Ke55-S Xx Coupe

[Clapped out]

Any update on this bad boy? is it rego'd?

 

cheers!

[LittleRedSpirit]

Up for a cruise today?

[Mechanical Sympathy]

Kind gentlemen!

Update time - I'd love to go for a cruise!

I have issues. While I was happy when it fired in the shed, idled, revved (with some apparent tuning issues), it became obvious on its maiden voyage out of the shed under it's own power that something wasn't right. 

I checked the plugs and Lo and behold;

 

Low compression on number 1. Actually low on all 4

1. 85 psi 

2. 90

3. 100

4. 105

This was a luke warm test as compression seems to have deteriorated since the first fire and now it's hard to start at all.

 

The good news is everything is set up to plug and play now, and my Weber tuning skills are probably OK afterall.

I'll yank it out this weekend and have a reputable builder in mind to do a re-ring/re-bearing - nothing fancy.

 

Oh the trials and tribulations!

Thanks for your interest. It spurs me on. For so long I've put off house renos because I only wanted one project at a time, but I really can do both haha. You can see my shiny new roof above yay.

 

 

[ke70dave]

Well thats a bummer!

You sure the values are real? Although not entirely perfect they are within the ball park of being close together. have you used your compression gauge on other engines with success? how long has the engine being sitting? my old 4age that i bought from little red spirit had been sitting for years and years. Terrible compression results at first, but they came good after some running, and gave me like 5 years of service.

Great looking car by the way, will be worth the tribulations. 

I have managed to avoid doing rings or bearings in all my engines, I am actually looking forward to it if i ever need to. I might even rebuild a spare BMW engine just for fun, and prove i can do it, before i actually NEED to do it:P

 

Edited May 22, 2017 by ke70dave

[Mechanical Sympathy]

Bummer indeed. My $150 eBay long motor had been sitting for an undetermined number of years before I got it.

While the seller offered no guarantees, he did say that it came from a pretty flash looking Celica and was only pulled to go SR20, and that he had indeed intended to use it but just never got around to it. For $150 I didn't push him on more details.

I purchased the compression gauge specifically for this engine so I haven't tested it on a good runner. Certainly the results mirror the plugs, in that #1 seems to be the worst.

I had to wind in 20 degrees advance to get the engine to move the car without bogging down. At first I thought it was the Webers but it was suggested to me that indicated a weak motor.

On second thoughts, it probably hasn't deteriorated - moreso I've just leaned out the carbs and retarded the ignition back to normal settings.

I'm using BP5EY plugs. The only other thing I hadn't tried was maybe a different range, but the (admittedly cool) compression test probably told me that was pointless? I'd love for it to come good... I think I'll just pull it.

 

[ke70dave]

Presumably you are confident on your camshaft timing?

Perhaps some oil down each spark plug hole and a re-test will ensure its actually rings?

[Mechanical Sympathy]

Yeah, short of fitting the special service tool / cam key the cam timing appeared spot on. 

Futhermore valve clearances (measured while at operating temp) were all to spec and within range. 

All of the shims spun freely with no signs of chatter. No water in the oil, no oil in the water.

 

 

A few drops of oil before another compression test sounds like a good idea, to be sure. 

[Mechanical Sympathy]

Whereas these were the plugs I pulled when I first got the motor (in 1234 order). They gave me some confidence that the motor had been ok.

 

[Taz_Rx]

Did you comp test it properly, ie all plugs out and wide open throttle? 

[Mechanical Sympathy]

Fair call - all and any help appreciated!

No being a relative noob to engine troubleshooting, I pulled one plug at a time and didn't open the throttle.

In hindsight there's probably not much to compress in a vacuum. Though at least the results were repeatable (and repeated). 

Back to the shed this evening then for a re-test... with some luck a bit of residual gecko egg will fall off a valve seat, or something along those lines.

 

[ke70dave]

In my experience the throttle doesn't make much difference, but you really want all the spark plugs out so the engine spins as fast as possible. You want a good battery too, any slow down of the starter will drastically reduce your readings. 

[altezzaclub]

Do the full throttle bit-  You want the maximum air jammed in the cylinder & the highest rpm you can get.

About 5 turns will do it, but the guy holding the comp gauge will see it tail off.  Make sure the rubber bung on the gauge doesn't leak, the screw-in ones are more time-consuming but better.

[LittleRedSpirit]

I'm all for the 'ol oil and crank.  It might come good, it might not, but its easy to do and it worked for Dave.  Its a Toyota after all.  This kind of crap is why we love em.  $5 says it comes good, the motor maybe sat for years by the sounds...

 

Oh and I have a second comp tester if you want to verify.

Edited May 23, 2017 by LittleRedSpirit

[Mechanical Sympathy]

Mat I think I owe you $5. 

20ml of oil syringed down each plug hole with testing in the prescribed method and it blew this;

So I set the timing and it fired right up and ran happily, as if the rings had come unstuck from the pistons. I hope that's it resolved.

I should have posted my woes sooner. Thanks all! 

So, mod plate, roadie. 

[LittleRedSpirit]

I fucking love this.  Ill happily take your $5 knowing that you are the real winner though.

 

So there was the matter of a cruise?