Guest jwill66 Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 i have a 66 chevy p/u with a straight six engine that i cannot get to run.it has a newer than original distributor on it,it has spark and i rebuilt the carb.it turns over but will not fire.I was trying to get it running this morning and all of the sudden it started turning over much slower,but not like the battery was dying as i was jumping it with my other truckSo i have to questions for anbody who might be able to help.1 can i seize the engine by just turning it over? 2 will the truck just not start if the oil pump is not working, or plugged?:confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhb1999 Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 Make sure you have oil pressure while cranking. how did it sound when it was running if it was NOISY it may not have had any (some instrument panels on these trucks have an oil pressure guage, others don't) install one. If noisy did you turn it off right away? Check oil level. How old is your battery? Check clamp connections, are they tight? Did it have 12-14 volts at the coil? What shape are the cap, rotor, plugs and wires? Just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jwill66 Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 it has never run. so i've just been turning it over trying to get it to start,but like i said it just started to turn over slow like it was going to seize up. the battery is new, and i had jumper cables hooked to my other truck at the time. the cap and rotor have not been replaced but they both look fine. ive pulled a spark plug from different cylanders and have spark to them.i left it for a while after what i thought was the seize up,and it turned over again,but i just cant get it to fire. i read that maybe the exhaust might be blocked but i disconnected it at the manifold and that did not help.i have not checked all the plug wires to make sure they all spark.i put a new coil in as i've said but never checked the voltage at the coil,just assumed being new it was good.even if i spray starter fluid in were the spark pluge screw in i cant get it to fire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhb1999 Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 Do the cylinders have good, and even compression? If they are low, it could be hard to start, or not at all. Is the firing order correct? but even if just two wires are crossed, it should start, but run rough. depends on how many are out of sync. If worried about seizing the engine, install a oil pressure guage, even just cranking it, the needle should move some, showing the oil pump is working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bob Call Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 A Chevy 6 is a very simple engine and should be easy to start. First read my last paragraph then come back to here. Check for fuel. Remoe the air cleaner and work the throttle linkage by hand while looking down into the carb. You should be able to see a small squirt of gas from the accelerator pump when you move the throttle to fully open. If no gas, loosen the fuel line forn the fuel pump to the carb. Bump the starter over and you should get gas through the line. If not, either the lines are blocked or the fuel pump is bad. If no gas flow I would suspect the line from the fuel tank to the fuel pump especially since it has been some time since the truck has been running. If you have gas through the carb, then go to the electrical.Pull the spark plug in the #1 cylinder, front cylinder, and press your finger or thumb over the spark plug hole and have your helper to bump over the starter until the compression pressure pushes your finger off of the hole. Then line up the timeing mark on the harmonic balancer by turning the engine with the nut on the crakshaft. When marks are aligned, remove the distributor cap. The rotor should be pointing the #1 plug wire in the cap. Check that all plug wires are in the correct order. Firing order is 1-5-3-6-2-4 and the distributor rotor turns clockwise. Since #1 plug is out, with the distributor cap back on and the plug wire attache do the plug put the plug on top of the engine and watch the gap as you crank the starter, You should see the spark junp the gap if all is well. If you have spark to the plugs the timing is close enough it should start.If it is still not cranking right, the starter may be dragging due to worn bushings. Time to replace the bushings or swap a rebuilt starter.If all this fails, I would next look at valve timing. Pull the rocker arm cover and while cranking the starter observe the rocker arms that they all appear to be moving full travel. If none of them move you have a broken timing chain or broken timing sprocket. If this is the case parts of the broken chain and/or sprocket could be binding and giving the effect of the engine seizing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bob Call Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 I reread your post and I see you said it has newer than original distributor. Then are you sure it is the correct distributor? If I remember right the Chevy 6 oil pump is driven by the distributor. So, if the truck doesn't have an oil pressure gauge on the instrument panel, find the sending unit on the engine block and remove it. Get a mechanical gauge, fitting and oil line at a parts store and install it. The might have a gauge that has the same fitting on the back as the original sending unit and the gauge can be screwed directly into the engine block. Then crank the starter and see if the guage moves. If it does not move it could be that the distributor is not engaging the oil pump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhb1999 Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 I agree. I put together one of these engines, but it was a long time ago. One thing I failed mention, was checking to see if it was getting gas. I'm thinking the distributor could be the HEI version, and the oil pump IS driven by it. If he can't get oil pressure with a guage, maybe the intermediate shaft guide which is plastic is broke, which is rare. Using your thumb is an good and quick way to check compression, I've done this myself at junkyards with a long ratchet. The engine uses timing gears, but no chain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bob Call Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 Is the timing gear resin impregnated fabric or solid nylon? Could pieces of this be binding the engine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhb1999 Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Is the timing gear resin impregnated fabric or solid nylon? Could pieces of this be binding the engine?Good thought, Bob. I don't know. I wouldn't think that they would use a timing gear made from these materials in '66, BUT who knows. OR someone may have replaced them with ones like these some time in the past, but I would think the steel gears would last a long time?, but maybe not 40+ years. Unless the engine was rebuilt in the past and the steel ones were replaced with these. Are the resin impregnated/nylon gears something the aftermarket came up with for this engine? The one I worked on had steel gears (engine had not been rebuilt)and they were in good shape and this was a 1978 engine, but this was '83-'84. But if indeed the gears are made of these materials and pieces have come off the gears, and they got between the gears, maybe it could explain the "turning over slower" condition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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