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350 cranking slow

10K views 9 replies 6 participants last post by  cutthroatkid 
#1 ·
Ok in the past 5 years or so this forum has helped me figure every problem I've had I'm one way or another but my recent post I think maybe was to confusing & in the wrong place & I have a new question to add so here it goes.My motor is cranking very slow like the battery is dead.I have a mini high torque starter & high compression of 11:1 If I recall it started like this before you could only crank the starter about once or so every minute.It wad built 3 years ago & has sat with very few miles on it.Its sat outside for the past 6 months.I'm worried its cranking slow because maybe rust?But it cranked over slow before I pulled it outside also..could this be a sign of a "new" motor being shot?
********* I do see corrison on the ground from motor to chassis that needs cleaning & I imagine starter needs it to.Next I have no spark but juice to the dizzy.Now this dizzy&cap have been on here for well over 5 years its an accel hei has never gave me any problems.But I pulled the cap & its filthy.I'm ready to jump back into this poor thing I neglected please help



Please excuse any typos or terseness: this email was sent from my mobile and I have clumsy fingers.
 
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#2 ·
First off see if that motor turns over by hand. Clean those battery connections. Do the cables get hot? How old is the battery? Is the battery big enough? Check that stuff first then address the no spark issue. Connect a screwdriver to ground and while a buddy cranks the engine see if you have spark coming from center terminal of distributer. Clean that cap up. Maybe you have a bad rotor? Burnde through near center terminal?
 
#3 ·
I'd first find out why it cranks slow. How old is the battery? I'd be concerned about the cranking amps it has or has left in it. Have it tested. Look at your battery cables an connections. Pull all the spark plugs out an see how it cranks an also spray some WD40 into all of the cylinders.Don't think its a starter problem cause either they work or they don't. Wire brush the the plugs while you have them out. Look at the connectors on both ends of the spark plugs wires, if there not brass then their steel an maybe rusted. Get a new cap & rotor that one looks pretty dirty. After all of that an it cranks faster, see if your getting spark.
 
#4 ·
Its a brand new optima,I think maybe its the wires @ the starter.the plugs are really hard to get to I usually have to drop the tire & put it up in the air to access it.I currently have the fender unbolted to the rest of the car & sitting on the top id tire there's two grounds that go to it.I think it'd bad connections & nothing more.cranking wise.
Its been awhile since I was told how to crank by hand Ill have to go look.
 
#5 ·
That's a pretty grungy distributor cap; it could contribute to hard starting by trying to light off cylinders out of order.

I presume that this engine has cranked slowly from day one and that sitting out in the rain for 5 years hasn't made any improvements.

- Certainly cleaning all the connections grounds and power is in order to do as you point out.

- The distributor needs a new cap and rotor; you might as well do wires and plugs while you're there.

- I'd pull the distributor to put a preluber in there and spin it up with the rocker covers off while watching for oil to feed from the push rods.

- Crank it with the distributor electrically disconnected but installed otherwise the oil pump won't be turning with the spark plugs out, add a little oil like Marvel Mystery oil through the plug holes to get some top end lube in the cylinders. Check how the starter spins with essentially no load against it when the plugs are out and the engine oiled up.

- If electricity goes into the distributor and none comes out you can either replace the coil and module or replace the whole distributor. Remember that HEI uses full line voltage, no resistor. I say that incase the HEI isn't native to the vehicle.

- Retime to TDC number one firing since the rocker covers are off you can watch the valve motion what you're looking for is exhaust closed intake open then as you pull the engine around with a wrench on the damper bolt see the intake close. Start watching for the damper mark, when it hits the TDC line stop and feel for the piston through the spark plug hole. It should be right there. This isn't anywhere as accurate as going through the drill to find true TDC but it should get you in the neighborhood. Once this is found install the distributor to fire number 1 and clamp it down.

- Check the starter mounting bolts for tightness, mini starters don't use the angle bracket on the rear of the motor that the old super large motors did but you still need some idea if the thing moves and binds itself. Check the block for cracks through the starter bolt mount.

