Im trying to start a freshly rebuilt 22r for the first time. With the distributor correctly installed, when i hit the key the starter sounds like it struggles and i get a slow whump whump , i thought maybe i was a tooth advanced on distributor, firing way early and having the combustion fight the starter rotation, tried rotating the rotor counterclockwise one tooth, no change. Had a helper help me reset TDC and accidentally got it 180 degrees out, 180 out the starter spins normally which leads me to believe the starter isnt bad. anybody ever have this problem before? im getting frustrated and i dont want to crank this engine too much before it is properly broken in.

 

So it was in wrong before when it was cranking slow or is in wrong now but cranks normally?

Any rebuild I do I pull the plugs out and crank the engine until oil pressure shows on gauge or the idiot light goes out. Then plugs back in and fire it off.

 

If you remove spark plugs and turn by hand does it turn good? Double check mecanical and ignition timing something must be wrong there, remember motor needs air, spark and fuel only to start.

 

SoCal-First it was set up right, but because of the starting issue i doubted my set up, so i did the following, new 2ga cable to starter, upgraded/replaced/added grounds to battery (original puny corroded ground wire and slow crank made me suspect i wasnt getting the juice i needed to starter)...then i tried again, same thing, so i moved on to resetting TDC just to make sure i had it right (i use a piece of paper towell in the spark plug hole until it pops out during compression, then use the tail of a zip tie to feel the piston peak, then check my pulley mark for being on zero) however since i had another set of hands there i had someone else feel for tdc while i rotated to engine with a big ratchet. My helper missed to compression part of the instructions and we ended up stabbing the dist 180 out, i hit the key starter sounded normal and quick but i realized right away that it was 180 out. pulled dist did 180, re stabbed hit key, back to whump whump slow crank, pulled dist, rotated rotor ccw just until i could restab it (one gear tooth) and tried again, same issue, arced coil wire on valve cover got spark, pulled plugs, plugs are blackish, plenty of gas, perfect 3psi on the fp reg, weber 3236 set to baseline per webers instructions, EVERYTHING is brand new, dist, dist drive gear, timing set, cam all of it no wear on anything.

gill- i can rotate the engine fine by hand, on the engine stand when i first built it turning was tightafter a few revolutions it got easier to spin, in the truck even with plugs in i can turn it over without grunting or eating a can of spinach. I torqued, measured and plastigauged every nut bolt bearing and along the way, and it came out fine, i took my engine to Todd at EB for the full monty of machine work and rebuild kit, he set up the head (cam valves, springs) i did the rest.
FWIW this is my first tear down and rebuild, but to my credit i am patient, methodical, anal retentive engine put together-er

 

Did the clutch line up fine or fight you until it was seated?

Trans went up to block square?
Popped rite in no problem?

 

no it was a son of a b*** hard to line up. but i did all of this solo, pulling engine and trans, as well as re installing,... using harbor freight crane and p.o.s. trans jack outside in the cold rain and low light it took a long time to get the trans in right, i installed 4xI solid motor and t case mounts at the same time, which compared to the woorrrnnn out stockers seemed to have me up in the tunnel more fighting for room to manuver the trans in.

 

Just wondering if something isn't kosher there but you say you can turn it by hand so it must be fine.

Pull the valve cover and the distributor and start over with the timing.
Rotate engine until intake valve closes and then go to spot on the TDC mark.
Put distributor in with rotor centered on 1st cylinder on the cap.

 

OK, to do list at first light is pull VC, pull dist and cap. rotate engine until cam gear pin at 12 o clock w timing mark at zero ... right?...., observing intake valve closing on cyl. #1, restab dist being sure that once fully seated rotor is pointing at cyl 1 contact on cap, dump a little oil on the cam for good measure, button up VC cross fingers and hit the key. ugh, its just so basic i dont know how i got it outta whack, i went through this process on the stand, i mustve gotten off track somehow and not realized. Thanks so cal, ill post my results... i am a little ahaed of myself here, but while im at it,...... i have no choice but to break this engine in open header and then scream my way over to the muffler shop. how much risk is there in burning an exhaust valve runnin her in with just header no pipes? if its too risky i guess i can get a flex pipe and a couple feet of 2.25 but id rather save that coin for the real deal.

