Please find out the answer soon — it’s like being hooked on a compulsive viewing, TV drama — “Happy Valley” comes to mind though pouring petrol on oneself ( or the car) is probably best avoided.
I can’t wait for the final episode!
Having had similar issues with a so called 'professional engine builder' & re watching your very short video, check out if the flywheel is moving for and aft ???
it certainly looks like it is ????
Charles, many thanks, best laugh I’ve had in a while, in respect to “ …..can’t wait for the final episode” neither can nor the missus for that matter!!
I have built up a test rig to hopefully run the engine on the bench. Had it all set up yesterday but was having difficulty getting the starter motor to turn the engine over. Had tried yesterday but all it would do was whirr round weakly, thought it was the battery, so charged that overnight and tried again this morning but with the same result. I was only using jumps leads between the battery and the main starter terminal and guess this is not sufficient to turn it over. So will make some HT leads to make a proper connection and try again.
Bluebird7 I can detect no movement on the flywheel whatsoever. Without the engine running I can detect no evidence of any such scrapping sounds or any evidence of markings on any surfaces.
I will run the engine and remove items to eliminate them one by one, but first must get the starter motor turning.
I have obtained a stethoscope as Howard recommended.
Great idea to bench run the engine.
Most jump leads will be sufficient to turn the starter !
If you still have problems with the starter it could be the connections to the engine Earth and also of course to the live starter switch.
I have found that the area of contact with crocodile clips limiting.
Good luck with your progress.
Tim
Hello, I have read all the comments on this thread with interest. I have come to the conclusion the noise is either something running tight or without lubrication. As you have eliminated most of the possible causes I like others think it is coming from the rings. It maybe the oil scraper rings are working to well. Try the oil down the bore trick again but run the engine straight away. The oil will lubricate the whole length of the bore as the pistons travel downwards. When I first rebuilt my engine after a rebore the engine squealed for about 20 to 30 seconds until all was lubricated with the oil mist created by the crank.
John Mason.
Would you believe it "Her who must be obeyed" refers to my Ruby as the toy.
Have put the test rig together as you can see by pics on the attached Word document.
Have not had a chance to run the engine as I simply cannot get the starter motor to turn the engine over, now she is out of the car. The starter motor will fire the nut forward to engage the ring gear but stops dead, occasionally it will turn the engine half a turn but that's as good as it gets. Have never had a problem like this with the engine in the car.
Initially I thought it was bad connections using jump leads and clamps, as noted in earlier comments. But after many attempts and abject failure, I have now converted an old set of jump leads to fully bolted connections from the battery terminals to both the starter motor and the engine block on the test rig.
I have subsequently taken the starter motor off and spun her in a vice on the battery and to begin with the nut was sticking in the spring but after a series of adjustments, all seemed to working ok. But once installed there was no change to its performance.
I have checked the starter switch motor and it was as clean as a whistle, bright copper surfaces, no corrosion. There is an indentation at the furthest end of the lower portion of the contacts so it obviously only making contact at that one area
.
The battery was new February '22, but I took it back to the supplier this afternoon and the guy was kind enough to test it for me, including the acid, and confirmed it is as new and fully charged.
Just to make sure I am not missing something or screwing it up.........
I have a taken a bolted connection from the negative battery terminal via heavy copper cable and attached this to the nut at the top of the starter motor and this is bolted tight.
I have the run a similar bolted cable from the the positive battery terminal to an extended stud on the head of the engine where the normal earth connection to the engine would be. This has also been boosted with an additional clamped cable from the positive terminal to the nut at the back of the starter motor.
I have a wire from the negative feed to a simple kill switch and then on the other side of the switch to the negative terminal on a new spare coil I have.
A separate wire goes then from the positive side of the coil to the side of the distributor.
The coil is then fed to the distributor and the plugs as normal.
These are the only electrical connections I have.
I will have a small supply of fuel which will be picked up by the fuel pump via a new pipe which can be seen as fitted.
So not sure if I have a starter motor issue, a wiring issue, or.........
To repeat David’s comment does the engine still turn on the handle?
The symptoms you describe I offer
Faulty Starter motor or
Partially seized engine
Hope this helps!
She turns over easy enough on the handle but have not tried to actually start her on the handle as I was intending to operate the carburettor/choke by hand, and need the starter to get her going.
Regarding the starter motor, two possibilities spring to mind. If there is excess electrical resistance anywhere in the starter circuit, including the motor itself, the current will be smaller than it should be and the torque will be much reduced (torque depends on the square of the current). When I say excess, even milliohms will have an effect.
On the other hand, if there is excess mechanical resistance, the starter motor will struggle to get up speed and the current will climb right up towards its stall value, I don't have an exact figure but let's say 300 amps.
I suggest you check the battery voltage drop whilst the starter is turning. I'd expect it to drop to maybe 4 volts under stall conditions or 5 volts under normal conditions. A smaller drop would suggest the current isn't enough. If you haven't got a voltmeter, even the brightness of a sidelight bulb across the battery might give you some idea. The ideal would be a clamp on ammeter so you can measure the actual consumption.
In the past, I have encountered high starter motor resistance due to a dirty commutator, weak brush springs, sticking brushes and corrosion hidden under rivet heads. The switch on top of the starter is another possibility, shouldn't be too difficult to bypass and/or take off to inspect.
I remain optimistic that the noise is coming from the starter motor due to some sort of fault !
