Ford taunus not starting

[johnad]

Thanks for all the advice it's much appreciated I have ordered all the bits
New condenser, points, coil. Hopefully they are the correct ones
I also need to replace the fan belt but I'm not sure what one to order ?
Any ideas?

Sorry it's not that clear.
Oh and the distributor had a red cap.

 

[Mottie]

Belt here https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/Gates-Fan-V-belt-10-X-800-Mm-MAZDA-RX-7-II-1989-1991-6212MC/1523191718

Points are Intermotor 2273 and the condenser 3379 also on eBay.

That pre-crossflow engine would have originally had a Lucas distributor but it’s been changed for a later crossflow distributor. Wouldn’t do any harm fitting a later cross flow oil pump and filter either. The red distributor cap confuses me - that’s normally a Bosch distributor but you definately haven’t got one of those. You shouldn’t have a carbon brush on the distributor cap, on that distributor the rotor arm is sprung.

 

[johnad]

Thanks for that I have ordered the right condenser
I have also ordered these points

I only ordered because they looked the same and I had no part number
I may order some more intermotor ones just to be sure
I will order the fan belt tonight
Hopefully this will sort out my issue
Thanks for all the input

 

[DaveHerns]

30 odd years since I last had my hands on a set of those points. Some of them were rubbish and needed a bit of bending to line the points up properly.

 

[baldykev]

Remove ht/coil lead from dizzy cap and place about 4mm from engine block/earth with ING on open and shut points by a small screwdriver, should see a spark at points and from coil lead to earth(be careful ht lead high voltage)
if that's ok check brush in top of dizzy cap ,some rotor arms had a resistor fitted in them(across from middle of rotor to sweep point) they fail ,new rotor or you could try to solder a piece of wire across the resistor to prove a point some thing like the earth wire from 2.5 twin and earth.

 

[DaveHerns]

Doubt you'll have a resistor on a Motorcraft rotor arm, we're not talking anything fancy here.

 

[johnad]

Ok time for a update
I have been on the boat today fitted new coil, points, condenser, and a new set of plugs
Tested for spark all ok so far
But still nothing not even a pop or splutter
Tried easy start again and made sure fuel was getting to the carb
I'm stumped .?
So now two things spring to mind if the fuel getting to the carb is not burning could it be a valve issue I have had the rocker cover off to look and all the pushrods and tappets look like they are operating as they should
The other thing is I'm wondering if somehow I have got water in the system ?
I'm assuming this would cause my non fire issue even with a spark?

 

[Burnerman]

Disconnect the fuel line to the carb, place it in a bottle and crank the engine.....you should get a good squirt of fuel in pulses.
Then, air cleaner off, glug an egg cup full of neat fuel down the carb choke and crank again - you should get at least some life for a second or two.
I don't suppose there is an electrical connection onto the carb anywhere is there? Some variations of carb had a 12v fuel shut off valve.
I really don't suspect valve problems here.
John

 

[Mottie]

Does it sound like it has compression when turning it over? It used to be sometimes with these engines and the later cross flow engines that if it failed to start, too much fuel got into the cylinders and they suffered with 'bore wash' where the fuel washed the oil from the rings resulting in no compression. Cure was to take the plugs out, half a dozen squirts of oil from an oil can into each cylinder, spin it over with the plugs out for 10 seconds (this oiled the rings) then plugs in and away it went.

 

[DaveHerns]

These old Ford engines need to crank over at a fair speed to start if worn. What's your battery like?

 

[johnad]

I have no electrical connection to the carb
And it sounds like it always did when turning over so I'm assuming it has compression but I'm no expert but I will try putting a few drops of oil in the cylinders just to be sure I have tried everything
And the battery is good I have even had my 100amp 4x4 battery on there while I was playing with it
I'm down there again in the week I'm going to drain the fuel tank filter etc and make sure no water has got in as my filler cap is on the deck of the boat so it's possible I may have some water in the tank ??

 

[Burnerman]

Ye gods- we should have got somewhere by now
I'm just hoping that all of these replacement parts are compatible with one another.....I remember the Motorcraft distributor well but don't ever seeing a red cap, even as an aftermarket item. I also didn't trust Intermotor parts but that's only my opinion.
Wondering if there is a ballast resistor issue.....these systems used a 6v coil but 12v was applied to it when the engine was cranking, then reverting back through the resistor when the engine started. (Please correct me here gents, I'm getting on a bit )
Have you a meter that you can test for voltage at the coil when cranking and running?
Also give us a shot of the carb if you will - some (Solex) had a drain screw. You can test for any fuel contamination by cranking the engine with the fuel line pumping into a bottle.....any water stays at the bottom.
Lay out all of the spark plugs and check to see if each one is sparking....best if the engine is in the dark here.
John

 

[DaveHerns]

If it had a ballast resistor it would fire up when cranking over and stop when the key was released ( I think)
After an attempt at starting, are the plugs wet and do they smell of petrol?
I suppose the distributor hasn't come loose in the block and the timing slipped?

 

[Burnerman]

When cranking, the ballast resistor is bypassed, during normal running it comes back into circuit.
This means there are two outputs from the ignition switch, one for cranking and one for running.
Sometimes the resistor is incorporated in the wiring, rather than a separate device.
I'd be inclined to connect the coil +ve direct to the coil and give that a bash, but one step at a time!
Hoping the plug leads haven't been swapped over..."
John

 

[johnad]

I initially checked the coil voltage and checked for spark on each cylinder as everything pointed to a ignition issue
There is no ballast resistor
But at least by replacing the ignition parts I know for sure the spark is good etc
I doubt the timing has moved as surely I would still get a pop even if it didn't run
I didn't think to check to see if the plugs smell of petrol as I could see the fuel getting into the carb after removing the air filter but I'm now wondering if what I thought was fuel was indeed water being drawn up from the bottom of the tank ?
This is the only thing left that would explain my engine not fireing