Why do I have high fuel pressure...

[patrickt]

Well, that looks pretty good to me.

[steve meltzer]

and why won't it crank? did with same stuff before all of this. ?? redherring= bad battery?? s

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by steve meltzer

and why won't it crank? did with same stuff before all of this. ?? redherring= bad battery?? s

If the engine can turn freely (and we'll just assume it can), and the starter motor is good, and installed correctly, then the only things it can possibly be are 1) bad/low battery; 2) bad cables or bad connections; or 3) bad starter solenoid. A voltage drop test will finger #2 and #3 in short order.

[cdnus]

Do you have a starter or firewall mounted solenoid?

[Gaz64]

How much gap between the pinion and the ring gear while not engaged?

Why does the manufacturer want to add a shim?

Doesn't look like going back enough for me.

Mesh doesn't look deep enough either.

Can you give some more photos, straight on with the pinion, and at 90 degrees?

Gary

[patrickt]

I posted the Ford mesh pattern from the Shop Manual back on Page 5 of this thread. But, FWIW, the MSD APS starter instructions for the Ford FE call for:

INSPECT PINION GEAR
After cranking the engine several times, you can inspect
the witness pattern on the pinion gear. The pattern should
show 1/4" to 3/8". If over, the internal shim is required.

http://www.jegs.com/InstallationInst...1/121-5093.pdf

[steve meltzer]

OK, I made an error in saying that the battery lead goes to VR. Of course it goes to the firewall mounted solenoid. With the starter at rest the pinion gear is proud to the flywheel, right? The starter is at the shop at the moment, so I don't have the pictures requested. But judging by the witness marks, it's really OK, so I don't really understand why the Powermaster guy wanted me to put in a shim between the starter and the block. I'm having a hard time visualizing this, but such a shim would move the pinion gear deeper into the flywheel's teeth, right? I do believe that the distance between the front of the backing/flex plate and the forward most part of the flywheel's teeth, is 0.6 inches, as I recall. s

[patrickt]

It looks good enough for me. I say button it all up and, if won't turn the engine, do a voltage drop test on both the positive side and the negative side of the circuit. I've seen starter solenoids like ours rob a nice bit of current from the starter motor. Dodgy cables and connectors, too.

[patrickt]

Alright, we still haven't made it back to your carburetor problem, but I'm going to offer up this tidbit just to tuck in the back of your mind, for what it might be worth, which just might be nuthin'. Last winter, when my car was just sitting in the garage, minding her own business, the Holley sprung a leak somewhere on the front fuel bowl/metering block area. You couldn't really tell where it was coming from but it left a nice trail on the intake manifold. No big deal, I hadn't had the bowls off in years, so I just changed out all the gaskets, and needle/seats too, on both sides of the carb, mind you, buttoned her back up, filled the bowls through the vents, no leaks - hurray, and waited for spring. I always document everything I do with hi-res pics for future reference, so I had plenty of shots on the camera. This summer, the leak returned. Slow, at first (I was even going to live with a small Holley leak), but then it became an ounce or two pooling . Hmmm, crappy gasket switch out by me? Naaah, done it a million times -- I suspected a warped metering block, so I just ordered a new one from Summit, and some jets, and idle mixture screws, I had a new PV sitting in the parts bin. When I pulled the old metering block off, it passed the straight edge test, but on closer inspection, I found a nice sized crack on the perimeter. When I went back and checked my pictures from the winter, the crack was there... I just missed it. My particular vintage of metering block was manufactured during a period when Holley had some QC problems (2005/2006) on some of its metering blocks and internal components -- that's well documented on the Holley forums. You can see from the pic below, which was from last winter, that the ethanol gas causes flaking (requiring air bleed blast outs). You can also see the hairline crack that I missed last year, but was able to band-aid fix with new gaskets, for a few months at least. Now remember, that crack just sprung up out of nowhere; it's not like I was tightening the bowl screws or anything. And it was actually pretty easy to see, if you were paying attention. Good thing I don't make a living as a radiologist. That crack actually goes all the way through and around and in to the idle mixture screw housing. I had even replaced that gasket because I thought it was leaking as well. The point is, if your carburetor was made around 2005/2006, it may have some components in it that are literally falling apart. The internal components all came from different manufacturers, and some had serious QC problems. So, if we set up your carburetor "perfectly," and it is still causing bizarre behavior, then we need to keep that in mind and be on the lookout for maybe a single piece in your carburetor that may be literally crumbling away on you.

