Having trouble with the 455

[Schober Motorsports]

Hello everyone,

Well I got my 455 fired up about 2-3 weeks ago and I had everything working great! It started up no problem, it would rev up no problem, not even a backfire! I thought I was ready to go for racing season and I started focusing on other parts of the car (Rear End, Interior, Etc) and everything would be great. So I get home from school today figuring that I would start it up, maybe warm it up and make sure that everything is working good since I hadn't really let it run for a while and I really wanted to hear it! So I get it starting to turn over and it fires up. I let it warm up for a few minutes and then I give it a few revs... It dies on me. So I figured that maybe it wasn't warmed up, so I start it right up again and a few minutes later I try to rev it up and it backfires like a mother. So I attempt to set the timing, I turn the harmonic balancer to 0 degrees and stick a screwdriver into #1 cylinder spark plug hole and the piston is all the way down! I couldn't believe it! I turn over the engine and check again, and sure enough it takes the whole screwdriver! I put the spark plug back on and I start it up. I use my timing gun to figure out when its firing and when I would see it at the balancer, it would just be at a random spot, not even close to the factory mark. So I make my own mark thinking that my balancer is spun and I go off that. I use that to put a few degrees of advance in it and try again. I get it fired up and watch that balancer, and that mark I made just starts to move on its own, very very slowly... After checking that the key in the balancer wasn't broken I ruled that out.

Guys, please help me out! I was really hoping to get my car ready for the bracket racing season that'll be starting in the coming weeks, thanks
Oh and sorry for the long thread.

 

[High Roller]

If your gonna be racing, Rocket Racing Performance for a BHJ balancer $359

Part Number: OL-EB-7

* Fits Oldsmobile Gen II V8
* External Balance
* 6.6" O.D.
* 3.19" Overall Length
* 7.8 lbs. Gross Weight
* Billet Steel Construction
* SFI 18.1 Certified

 

[billyjack]

Yank the distributor and make sure the roll pin that pins the drive gear to the shaft is not sheared. I had this happen 30 years ago on a Buick motor, and it took many hours to find it. We'd set the timing and everything would appear to be OK. Take it for a drive and the timing would be off. The friction of the sheared pin would keep the gear from moving more than a few degrees every time it ran. It's one of those things you'll never forget, considering the time invested chasing the problem.

Bill

 

[krazykyle]

sounds like the problem make sure the distributor is tightend down also.maybe you can check it by pulling off the cap and see if you can spin the rotor by hand.if it moves the pin is gone.

 

[gto78]

When you set the crank/balancer at 0 degrees "Top Dead Center" it shouldn't matter what the distributor is doing- the piston should be at it's top dead center no matter what. I like the sheared roll pin theory and it may be broken, but that doesn't explain the piston not being at top center when the balancer is at 0 degrees.

Can you put something in the cylinder and slowly turn the crank and watch the piston push all the way up, then figure out where top cener is, and then look at your timing mark on the balancer.

Also not to sound like a smart *ss, but you are certain which cylinder is #1 right?

 

[Schober Motorsports]

Alright, I'm in the process of getting a new harmonic balancer, so that'll be taken care of.

Now as for the distributor, I replaced the one that was in there with one that I found in the garage that was once on the motor. I was getting spark from that and everything. Now the problem now is that I can't get it to start. It wants to start so damn bad, but everytime it gets a fire, it dies. So I cannot get it started or else it'll act as if its about to die... I tired moving the distributor without any luck... Is it possible that the timing chain could of jumped a few teeth? The engine only has about 20 hours on it at the very most...

Thank you all for the help so far!

 

[anakputa]

Points or HEI? HEI check the coil and the ground thats inside the coil. See if you have 12Volts to coil at all times. Have a Tach? Try disconnecting that too. Any more information??

 

[olds307 and 403]

That chebby orange is killing it . Sorry, I just had to.

 

[FE3X CLONE]

Are you sure the distributor isn't 180 degrees out?

 

[Schober Motorsports]

Its an HEI distributor. I'll double check the coil later. Now that I think of it, I would be a good idea to double check if its 180 out or not... I'll update later if I get any luck!