Engine test stand

[Dave WM]

did not know that there was a video game base on it. the only video game I haver had was Atari with all the "modules" like tanks etc...

[Captain Obvious]

[rcb280z]

You're showing your age there Dave.

[Dave WM]

injectors go Click! No magic smoked released from the ECU.

[JSM]

59 minutes ago, Dave WM said:

injectors go Click! No magic smoked released from the ECU.

Yeah!!!! Lol, when I got my 300zx system to run standalone It was the best feeling in the world!

let me know if you want to grab the exhaust and the radiator. 

[Dave WM]

I hooked up the ign to the installed distributor, pulled all the plugs out, ahd hook them all up. Now these are the plugs that were in it and look terrible, but still some seemed to have a much hotter spark than the others. I will invest in some new plugs, hold off on wires until I actually test fire it and see how things go. I tried to video it in the dark with the idea of being able to see them in slow mo, but the video quality was so bad I did not publish it. I will go to the local auto parts store and get the plugs tomorrow. maybe give it a try. Just have to remember to torque the flywheel bolts, and make sure I did not leave any unplugged lines on the intake manifold. The plan will be to monitor vacuum, oil pressure and fuel pressure during the 1st start.

Edited April 16, 2019 by Dave WM

[Dave WM]

success sorta..

I got it to start but clearly a bad miss fire, pulling #1 #2 injector wire had no effect on the running engine. The plugs looked wet, so I removed them all and did a run to watch for spark all looked good. So not sure what is going on, wet plugs mean gas is there, maybe the spark was weak enough to not fire? Will start with some new plugs (I did clean the old ones up before using). if no improvement I will pull the rail and make sure I am getting a GOOD fuel flow from #1 #2. I can hear them clicking This is NOT your rail JSM its the orig with injectors from the maxima. I found it easier to install the old style rail.

Then my battery charger took a dump. it has a hard wired fuse that needs to be replaced, I did have it connected while starting the engine, perhaps an inductive kick back from the solenoid did something it did not like. I hate smart charges, but finding an old school one is not easy now a days.

anyway I will install a proper fuse holder on the back of the dump thing, and press on.

Finally got to do a hot compression reading 165-170 on all. not bad at all!!

 

 

 

 

[Dave WM]

more progress, I have it hooked up so can run water thru it, no T stat or rad just a garden hose connection on the bottom, and a hose to exit from the top. This will allow more extended testing. I tried it again, same results or worse, prob only 3 cylinders firing. I will get some new plugs and swap my cap/leads from my car since I know they are good. Read the plugs, then prob pull the fuel rail up and away from the manifold and manually fire them to see if there is a flow problem. I am 99% sure the injector seals  are in there, you can just barely see them.

[Dave WM]

one thing I have not done is to monitor the batter voltage. No alt installed and I don't have the battery charger on while its running. I wonder if I may be having low voltage issues?

[Zed Head]

On 3/16/2019 at 2:14 PM, Dave WM said:

the spare engine.

What's the details on the engine?  How much work have you done on it?

[Dave WM]

Not much, it was local sourced, out of a 76, had some compression issues at 1st while testing on the test stand. I don't know how long it had been since it had been run. I did some leak down testing and tried pouring injector cleaner directly into the intake (the leaking valve) while it was leaking down. That seemed to help. adjusted a few of the valves replaced oil, that was it.

the manifolds came with the engine as did the complete EFI harness. the injectors were in bad shape, only one clicked, I worked on them with solvent and eventually got 4 to work. I ended up using some injectors out of a 84 maxima after testing on the rail.

has the spark plugs, distributor cap and wires that were on it when I got it. The cap had a lot of corrosion that I cleaned up, I did not see any arcing from the wires, still I suspect a some what weak spark on some of plugs may be the issue.

I really just wanted to base line the engine and get a hot compression reading which turned out very well. I would like to hear it run on all 6, and hook up a rad to see if there is any head gasket leakage.

As to what I will do with it.. hard to say I am tempted to see about a light boost turbo, but for that I would want to pull the head and a new head gasket. OR do I keep it as a spare OR do I make the most terrifying wood go kart, I have the trans and rear end and a rack for steering!!

 

 

[Zed Head]

Ahh, the old stuck injectors.   I remember that.

As horrible as the engines sound when they have dead cylinders I don't think it really hurts them much at low RPM.  Since you have a cooling system now maybe you could let it run while you tap the injectors, swap injectors plugs, run some electrical checks, squirt the occasional blast of starter fluid in, etc.  The injectors might be slow to close, I think that the solenoid is stronger than the closing spring.  Maybe you have some rich cylinders.  Hot injectors will probably loosen up more than cold.

Have you made sure that the computer and injectors have a good ground back to the battery?  Since you have a funky wiring setup.  One of those commonly overlooked things.