Just tidying up the last few items on my list before I fire up my L71 for the first time, just wondered if anyone in the know could give me a quick rundown on the proper procedure for initial startup on a solid lifter motor, it is all stock ( 11 to 1 compression, TI setup from TI Specialties) ect. I purchased Joe Gibbs engine break in oil, what should I be doing? I have only started up two brand new motors in my life, and I have way too much money and time invested in this one to have something go wrong.

 

Did you prime the oiling system before installing the disb?

 

Dave,

Nice-looking engine bay. Assuming you have the stock cam, it's very sensitive to lash adjustment. I would set the valves to the recommended 0.024/0.028 clearance COLD. There are some shortcut procedures for solid lifter lash setting on the web, but my finding from experience is that there is only one way to set it up correctly. This link provides a great explanation:

http://www.centuryperformance.com/va...procedure.html

Once you find max lift on #6 Intake (easy to do with a dial indicator on the rocker tip), set the clearance on #1 intake. Mark your balancer and rotate carefully 90 degrees to work your way through the firing order of intake valve adjustments sequentially. Repeat same process for exhaust valves. This is the best method to ensure you will always be setting the lash whilst on the base circle and not on the significant clearance ramp this cam has.

 

Also double check your tripower secondary linkage setup to be sure you aren't holding one of the secondary carbs partially open.

And, of course, take the blue shop rags out of the secondary carbs before you start it.

 

Ha ha, I knew someone would tell me to take those out!

 

Burning too many brain cells. Pump the gas twice, turn the key and it starts. Mine does.

 

Besides the items mentioned above, quickly bring it up to at least 2000 rpm and hold that rpm for at least 5 minutes. That will reduce the chances of wiping the tops of the cam lobes off.

 

Fill carb bowls with fuel. Double/triple ck that the timing is correct. You want it to fire INSTANTLY!. No long cranking. If it doesn't fire immediately..stop and find out why. A little too much timing is better than too little.

Leave t-stat out. Keep a water hose handy to mist down radiator to keep it cool. Fill radiator with only water. Fan in front of radiator helps.

Fire extinguisher just in case.

Doesn't hurt to overfill crankcase by half a qt or so to keep a lot of splash action happening.

JIM

 

use a child nose snot sucker (blue bulb) to fill the carb bowls....nice easy - clean way.

 

One other thing...you should have your vac advance connected to manifold vacuum for best efficiency and idle quality. I would make that conversion before you try to start it first.

In addition to pre-filling the fuel bowls (all 3), I would set the idle emulsion screws out 1-1/4 turn from bottomed. Keep your 1" open end wrench and 5/8" flare wrench within reach to snug the hard lines in case you have a leak (seems like I always do).

With TI the car should start immediately with 2 squirts of the accelerator pump to prime it.

 

thanks guys, i never would have thought about filling the carb bowls, lots of other good tips as well.

 

Besides checking for leaks, etc, make sure and check the oil pressure gauge right away. Especially if you plan to rev it to 2000rpm.

Verne

 

Last task before stat up , fill the rad, what does it mean when you have coolant dripping from the left side exhaust manifold?

 

Where is it seeping out from exactly

 

I have always been instructed to run a new camshaft for 20 to 30 minutes at 2,000 rpm for a correct break-in of the camshaft. Has that changed since I broke mine in a few years ago?

 

Drain the block and rad. Pull the spark-plugs. Remove the pushrods and disable the TI. Crank it over to assure your self there is no water in the cylinders !!

Where the heads pressure tested.

I would think its a crack in the head. New seats and or guides can cause theses problems. best of

 

The coolant is dripping from the inner stud on the drivers side exhaust manifold. I bought the long block with the car, it was assembled by a shop in California about 9 years ago, I had a mechanic friend of mine disassemble it , measure everything up and reassemble, no pressure testing was done , because we assumed it would have been done by the original builder ( yeah I know " assumed " )

 

So the exhaust is all bolted up and you have a drip off the flange stud so this would be around the head gasket or a crack just below the block deck. Have you pulled the spark plugs to make sure you do not have an internal leak to the cylinders...........External cracks can be repaired.


[QUOTE=Dave Cunningham;1589929214]The coolant is dripping from the inner stud on the drivers side exhaust manifold.

 

On a brand new engine, never run before flat tappet engine the cam break in is very important and cant be skipped.

I like to start all new engines with water, not antifreeze. If there is any issue it is much easier to drain water and do the repair rather than spill antifreeze and have a clean up to handle.

The drip out an exhaust stud would concern me. Can you pull it and put sealer on the treads? It is important to rule out fluid in a cylinder. Was sealer used on the head bolts?
Most new head bolts have sealer on them when you buy them. Used head bolts would need this added.
If you used standard Fel Pro head gaskets it is very possible to have a cold leak. The gaskets don't seal against coolant till they go through the first heat cycle.
Some of the Performance Gaskets and the Production Engine Rebuilder head gaskets get coated with a Teflon top coat which do seal cold but the standard gaskets do not. This has been true for over 30 years.

There is good advice in the posts above on keeping cooling fans, a water hose with a nozzle that will allow you to mist water into the radiator. A new engine will create a lot of heat on start up. The Cam break in needs to be done on the first start up so you will need to keep the beast cool for the full 20 minute cam break in.
On Start up, verify oil Pressure, listen for any odd sounds if good on both of these run it up to 2,000 and keep it there for the full 20 minutes. I actually will vary the RPM from 1,500 to 2,500 but 2,000 is the accepted number. Give it the full 20 minute cam break in before revving over 2,500, this will help your valve keepers seat and stay seated for the life of your engine.
Have Help HANDY. Someone has to stay on your gauges, watching your RPM, Oil Pressure and Temperature, it will most likely try and get hot, be prepared. ( fans and Water to mist the front of your radiator ). Someone has to be free to look at the engine, Look on top and look under on the floor. Watch for leaks. This takes more than one guy.
Make sure you have enough gas in the tank for a 20 minute break in.
A new engine will commonly smoke a little under the hood. This is normally oil from your hands touching parts during assembly that are now hot. This smoke should burn off right away and not come back.

If you fill your block right before start up use warm water. Cold water can shrink the block and put your new pistons at risk on start up. Warm water will help grow the cylinders and give your pistons extra clearance on start up which helps in the first minute of run time. If it has been filled for more than 2 hours don't worry about this as the block parts will have adjusted to the coolant temp.
427 Hot Rod had good tips for you on Timing and cooling. Retarded timing will heat up your engine, you don't want that.
Keep us posted on your successful fire up!

 

Thanks so much for your replies , very helpful, since I last posted, I pulled off the drivers side exhaust manifold, and there is a very minute leak coming from the number one cylinder exhaust port, it drips once every two minutes or so. After talking with the guy that assembled the motor for me, he thinks that it could possibly be the installation of the hardened valve seat, or the valve guide, the combustion chamber is dry, so I have put everything back together, and I think I am just going to fire it up and see what happens. If it does keep leaking I am going to run some irontight ceramic sealant though the system , I have used it before and it works really well. Of course if I had taken everybody's advise and only filled the rad with water this would be a lot easier .