2F engine health test - on a HF engine stand… (1 Viewer)

[jestlurnin]

Afternoon everyone,

I’ve had this 2F for about a decade. I honestly can’t remember why I bought it other than it was close and probably a good deal. I do remember the gentleman said it was a good runner with no issue. He pulled it to put in an Isuzu diesel.

Is there any way on gods green earth to test the health of this thing with out putting a starter on it and hooking said stater up to a battery and doing a compression test? Would what I described even work?

 

[whitey45]

I used to start them up on the ground, so easy, jump the starter solenoid, 12 volts to coil positive and some fuel supply! Literally pan on the ground! It will start and idle like its in the rig. I have even seen bbc on a stand fire up, but would rather be on the ground for safety reasons!

 

[whitey45]

Of cousre you will need an intake, carb, etc!

 

[mattressking]

Yes it is called a leakdown test.

 

[charliemeyer007]

Pull the plugs first and give them a shot of Marvel's Mystery Oil, let it soak for a day, to work on the rings. Hook up a direct read oil pressure gauge. I would invest in new oil and filter rather that circulate some unknown fluid. Bore scopes that plug into your phone are cheap enough to have a look.

Ok hook up starter to the battery and whirl it over until it builds oil pressure. Now test the compression - it will effectively be a wet test - better than risking issues from dry bores IMHO. Check the valve lash. Got a low pressure jug? Whack the valve in its plain of operation with a lead hammer just before TDC as the engine is rotating - maybe the compression blast will dislodge the deposit.

I bought a compression tester off Amoron for like $30. It has adapters to screw into the common sparkplugs threads - very handy when working alone.

I have little faith in most people opinion of "runs good" when they are trying to sell something, but maybe you will get lucky.

 

[jestlurnin]

@mattressking Ive been sitting on this bad boy for a second as well.

Hook it up and run the diagnostics no need to actually start it and perform a compression check? I did research on how to actually perform the leak down test when I purchased the leak down tester but want to confirm the leak down test will take the place of a compression test.

I gotta wrap my head around air escaping and from where.

Appreciate all the help gents. This is an outside the box project for sure!

 

[mattressking]

Each cylinder needs to be set at TDC when you perform the test otherwise yes air will escape from the valves for the cylinders that aren’t completely closed.

 

[LAMBCRUSHER]

As stated, it is possible to do a dynamic compression test on a stand. Heck, I've done em hanging the chunk in the air on a cherry picker. come to think about it; might be safer on the cherry picker than that HF stand. if you wanted to hedge your bets, attach a cherry picker to back up the engine stand...

Starter, battery, yank the plugs, and block the carb open - even better if the carb aint on.

Now if you were really brave, you could hook up a gas can and garden hose and fire it up!!!

 

[Roastchestnuts]

I used to start them up on the ground, so easy, jump the starter solenoid, 12 volts to coil positive and some fuel supply! Literally pan on the ground! It will start and idle like its in the rig. I have even seen bbc on a stand fire up, but would rather be on the ground for safety reasons!

did this with mine when I was testing everything.

 

[Grayscale]

My guess is that acceleration and deceleration of rotating engine parts will kick the block around by friction of the cold oil on bearing surfaces, spinning the engine. The ultimate would be a set-up capable of getting the motor hot, but, I don't know if that would work in my habitat.

 

[jestlurnin]

I really enjoy learning how to do new things on/for my cruisers. So I figure I might as well do a leak down test AND a compression test. Heck I have everything I think I need to do both.

@mattressking any reason to soak the cylinders with MMO prior to the leak down? With nothing really moving in the engine other than me rotating it to find TDC on the various cylinders it seem like it might be a waste but I’m a total rookie in this world.

Thanks again everyone.

 

[mattressking]

Engine oil is fine - if it’s frozen then sure try whatever you want!

Just note how tight it feels with plugs out - if it feels rough, oil it.

 

[pb4ugo]

I think I'd rotate the crank 2 revolutions by hand to confirm there are no internal restrictions, then pull the distributor and prime the oil pump with a drill.
The do a dry and wet compression test with the starter. I'd be looking for any weak cylders. Keeping in mind the compression is likely going to be down because it's been sitting for a decade or more, and the engine is cold. Any weak cylders, I'd probably do a simple leak down test listening for where the air is escaping.

 

[65swb45]

It's junk; I'll come over and haul it away for you.

Honestly, a leakdown test will only help tell you if it's bad; a compression test will help tell you if it's good. Another good indicator of whether it's had a good life/is in good health would be to drop the pan and look at the main/rod bearings. I'd be doing this on anything that I was planning to install regardless.

 

[Green Bean]

I stumbled upon this the other day. At about the 47:00 minute mark, they start the engine on the ground.

 

[65swb45]

I stumbled upon this the other day. At about the 47:00 minute mark, they start the engine on the ground.

Funny how Freiburger keeps coming up! I was just talking with @majdomo about him last month. I met Dave back in the mid 80’s, and we ran the first Rubithon together back in ‘89. He’s the one that wrote the article on the event

It’s a little mind-boggling to me that it’s been 35 years since that event happened.

 

[Michael Hanson]

Hi, In all the cruisers we have owned, I’ve never had a bad engine.Personally I’d put oil in each cylinder,let it sit for a week ,turn it over by hand a few times and instal it, and drive on.

 

[majdomo]

I stumbled upon this the other day. At about the 47:00 minute mark, they start the engine on the ground.

OT - Freiburger's YT channel is fantastic! Now that WB/Discovery has run MotorTrend into the ground, most of the hosts have started their own thing. I think Freiburger's is the best by far, but Finnegan has great content as does Tony Angelo.

@65swb45 apparently that was Freiburger's very first magazine article, which led to everything after that for his career in magazines and TV (and now streaming). Never know what's life-changing in the moment.

To OP's original question, check out that video, it's pretty cool to see a little Jeep 4-banger running from a gas jug on the ground!

EDIT - Just for kicks

 

[Grayscale]

I've heard of a cooling system pressure test. Obviously it needs a radiator, and a hose to close-off the heater loop, to perform it I'm not sure if that is relevant. A hot engine, just turned off gets water-hot and develops pressure. I've questioned if my current head gasket was pushing coolant out, as there was a stain on the outside of the block under the cylinder head that looked like dried coolant. But, a leak-down-test for the coolant could be a nice thing to have as a shop tool.