The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop wet plugs

Well the beast still won't start. See "carb leak" which has the full saga. Anyway, there seems to be moisture in the upper end and the plugs are moist. Fuel tank was cleaned and dried well. Condensation? Bad gas? Bad head gasket after sitting all these years? Any other suggestions? Mind you, I'm only the apprentice wrench fetcher and question asker, but it's great fun learning. It ran when we parked it.

Actually, it is "carb. leaking", not "carb leak".

I have encountered numerous situations where once spark plugs get fuel-soaked, they just refuse to let the engine start, even after sandblasting the plugs. No idea why, but just putting in a new set of plugs would make the thing start. The plugs would even get a healthy spark when removed from the engine and fired out in the open air, but not under compression for some reason. Once you're sure the flooding situation is fixed, try another set of plugs that haven't been fuel-soaked.
Jerry

Edit: Pump a little gas out into a container, pour it on the ground, and see if it lights with a match. I've seen gas go stale to the point it wouldn't match-light in a fairly short time. If you're using fresh gas, disregard!
Jerry

I just recently went through fuel flooded plugs not firing after they dried out.Part of it was me not using the throttle properly to start the truck.You'd think after having similar engines in old gleaner combines I'd know how to start a gm inline six.

I have had luck "drying" plugs with an acetylene torch. I saw the old timers do that over 50 years ago and still have good luck doing it. Make sure you don't shoot any oxygen to it.

Thanks, we think the leak problem is over, so we'll try the new plugs. They were new, now, oh well, at least they aren't terribly expensive.

There is also water in manifold.

Bad compression in 4 cylinders/ head gasket changed,water ports cleared of rust/ compression now good in all but #3 (105)/ all prior problems fixed/ still won't start. More details? see "carb leaking".

Do you have spark, proper amount of fuel, is the distributor turning, proper ignition timing and valve timing? Is the engine turning normally? Is the battery strong? A weak battery will draw down the ignition voltage while cranking and may result in a weak spark that will keep your truck from starting; ignition or valve timing being off will give you trouble also.

Harvester

It's been a while but there's good news now. IT STARTED! IT'S RUNNING! The theory is that because moisture got into everything, the valves were stuck. Also, there was 0 oil pressure. The hydralic lifters were removed, cleaned, inspected, reoiled. The oil pump was forcefully turned with a power drill until there was pressure. The oil pressure is now between 16-40psi depending on the rpm's. We haven't rechecked the compression as yet to find out if there is still a variation of pressure in each cylinder but will do that in the future. New oil was REALLY dirty, the oil was changed again today. I'm soooo excited, IT'S RUNNING!!! Now the last hurdle to get rolling is the rearend. After sitting for at least 12 years we're making sure everything is lubed before going for a ride.

Good for you! Now, to give those sticky valves a little insurance against doing it again, run some type of fuel tank additive like Marvel Mystery oil, about 4 to 6 ounces per tank of gas to help keep the valve guides lubed. Also, dribble some of the same stuff down the carburetor with the engine at a fast idle until you get a heavy smoke from the exhaust. Shut the engine off and let it sit for a few hours. Restart it, and goose the throttle a few times to blow out any carbon deposits the top cylinder oil has loosened up. That was a routine procedure during a tune-up back in the 50's.
Jerry

Thank You, consider it done. This truck was nonopt' Sept 26,1997 in Bakersfield,Ca. Interestingly, the sequence tag has F0926A. I thought this meant 09 (Sept) 26th and was a 1957 engine. Just figured out today from the block casting number 3769716 that it is probably a 1960 truck engine with the F0926A. I still don't know what the 0926 is for. I'm going to look for the casting date tomorrow. Started it up on Sat and it started squeeling, then dripping water. Now the radiator is dry. Radiator not leaking, hoses not leaking, yep, it's the pump, just knew that was going to happen. The water pump sets REALLY LOW, lower half of the radiator. I don't think the person who put this engine in did the conversion for the '54 truck. We want to do it right so that is my next research. After that, I need to figure out where the 3 on the floor with overdrive came from, year, etc.