I just recently bought a fishing vessel with a 88'(?) 454 big block. A couple weeks ago, we attempted to start the boat for a sea trial after the boat had been sitting all winter. We were not getting any spark, so the seller replaced the ignition coil and we attempted it again the next day (accounting for the tides needed for a launch). all though it started, it was quite difficult to get it going. We had about 10 minutes on the water for the seatrial and then pulled the boat out of the water. when we reached 2900 RPM's, the engine began to shudder and it was his belief that i needed to time the distributor, so i came back a week later and attempted to start it up but was not able to get the engine to fire.
The important info:
-Ignition coil, wires, plugs, distributor cap and starter replaced.
-Carburetor pulled apart and cleaned (jets in good condition & spraying fuel into butterfly valves)
The important processes:
-dumped fuel into carburetor on crank
-sprayed starting fluid into spark plug holes
-checked spark plugs for flooding (not evident)
-timed the distributor with a timing gun and aligned to harmonic balancer
-pulled plugs and connected to exhaust manifold to check spark (good)
-checked compression
The last two processes listed are where i am a little concerned. The spark plugs were visually checked by my deckhand so i cannot verify what color the spark was. The compression was done by the yard mechanic and i am not sure if he did the test correctly. In my humble research i found that you are to remove the ignition coil wire and turn the fuel pump off. These two things i am not sure if the mechanic did. He tested plugs 1,3,5, and 7, and found results of (approximately) 1-50psi, 3-25 psi, 5-75 psi, and 7-70psi.
1). I have in my hand right now a replacement pick up plate for an electric distributor to replace the one that is in there now. once i pulled the rotor off, there was an excessive amount of brown sediment in there from moisture intrusion and was afraid that part may be bad. Now that i am thinking about it, if that part was bad, would i still be getting the spark to the plug?
2). I know the compression is low, but everything i found in my research only accounts for engines that are running and at running temperature. does anyone have any experience with compression testing on cranking, and do these compression numbers still seem low?
I am a novice mechanic and have had 3 different "mechanical minds" look at this and they are all stumped. I am not sure if the cam shaft timing is off or perhaps the pistons are screwed, or if i should keep climbing down the rabbit's hole trying to fix a problem with the distributor that may not even exist. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Casey
The important info:
-Ignition coil, wires, plugs, distributor cap and starter replaced.
-Carburetor pulled apart and cleaned (jets in good condition & spraying fuel into butterfly valves)
The important processes:
-dumped fuel into carburetor on crank
-sprayed starting fluid into spark plug holes
-checked spark plugs for flooding (not evident)
-timed the distributor with a timing gun and aligned to harmonic balancer
-pulled plugs and connected to exhaust manifold to check spark (good)
-checked compression
The last two processes listed are where i am a little concerned. The spark plugs were visually checked by my deckhand so i cannot verify what color the spark was. The compression was done by the yard mechanic and i am not sure if he did the test correctly. In my humble research i found that you are to remove the ignition coil wire and turn the fuel pump off. These two things i am not sure if the mechanic did. He tested plugs 1,3,5, and 7, and found results of (approximately) 1-50psi, 3-25 psi, 5-75 psi, and 7-70psi.
1). I have in my hand right now a replacement pick up plate for an electric distributor to replace the one that is in there now. once i pulled the rotor off, there was an excessive amount of brown sediment in there from moisture intrusion and was afraid that part may be bad. Now that i am thinking about it, if that part was bad, would i still be getting the spark to the plug?
2). I know the compression is low, but everything i found in my research only accounts for engines that are running and at running temperature. does anyone have any experience with compression testing on cranking, and do these compression numbers still seem low?
I am a novice mechanic and have had 3 different "mechanical minds" look at this and they are all stumped. I am not sure if the cam shaft timing is off or perhaps the pistons are screwed, or if i should keep climbing down the rabbit's hole trying to fix a problem with the distributor that may not even exist. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Casey