- Place the spark plug where they are grounded and away from fuel or oil. Now spin the starter to see if the plugs actually spark. Put 'em in if they do and the starter spins the engine freely.

- Give the engine a little fuel prime on the throttle blades and crank it up. If it starts let it warm up then adjust the timing. With MM in the cylinders be prepared it will smoke like no tomorrow for a while.

Bogie
 
#7 ·
Go down to the welding supply and get enough #2 welding cable to make new battery cables, one for positive and one for negative. If the welding supply doesn't have copper terminals, buy them here and solder them onto the cables.....
Copper Battery Terminals
On the other end, use whatever terminal matches up with the fastener size.....
These are for 1/4" fasteners...
Del City - Item #: 906525
These are for 5/16" fasteners....
Del City - Item #: 906625
These are for 3/8" fasteners...
Del City - Item #: 906855
These are for 1/2" fasteners....
Del City - Item #: 907825

Go here and purchase 2 ground straps......
Amazon.com: Heavy-Duty Braided Ground Strap with End Caps: Electronics
Go inside the car and pick a place on the passenger side floorboard in the area of the transition from the flat floorboard to where it changes from flat and goes up at an angle. Look on the other side of the floorboard (in the engine compartment) to make sure you are not going to be drilling through anything that you don't want a hole in. Drill a 3/8" hole. On the engine compartment side of the hole, use your hand grinder, file, sandpaper or whatever you have available to remove all the paint off the sheet metal. You want it shiny silver, about the size of a half dollar. Your ground strap is 13" long, so choose a firewall location for the hole that will allow you bolt the other end of the ground strap to the frame. Choose a spot on the frame and clean it down to shiny silver, about the size of a half dollar. Drill a hole in the frame. If the frame is box section, you will have to drill the proper size hole to use a self-tapping sheet metal screw. If the frame is open section, you can use a bolt with a nut on the bottom of the frame flange. You will be using this frame hole to mount 2 ground straps, one goes to the firewall to ground the body and the other will go to the motor block to ground the motor, so choose your locations so that the straps will reach. If you can't make that work, buy longer ground straps.

From the inside of the car, run your 3/8" bolt through the hole in the floorboard/firewall, using a large flat washer to prevent pull-through. Attach one end of one of the ground straps to the bolt sticking out on the motor side of the firewall. Use a flat washer and nut and tighten down. Now, on the inside of the car, smush RTV onto the bolt head and washer so that you make it liquid-proof from the inside of the car. Now go to the motor side and smush RTV onto the nut and washer to make that connection liquid-proof. Now, go to the frame connections for the 2 cables, tighten down the connection and smuch RTV all over the connection, making it liquid-proof. Attach the other end of the frame/motor cable to a suitable threaded hole either in the block or the head (block preferred) after removing all paint and corrosion down to shiny silver. Smush RTV all over the connection to make it liquid-proof. Now, you have grounded body to motor and frame, motor to frame and body and frame to motor and body.

Ideally, you would attach the ground cable from the battery at the place on the block or head where you made a ground connection from the frame/body. Use heat shrink tubing on all connections.

Now, purchase a new battery that is the proper size for the battery box and secure it to the car with factory pieces.

Now, if the motor still drags, it ain't the cables that are causing it. Look somewhere else, like timing too far advanced.
 
#9 ·
I'd have to check with fessler race engines to get the specs I'm not sure where I put mine @.Thanks guys for all of that great info I just got a chance to read it.I almost wanna put the factory type seeingk I have a new one in the back seat.
Now nothing is plugged in where the the tach plugs in but I thought there was before even when I wasn't running a tach but there's a plug coming out the same hole as ignition wire to dizzy but too short to reach.The p.o. had all kinds of wiring tucked away in the fender I checked all the unplugged plugs have juice.I grinded where the grounds all go to bare metal & tryd a new spark plug still no spark.The new battery I fully charged, then bolted in & 6 cranks or so later the starter started clicking like it was dead.
I moved my bikes out to fit it in shop plus 2:customer jobs so ill have it inside shortly.Forgive the crappy reply mom is gone out of town & its 9am & the babies have been waking me every 2 minutes
 
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