318 wont start

MoparFlores said:
Rotor is turning when I crank it I will take your advice and do a compression check.
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If you have 1 or 2 dead cylinders it should still start but run like crap. If all 8 cylinders are dead you either have wiped out cam lobes on all 8 cylinders, the timing chain is worn out and the valve timing is way off, blown head gaskets or something more serious. The 318 is a very well built motor and its not unheard of to put 400,000 miles on one if it was well maintained so I doubt that its something serious. It wouldn't hurt to do a compression test, but before you go out and spend the money on a compression tester I would take a second glance over your ignition system. Clean and adjust your points, make sure your plug wires are routed correctly, make sure the negative and positive wires going to your new coil were installed correctly. Mark the location of your distributor then advance it in slight increments crank the motor after each adjustment to see if it will start. If it doesn't start then set the distributor back to its original position. If the valve timing is off only a few degrees it should still run. If your ignition timing is too retarded it will turn over really easy but wont want to start. If the timing is advanced too far the engine will crank very slow when trying to start it.Also check your thermostat.
 
Check your oil. If it is light brown and frothy like a milkshake you could have antifreeze mixing with your oil which might indicate a bad head gasket. Also look at the condition of your cooling system check for oil contaminating the antifreeze.
 
Landyacht said:
If you have 1 or 2 dead cylinders it should still start but run like crap. If all 8 cylinders are dead you either have wiped out cam lobes on all 8 cylinders, the timing chain is worn out and the valve timing is way off, blown head gaskets or something more serious. The 318 is a very well built motor and its not unheard of to put 400,000 miles on one if it was well maintained so I doubt that its something serious. It wouldn't hurt to do a compression test, but before you go out and spend the money on a compression tester I would take a second glance over your ignition system. Clean and adjust your points, make sure your plug wires are routed correctly, make sure the negative and positive wires going to your new coil were installed correctly. Mark the location of your distributor then advance it in slight increments crank the motor after each adjustment to see if it will start. If it doesn't start then set the distributor back to its original position. If the valve timing is off only a few degrees it should still run. If your ignition timing is too retarded it will turn over really easy but wont want to start. If the timing is advanced too far the engine will crank very slow when trying to start it.Also check your thermostat.
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Ok thank you for all of that. It sounds like my timing might be advanced too far because for a good while it was cranking but really slowly, but once I got a new battery and all its firing and immediately shutting off.
 
Hm... if its catching but wont stay running, turn the idle mixture screw (s) out one turn and try again. Does the choke close all the way?
 
According to you reply to Commando1 you say the only change from when it ran to when it didn't was the installation of a new carb. So when did you install the new plugs and wires and coil? Before or after because **** happens when a lot of things are changed without verifying their integrity by starting the vehicle after each session of work is done. Are the polarity of the wires on the coil correct? Have you bypassed the terminals on the ballast resistor temporarily to see if it's at fault? Have you got the ignition wires in their respective positions or could a couple be mixed up or not seated properly? Is the dizzy cap seated properly or sitting high on one side? Did you move the distributor at all by loosening it? Did you measure the resistance of the coil or check to see it's the right one with respect to voltage ( wrong box, wrong coil)? Not to critisize, but if it ran before but not after you worked on it, you'll have to go back over everything you've done because it's obvious you've done something wrong.We can only guess as to what that might be with such limited information.
 
MoparFlores said:
Ok thank you for all of that. It sounds like my timing might be advanced too far because for a good while it was cranking but really slowly, but once I got a new battery and all its firing and immediately shutting off.
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I wouldn't jump to conclusions on the timing being too far advanced if the slow cranking was caused by a weak battery.
 
Not to trying to muddle the conversation as I agree with every suggestion. Well maybe not the thermostat. We had a similar situation happen after a tune-up on a 64 Chevy 283 a long time ago. When we found the problem we were pissed as we spent 2 days working on it.
The insulation on the wire from the (-) terminal on the coil to the breaker points cracked and was grounding against the underside of the distributor where you couldn't see it. It would crank and almost fire. I've hated distributors that live behind carburetors ever since.
 
Tink said:
Not to trying to muddle the conversation as I agree with every suggestion. Well maybe not the thermostat. We had a similar situation happen after a tune-up on a 64 Chevy 283 a long time ago. When we found the problem we were pissed as we spent 2 days working on it.
The insulation on the wire from the (-) terminal on the coil to the breaker points cracked and was grounding against the underside of the distributor where you couldn't see it. It would crank and almost fire. I've hated distributors that live behind carburetors ever since.
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The insulation on that wire is almost completely gone in my car, previous owner just wrapped all the wires that were like that with electrical tape.
 
yes finger over spark plug hole will work,you don't have to crank more than a couple revolutions....you can check for fuel by simply pouring about a tablespoon down the carb as some-one cranks...it wont run but should fire a little,be careful not to pour to much,a bunch of fuel with-out firing washes cylinder walls throwing off compression accuracy and will thin your oil that will need changed even if it,s new oil. Just because its a new carb does not mean the float was set correctly not to mention the jets but the the float works a lot like the tank on your toilet...as it fills to a set point it stops filling the tank by closing the inlet valve....if your float is set to high it will fload,to low and it wont respond during acceleration. be careful with pouring fuel as it can back-fire causing fire in carb,smother if this happens...no air means no fire
 
joetrucker said:
yes finger over spark plug hole will work,you don't have to crank more than a couple revolutions....you can check for fuel by simply pouring about a tablespoon down the carb as some-one cranks...it wont run but should fire a little,be careful not to pour to much,a bunch of fuel with-out firing washes cylinder walls throwing off compression accuracy and will thin your oil that will need changed even if it,s new oil. Just because its a new carb does not mean the float was set correctly not to mention the jets but the the float works a lot like the tank on your toilet...as it fills to a set point it stops filling the tank by closing the inlet valve....if your float is set to high it will fload,to low and it wont respond during acceleration. be careful with pouring fuel as it can back-fire causing fire in carb,smother if this happens...no air means no fire
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Thank you for the info I will definitely get to it tomorrow morning.
 
I Just found out my 318 has a Little over 300000 miles on it. Do you guys recommend i rebuild this engine.
 
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