wont start after camshaft replacement

[davidmg1962]

Gents - help and advice appreciated

After replacing my worn cam( 1 lobe worn ) with a new kent 218 fast road cam/ followers etc ...... the bl..dy thing wont start ,

I'm pretty sure the cam and ignition timing is correct and firing on no 1 with the valves shut ,

It did run for few seconds then wouldn't start , plugs excessively wet on removal

i have turned over with fuel pump and plugs out to get oil pressure up but i suspect tappetts not yet pumped up and not opening the valves properly causing the flooding?? , any ideas apart from giving it a tow to start
cheers
Dave

Edited by davidmg1962 on Thursday 1st November 20:37

[Simon says]

Double check your ign timing & do yourself a favour and put a fresh set of plugs in, try to refrain from grinding the car over on the starter for long periods though as you really need the car to fire up rapidly so you can run-in your new cam & followers, i gather you have checked you have spark?

[tr7v8]

Years ago my brother had this with his rangey, you need oil pressure to prime & actuate the followers, is it indicating any? Did you pack the pump with vaseline?

[podrick]

It's quite easy to get the timing 180 degrees out.
Might be worth double checking or just pulling the dizzy and turning it 1/2 turn and refitting. You should be able to get it going even if the timings quite a way out.
Tappets shouldn't make too much difference, it might rattle a lot for a few minutes

[davidmg1962]

thanks gents , its a serpentine engine so no need to pack oil pump , have cranked to get pressure up with no problems ,yes got spark no problems , going to double check ign timing and get some new plugs tomorrow and try again
keep you posted

Edited by davidmg1962 on Thursday 1st November 23:18

[davidmg1962]

well bought plugs but not fitted yet ,thought i would check all out first , compression/ stroke firing order etc all ok , but placed a volt meter on -ve side of coil and does not go out whilst turning engine.... on all the time , but does go out of if i place secondary wire to earth ,,,, would this be a ignition amplifier fault or something wring inside or to and from the dizzy ?

plot thickens

[blitzracing]

The fact it starts and runs for a few seconds tells you a lot- The ECU ignores the AFM completely on start up, and simply supplies a fixed amount of fuel to get the engine running, then after about 3 seconds it then reads the AFM voltage to set the required fueling. If you have an air leak into the plenum the AFM output is low at this switch over point, so the amount of fuel supplied is reduced below the point the engine will keep running. Check you have not left any bolts out of the plenum anywhere (Like the preheat plate).

[blitzracing]

davidmg1962 said:

well bought plugs but not fitted yet ,thought i would check all out first , compression/ stroke firing order etc all ok , but placed a volt meter on -ve side of coil and does not go out whilst turning engine.... on all the time , but does go out of if i place secondary wire to earth ,,,, would this be a ignition amplifier fault or something wring inside or to and from the dizzy ?

plot thickens

You cant use a voltmeter at cranking speed due to the very small off time when the rotor is moving slowly past its trigger coil- Check for the fuel pump- if it starts and runs for a few seconds during cranking you are getting a pulse from the ignition amp.

[davidmg1962]

pre heat plate ,is that the one were the trumpets/ram pipes fix into?

[Hedgehopper]

The pre-heat plate is the fitting underneath the plenum with two small diameter water connection spigots facing forward. These hose connections are for warming the plenum intake on Range Rovers but are not used on TVR's. Consequently some people remove this plate, which is OK, but if you do you must replace the fixing bolts because two of them are drilled right through into the plenum and thus would cause an air-leak if not replaced.

[davidmg1962]

Well, after a new set of. Plugs, a new ignition amplifier and re setting the dizzy with more advance finally got life into the beast!!! Does sound much better ,what a relief, just hope not done any damage to the new cam whilst cranking over .thanks to all for the advice. Cheers Dave

[davidmg1962]

Well, after a new set of. Plugs, a new ignition amplifier and re setting the dizzy with more advance finally got life into the beast!!! Does sound much better ,what a relief, just hope not done any damage to the new cam whilst cranking over .thanks to all for the advice. Cheers Dave