Jeep Engine Build

[soltz]

"You're Never Too Old To Screw Up" Indeed!!

[05snopro440]

Originally Posted by bob w

Pulled the head this morning. And, of course some blood was spilled. Just a little.

I used a MLS head gasket for the first time. For those of you that are unfamiliar, it is a multiple layer head gasket. The layers are held together with rivets. I assumed the rivets must compress when torqueing the head. Wrong! The rivets are supposed to be removed. Left in place, they acted as stand offs so the sealing surfaces never met. Hence, little compression. Luckily, no damage.

The $250 custom made push rods that were too short might not be when the head gasket is properly compressed.

Also, I picked up a pair used slicks. 9" wide by 30" tall. They are an inch and a half narrower than the ones on the car. Don't need 'em that wide for the little 6 cylinder.

You might need the wider slicks now that your compression won't be going out the sides.

We've all done as dumb or dumber, I'm sure.

[Torchie]

Torchie

[Old Iron]

Definitely an issue. I like the MLS head gaskets and the rivets are on the outside of the sealing surface on the ones I've use.

[bob w]

Originally Posted by Old Iron

Definitely an issue. I like the MLS head gaskets and the rivets are on the outside of the sealing surface on the ones I've use.

I didn't bother to check. I assumed the rivets were placed where they would do no harm. Three of the 5 rivets have to be removed.

[bob w]

The head gasket issue is resolved. The custom push rods I bought are too short. I made a mistake. Remeasured and ordered some inexpensive ones from Summit. They don't work either. The balls on the ends are too large and do not nest in the cup area on the rocker and the lifter. So, it's back to Smith Brothers for some expensive ones. Pretty much got the rest of the car together. I'll finish the engine and good or not, it is going to lay dormant for the fall/winter. Tired of it.
Here's some shots of it before the cover goes on. One with a tall scoop and one with a more reasonable scoop.
Matthew has designed a turkey to go on the doors. "Gaspar Gobbler" Pretty cool.
Now that winter is approaching it's time to get the roadster out. Huh??? Going to try fine tuning the TV cable to improve the shift points. Kinda forgot what it looks like, sitting in a dark corner of the back garage.

[bob w]

The beat goes on. And on, and on.
First, let me introduce you to Gaspar Gobbler, the turkey my 11 year old grandson painted on the Crosley door. Not quite finished yet.

Second, I cannot get the Jeep engine to fire. I've done all the usual stuff. Key factor seems to be very low compression. Like 70 psi. I put compressed air in through the spark plug holes and get major leakage into the crankcase. Indicating leakage by the rings. All parts are new. I've assemble dozens of engines. Never had this experience before. The engine doesn't create enough "suck" to pull gas from the carb.

Has anyone else experienced this?

[Bamamav]

Rings stuck? A open valve would let air leak out the exhaust or intake.
Have you tried putting a little oil or transmission fluid in the cylinders to see if the compression comes up? I've done that while checking compression on a used motor. Check a cylinder dry first, then put in some oil and check again. If it reads higher, the rings are stuck or worn out. Yours are new, so unless they are undersized, I'd say they stuck over the winter.

[zzrodder]

That's a head scratcher for sure... Incompatibility between the grade of the hone finish and the rings? Chrome rings can be finniky, cast rings also require a specific hone grade, moly rings are most commonly used because they set quickly and are more forgiving. I know you've done this before, but it matters how you clock the end gaps on the top rings and even on the oil ring scrapers and spacer, different engines recommend different positioning, not familiar with Jeeps...
Oh, Gaspar is super cool, the kid is an artist!!

[Old Iron]

Valves not completely seating and also make sure the cam is dialed in correctly.