[steve meltzer]

Pat, that's amazing and interesting. Good job on the sleuthing! tried last weekend to stab the tranny, but was unsuccessful, but think we'll have it back together this weekend. Got the starter in there perfecty, by removing the internal shim on the powermaster. Paint marks were great. I bought a Porsche 911 Carrera so I think the Kirkham will soon be going to a new home. argggh.... after all this work, but i've run out of room. steve

[steve meltzer]

OK, got the tranny stabbed and car on the road...excellent on the road, but scary, terrible at low/idle speeds....stuttered, stammered, sputtered and died at the lights. Home and tucked away until I can fix the intake oil leak and I think the sh***ty running is due to a carb issue, ?? stuck float but I think it's too rich. How do you diagnose a leaky/bad PV? thanx steve

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by steve meltzer

OK, got the tranny stabbed and car on the road...excellent on the road, but scary, terrible at low/idle speeds....stuttered, stammered, sputtered and died at the lights. Home and tucked away until I can fix the intake oil leak and I think the sh***ty running is due to a carb issue, ?? stuck float but I think it's too rich. How do you diagnose a leaky/bad PV? thanx steve

The classic method for checking for a leaky/blown power valve on your 3310 is to get the engine up to normal operating temperature and then you turn the two idle mixture screws all the way in. The engine should die when you do this. If it doesn't, then there's a problem because it means the engine is getting fuel from somewhere else other than the idle circuit. How about this -- When the engine is idling, and the air cleaner is off, do you still see the "white tornado" thingy? Or for that matter, do you see any fuel coming out of the boosters, either primary or secondary, when just idling or when you turn the car off?

[steve meltzer]

it'll be awhile 'till i get to that...too many other projects, but I'll check it out and eventually, post the findings. thanx, once again. s

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by steve meltzer

it'll be awhile 'till i get to that...too many other projects, but I'll check it out and eventually, post the findings. thanx, once again. s

No problem. For right now, if you see any fuel dribbling out of the boosters while either idling, or when you shut the engine off, set the floats down a little extra lower for that side -- we can always fine-tune them at a later date. Then blow out your air bleeds, all eight of them, with carb cleaner and chase it with a blast of air from your compressor, say around 40psi or so. Have both idle mixture screws backed out about one and a quarter turns from seated, and then give us a driving report. Crap in the air bleeds is the absolute #1, no doubt about it, happens every day, cause of poor off-idle and low speed performance on your Holley.

[steve meltzer]

i just can't resist that old joke, but how exactly do I "crap in the air bleeds"? Seems like that would be awkward. (Meltzer's rule: always go for the cheap joke!) s

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by steve meltzer

i just can't resist that old joke, but how exactly do I "crap in the air bleeds"? Seems like that would be awkward. (Meltzer's rule: always go for the cheap joke!) s

Uh-huh. patrickt's rule: Always get the fee first.

[patrickt]

I finally got around to actually replacing the little secret hidden set screw that Holley uses to control the opening of the secondaries on our 4160 carbs. I could adjust the existing set screw with a special right angle screwdriver, but it was a real PITA. So, I replaced it with a nice 10-32 cap screw with a spring and washer. On a big FE stuffed in to a Cobra, cracking the secondaries makes a huge difference. I know you're busy on other stuff, but I thought I'd post a pic of it for the benefit of anybody with a Holley who has idle problems when the engine gets nice and hot. Cracking open the secondaries is almost always the solution, and putting in an easily accessible cap screw, instead of monkeying with the hidden set screw, makes it quick and easy to adjust. Holley really should have built them this way to begin with.

[steve meltzer]

Patrick, thanx again and Happy Thanksgiving. steve