 

Just want to establish the basics that the engine is at TDC compression and not TDC exhaust.

Other than that give all wiring and hoses a once over also. All grounds in place and tightened, no vacuum hoses left undone, stuff like that.



No advice on the drive over. Not something Ive had to do.
Maybe flat tow with another vehicle???

 

If it's a long tube header, where the flange is under the truck, and as long as you don't decelerate while in gear (using the engine to slow you down), it should be fine. Light acceleration to keep fuel from loading up and washing cylinders. Be sure to follow all cam break in procedures.

 

 

okay, above you can see, this is with NO change to anything, i simply put the pin and timing mark on their spots and pulled the distributor cap, marks are aligned, cam pin at 12 o clock, timing mark at zero, dist pointing to number one, and cyl one intake valve closed and lashed to .008 cold. what the hell guys, this motor should be starting!

 

As stated before, i checked the coil wire for spark, and the brand new plugs were blackened but the engine just wont turn over all the way. The only Thing in this build i was even a little unsure about was my wiring of the 10si alt. Previous owner had replaced some wiring (everything electrical worked fine with the old 20r) and nothing was color coded, i figured out what powered what on the plug terminal (i think) and wired it up accordingly in 3 wire fashion. beyond that this is a straight forward swap,
non stock specs are as follows: desmogged, weber, offy, header, 261c cam, elect. f pump, 2row t-chain, gm alt,...the normal 22r bolt ons, nothin fancy.........im stumped.

 

By Jove i thnk i know whats wrong!!! i had to switch from a round dist plug to the rectangular one when i got my new dist, i just chopped off the round plug to ignitor and soldered on an old square plug in its place.,.....im building jumper wires now to test, but i believe the red and white wires are switched! i found a thread from years ago, a guy on here was having this same issue after a gm ingition module swap, turns out he had his wires backwards, i hope this is it!

 

update: SUCCESS!!! fired right up, roared to life open header and had her screamin at 2.5krpm. only hitch was when the air filter cover popped off (wasnt clipped) and arced from bat pos to my fuel pressure gauge! i had a big o ˟˟˟˟˟ moment, knocked it outta there, left it off, fired back up and got her goin, then i saw oil smokin off manifold, shut it down again....valve cover needed to be cranked really tight new seal is still firm, fired again and this time no prob, revved from 2k to 3k up and down for 30 minutes, and changed the oil. dark but no milkshake. now ive got new oil / filter, coolant topped off oil mess wiped up and im going to see if theres a muffler shop open, this sucker scrrreeaams with open header. thanks for your help guys. and thanks to yotatech in general, dont know where id be with out it! -KG

 

Good news!

Break it in, get exhaust done and give her hell!

 

Exhaust is done, but waaa waaaaa, alt not charging. I love mechanical conundrums ...electrical makes me cringe, i may just run the big hot wire to battery pos and give up on the whole 3 wire deal. ...and man alive! The solid mounts will rattle the change right outta the ashtray, good grief!!! Tomoro ill tackle wiring, and maybe order a 1 inch body lift to get the floor up off of the transmission, all in all im a happy camper!

 

I've heard of guys over tightening the VC and possibly allowing the rockers to hit inside. Just FYI...

 

yep,xs 2 on the valve cover,seal the half moons ,finger tight, then half a turn!!! anyhow, congrats!!!!!

 

The valve cover will be off today so i can check head bolt torque since its been heat cycled, and lash the valves hot, yeeaa, i went a little overboard tightening, almost put a stud through an acorn nut, everything should be buttoned up for 500 mi after today so ill tighten the vc just enough to not have oil cascading down the sides of my shiny new engine haha. Thanks for the heads up, im expecting the chatter to be lessened by easing up on the vc nuts.