not getting gas

[kat]

hi all...
 ok  my problem is i'm not getting gas  up into the engine,,
 fuel pump is working,,, gas  is  really pouring out of the carb..... seems to  have good suction when i place my hand over the back of the carb ,, but.. the plugs aren't even getting wet.... and it's not even attempting to fire....
have even tried starting fluid sprayed into the carb while cranking over still nothing....
  this is a rebuilt engine.... and been trying everything i can think of to get it going.....  it has good spark,, timeing's on tdc.. pulled off front cover and even  checked to see if the timeing on the gears was correct,,,, it was. but still not  getting gas up where it needs to be,,,
any ideas?

[Bill Seal]

Did your hand get gas on it when you hand choked it?
If not then it's probably the carb.
Maybe the timing's off- .Try the tried-and-true thumb on the spark plug hole.
If you don't see a spark when it pops your thumb off the hole, then re-time it.

[kat]

yep,,,,, got gas....... lot of gas... in fact it's pouring out of the back of the carb,,,,,
 did the thing with the timeing... finger on the  hole. watching for spark... yep it's right about where it should be.....
 but still  not getting gas up to the sparkplugs ....

[mtncrawler]

Well I know the starting fluid would have made it into the cylinders so if it didn't hit then you must be either too rich, out of time, or not enough compression. Since the plugs aren't wet your probably not too rich. Sounds like youv'e looked closely at the timing. You said you can see a spark. Nice bright one? Not 180 degrees out are ya? Only thing left is compression. Has to be one of these things.

[Dr Bert]

Kat:  Would a plugged intake manifold be a consideration?  Some rebuilders mask over the intake and exhaust ports while painting the block. Happened to me once.  My engine wouldn't start either--when we removed the manifold, there was the masking tape.

[Dr Bert]

Kat--disrgard my previous post.  Checked my notes-- I had no "suction" at the carb., you do, so the intake manifold must be clear.  Maybe a plugged jet in the carb.  Good luck.

[Bill Seal]

Just looked at my manifold, that thing could hold a lot of raw gas in the intake passages. If you're cranking it with 6 volts, it may not be spinning fast enough get the plugs wet, but still be flooded. Try pulling the plugs and cranking it over to try to clean the passages (like Jimmy Stewart in Flight of the Phoenix ).

[kat]

checked timeing again......right on..
 suction   at carb good....
spark nice and bright......
compression???
well it's a fresh rebuild....  the compression seems high but the  junky compression tester  says it's 60-65 psi on all three cyl.... but borrowed  compression tester says 115-117 on all three...... so i guess i'm going to have to go and buy a good one... and see if  it's just me or what going on... i'd hate to think i paid  to have someone hone the cyl's and  possablly screwed them up...
 
but i was thinking, i did get it to fire one time,, backfired through the carb before i set the  timeing..... was trying to  jump it off a boost pack so it was getting 12 volts..and cranking over fast.
when it backfired it set the gas  comming out of the carb on fire but,, the engine did run for a few  seconds before it was turned off,
 is it possable  that   at six volts it's just not turning over fast enough to draw the gas up to the cyl's ?
i'm going to take the carb off this weekend and see if i can get it rebuilt or at least looked at to see if it has any issues...and then try again...
 thanks for your responces..... and i'll keep ya all informed.

[Blake Malkamaki]

Are your spark plug wires in the right order?

Speed should be no problem as you should be able to crank it by hand to get fuel into the cylinders.

If you're getting a good suction at the carb, then I would think your compression is ok.

Did you do anything that could have changed the valve timing?

Blake

[Dr Bert]

Kat: Assume this is a Hercules engine.  If so, did you time #1 with the Spark mark on the flywheel?  (15 degrees before TDC)  Also,you might
try 6 to 8 squirts of oil into each cylinder, then prime with a little gasoline.  This might solve your problem.  Good Luck

[kat]

yep. checked the timeing with the flywheel also.......dead on
also tried the oil in the cylinders and primeing them with gas..... nothing happened..... no  fireing..... not a bang or pop...... nada...

as for the spark plug fireing order...... 1,3,2 ....three cylinder  go 130
 valve timeing...... i don't know...... i know the engine was apart.. and the valves were taken off....... but  if you mean the gears  on the front of the engine  under the govener,,,, yes they are correct
 
i'm at a total loss on what to do.... i kinda gave up last year and it's been sitting  for a while inside...... i'd hate to have to pull the engine  and send it out but,,  this is makeing me nuts....

[C Tucker NW IL]

I would suggest you forget what you think you know about the timing and go through it again. Take the valve cover off and watch #1 valve train to see when the intake is open,follow piston down to compression stroke and check for spark at the top. If you oiled and primed the cylinders and it didn't fire your sarpk is at TDC of exausht srtoke, CAUTION!! A backfire here can be hard on the eardrums in a confined space,don't ask me how I know.

[walter hudson]

when timing the engine ,did you only use the mark on the flywheel ? Some hercules engines will allow you to install the flywheel in two positions on the crankshaft. If this is the case with yours ,the timing mark you are using will not give the correct timing . take #1 plug out and get it on tdc compression stroke and check the flywheel timing mark. Remove the dist. cap and see if the rotor is pointing to #1 terminal on the cap.
                       Good Luck  Walter

[Blake Malkamaki]

Walter, if his flywheel is 180Ã,° off, but it is otherwise timed correctly, couldn't he just change his plug wires to use #2 as #1 cylinder and continue from there in the proper firing order?

Blake

[walter hudson]

That is true ,you could change the plugs wires or rotate the dist. without removing it. The engine can be timed on any cylinder as long as you use compression stroke tdc .