help me get this @#$%! thing started!!!!

[wanderer]

so, a little back story... i have a 712amb that is pretty much my daily driver, and has been for the last year. it gets all its routine maintenance, all is well. then hurricane sandy hit, and the truck wouldn't start. i figured water had got in somewhere, and i was right. took off my distributor cap and the inside was soaked. dried it out, truck ran fine for a few weeks.
since then, i rebuilt the fuel pump, everything went smoothly(minus damaging the tappet guide and ordering and replacing that) but after reinstall, the truck wouldn't start again. after multiple tries(figuring that it takes time to get fuel back into the system) my batteries died.... after charging them and trying again, still no start, but it was trying. i had a nice sized flame shoot out of the rear carb (air filter and all taken off cause i was gonna re sync the carbs) and then was noticing a burning electrical smell. took off the distributor cap, and it was soaked again....dried it, still nothing. i'm not really sure where to go from here...., any help is appreciated.

[Jimm391730]

First things I would assume are:

1. Water in gasoline. Drain/filter/refill tank, or discard bottom 1/4 tank and add water absorber ("HEET" or similar). Drain carb bowls, too. Gotta start with known good gas.

2. Distributor wet AGAIN? Where is water coming from? WD-40 the heck out of the dizzy to dry off points, rotor, and cap (inside and out). Spark won't go where it is supposed to if water can re-direct it. Did you get the cap on correctly? Firing order correct (did you pull the wires off the cap)?

Best of luck.

[edzz]

Water in oil?

[Roverchef]

Coat everything inside the dizzy w/ diode grease or 'ol school vasoline. H2O can't get through the goo but voltage can. Also grease ALL plug wires on both ends and every electrical connection you can find. This is an old trick when we would submarine our rigs in the swamps and really damp weather. Good luck!

[krick3tt]

I use a dielectric grease. It is military surplus stuff. Numbers on the can are 9150-12-120-5637, 1931 F, Batch 1-H, 1 CN-100 gr, 05/89
Might be able to find it on line or at a surplus store. Got mine from a guy at NWMF years ago.

[Bulldawg]

Just a couple of questions. 1. military dist or civi?
2. did you check for any fine cracks in cover?

[CentAr712]

You can get the dialectric grease at any auto-parts store, I recommend it as well. I use it often.

[Stekay]

Assuming you have the big three (air, fuel, spark) and since you say the truck is "trying to start" I'd give a good look at that pesky Molex connector to make sure you don't have an intermittent spark situation.

[westernair]

Also check your fancy new coil (you did recently change over to a civi kit correct?).
Not on a pinz but on several air cooled VW's I have had this problem.

Ground loops for some reason have the tendancy to kill Bosch coils

[krick3tt]

Check the wire going to and coming from the radio suppressor. Mine had been reduced to one single wire in the stranded wires and did not carry enough juice to start.
So many places to check it can get to the point of asking 'Why do I even want to have this thing?' When you eventually find the issue and it runs again it will be worth it.

[westernair]

So many places to check it can get to the point of asking 'Why do I even want to have this thing?' When you eventually find the issue and it runs again it will be worth it.

Words I say almost daily.
At one time I switched my car stable to only classics in an attempt to keep things simple, I drove air cooled vw's daily for almost 10 years. I have sense came to and have added a "modern" car to the fleet to keep my insanity in check. Good luck figuring it out, you will have a new found feeling of confidence each time you figure out one of these problems.

[wanderer]

ok, i just want to say thanks, i greased all the electrical contacts, and it worked. started right up. then while resyncing the carbs, i noticed fuel continually leaking down the throat of the front carb, so i added a washer to the float needle, and it stopped leaking in the front but not in the rear, could that just be that my driveway is slanted? or is there another reason that it would fix one side and not the other? i have a stock fuel pump, so pressure shouldn't be the issue.

[Jim LaGuardia]

Clean or replace the leaking float valve, make sure it is seated on the housing and also secure any loose float screws

[wanderer]

ok, so here's my newest question...

i'm in the process of doing a valve adjustment, and on the #2 cylinder the exhaust valve pushrod is spinning, is this normal/ok? or is something broken?

p.s. i'm learning as i go, never really been the mechanic type, but it's actually really enjoyable doing the work myself.

[steyr phil]

not familiar on this type of engine but normaly engines have the camsaft then a lifter then pushrod , the lifters are offset to the camshaft lobe to help parts wear evenly , hence why the pushrod might be turning