that there was some surface rust on the cylinder walls. So I took the motor apart, sanded the surface rust off by hand, and cleaned the engine innards thoroughly before putting it all back together with new rings & bearings. New battery cables on the starter & battery were put on, and that motor spun fairly quick with the 6V battery.

Even with the engine compartment left intact when the truck was first parked, moisture still got into the cylinders past the valves that were open. Humid days over several decades caused enough oxidation to make the clearances inside the motor super tight, so getting the engine back within clearances made things go better.

[MBF]

I'd pull the side covers off and see if you have any valves that are hung or stuck. The old flatties were known for doing that. If that's the case the head should come off so that you can free them up. I'd also change the oil before I started it-there may be a lot of condensation in the pan. When you do go to start it, make sure your throttle linkage is free. Mike

[grey beard]

Joe,

Just take it slow - one thing at a time. Please DO NOT disassemble your motor before doing some thinking and diagnosis.

First, I would suggest you do as someone already suggested on this thread, and pull your sparkies out. This will let you turn the motor over without any compression pressure. Also, since your nose is off, do as Mr. Fowler suggests, and pull the two valve covers located underneath your exhaust manifold. Whilst attempting to turn the motor over casrefully by hand, watch each valve and spring assembly for movement. All of them should move up and down. If any are not moving, soak them with penetrant and tap/turn each until it will move.

DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP OR YOU WILL CAUSE DAMAGE. Of course, if you've already forced the engine over with a bar, the horse may already have been well and truly stolen . . . . . .

Once you have all the valves moving freely up and down, you are now in a position to do a compression test. Stick a big screw driver down your carburetor, to keep both the throtle plate and choke plate open.

Get a compression tester that threads into the head. Use a good battery and turn the engine over, counting compression strokes. Give each cylinder four or five compression hits - you can hear each one when it is cranking, ajd write each cylinder's reading down. If any are below 90 psi. squirt two or three spoonfuls of motor oil into that cylinder and recheck it. Low dry readings and high wet readings point toward bad or worn rings. No change in a low cylinder points towards leaking valves.

What you want to do is to avoid tearing down a good engine BEFORE you do the diagnosis. Get this stuff done and report back to us.

Remember, "Guessers can give good information here on this forum in direct proportion to the input furnished by the guessees. "

Lret us know what you find.

Good Luck

[jnmaricic]

alll the valves move. the problem i got is that she dont crank fast enought to start.

[PatS....]

I would pull the starter and take it apart to clean it up from sitting so long. Mine sat for a few yrs and was jammed full of dirt dust straw and crap.

Cleaned it up and it worked great...cost? $0.00

Keep putting some oil or Marvel Mystery down the plug holes, and then drain and replace the oil and filter if it has one.

Also check the transmission oil...it may be thick as gumbo in there as well, which may cause slow turning.

I agree with Dave, don't take anything apart on the engine just yet.

Good luck...let us know how it goes!!!

[garbagestate 44]

The starter is an easy thing to check. I had a problem like that on my 47. I would have sworn that I had a defective battery until I eventually pulled the commutator plate off and found that 1 of the 4 brushes was hanging up in its guide making only partial contact with the armature. After I corrected that it worked great. That might not work for you but like I said, it's an easy thing to check. John

[lugnut123]

Once you have the starter apart check the bushings at each end of the armator for wear. It is inexpensive to replace.Also replace the brushs if they're worn excessively.

[Don Coatney]

Three things are required to run an engine. Compression, fuel, and spark delivered at the correct time. Do you have all three?

[Fernando Mendes]

[jnmaricic]

Ok so i put alittle penatrating oil down the spark plug wholes and a good amount of marvel oil and letting it set. I went to take the starter out so I could clean it up but have no idea on how to get the inside bolt off. Any suggestions?

[JBNeal]

It takes a "starter wrench" as my dad called it...it's like a box-end wrench, except it's kinda horseshoe shaped. If ya have some stubby box end wrenches, that'd work too, but you'll need to improvise a cheater bar to get that bolt started.

I recall having to place a small anvil on the brake pedal to keep it depressed and out of the way. It doesn't open up a lot of real estate, but every li'l bit helps.

Both the '48 & the '49 I revived had some like-minded individuals work on them in their past lives, cuz that particular bolt had a slot cut in it with a band saw so that a lonnng handled screwdriver could be used to withdraw or run-up that bolt, then use the correct wrench for final torque. Be prepared to use a lot of colorful metaphors while working that li'l bolt in & out, cuz as you know by now there ain't no room for a socket and very little room to manuever back in there.

Grandpa joked that Dodge did that to discourage starter thievery.

Edited January 25, 2010 by JBNeal
yep

[jnmaricic]

Just got done reading an old post saying to take the floor board out. think i will try that tomorrow morning.