problems with starting , ok here it is put the b20 my son bought for me for xmas in the 544 , after a number of stebacks mostly trying to find missing parts , now have dual su's mallory dual point distirbutor the motor is a 74 was overhauled for a guy who had it as a back up motor for his 1800 he ran at limerock , the problem is it was stored for 4 years motor turns over and fires has compression of 180 , 180 , 60 , 180 i know this isnt right but it should start i dont have any draw on the 3 and 4 cylinder if i pull the manifld #4 is drawing as good as 1 and 2 3 is definatly less , put the manifold back on nothing cant find a leak unless manifold is cracked but cant find anyhting wrong any ideas ?? looks like pulling the head is the next step i didnt want to do

As you think, bad compression in one cylinder will not keep your engine from starting.

Fuel, air, and spark.

With engines that have not been run for a while, I usually verify spark, remove the air cleaners and drop a little bit of fuel in each cylinder,

If it starts, don't forget that the throttle is not controlling engine speed until the fuel that you put in has burned up, be prepared to shut the engine off if revs go too high.

If it does start, work on one thing at a time. I have seen one bad cylinder come around, but I have no experience with receeding valve seats.

Good luck.
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'96 855R, '64 PV544, 95 855, 854 - 385,000 miles put on 8 bricks.

compression is up to 80 pounds so the marvel and pb blaster must be working , still have yet to get it to catch timining may be off not sure were to start i have set at 5 degrees before to start with and trying to get those points set right dual mallory guessing on what to set at have started with 16 thousanths

That should be a good starting point. Fuel, air, spark, compression...it should run if you can spin it fast enough.

Compression test it with oil squirted down the affected bore, compression goes up it's a ring, no change it's a valve.

Regards


Pete

Peter,
I'm looking at an engine (not mine) with a similar compression situation, jut a bit lower over-all (165, 160, 45, and 163.) When we do the oil squirt thing, they all go up about 5 lbs, including #3. Oil consumption is pretty normal, a quart every 7-800 miles. What do you think: do we have a valve or a ring poblem on #3?
Bob S.

5psi is insignificant, if it's rings you tend to get near normal compression with oil in the bore. I'd guess valve. Of course a hole in the piston will also lower compression somewhat;-)

Regards


Pete

possible they are stuck , if so any way to loosen with out pulling ??

The valves are stuck? Go back to basics, take off the rocker shaft and check that all the valves are out by the same amount. Then refit the shaft and set the valve clearances. Set the engine in 0 on the pulley and it will be firing on either 1 or 4. On 1 firing adjust valves 1,2,3 and 5, turn the engine a ful revolution and it will be firing on 4. Set valves 8,7,6 and 4

Regards


Pete

Valves stuck or rings stuck??

To free rings, squirt some Marvel Mystery Oil in each cylinder and let it sit overnight.

Basically the same mode of attack for slightly stuck valves: coat the top end of each valve liberally with MMO so it can work its way into the valve guides. Let it sit overnight.

Actually, it should start and run (kind of!) with the cylinder pressures you quote. Check spark, timing, and fuel. Sometimes just a low battery will keep a car from starting even though it tu rns over.

Good luck!

Check the valve clerances before ou try anythinig else. A valve with a receding seat will tighten up, and eventually not close completely.
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