Need Lister spill timing help

[George Andreasen]

Well, just for the heck of it I took the plunge and bought one of those Indian Lister clones, but need some help. The original injector pump was faulty and has been rebuilt. I reinstalled it on the engine and now comes the problem. I've researched every site I can find on how to spill time a simple diesel and they all give wonderful instructions except for one detail.......what in the world is the objective ??? I ASSUME (love that word) that you're trying to time the pump so that it is just starting to push fuel at the proper distance BTC, but nowhere is this stated that I can find. They also mention watching for the fuel to STOP pumping at a certain point.........all very confusing. If someone could just tell me what I'm trying to accomplish and at which point, I can get this iron monster chugging! Thanks guys!

[Patrick McNallen]

Them best information source that I know of for Indian Listers is www.utterpower.com. Spill timing is specifically discussed in there somewhere. I have an "Ashwamegh" brand 6-1 that has been a very good engine so far. It looks good inside and out and it ran well right out of the crate, and came with some simple tools, a manual, and a complimentary rubber criquet ball and wooden bat. It is not very well balanced, but I plan to remedy that eventually using the method laid out in the above website. It needs a little more weight in the flywheel counterweight area, which I determined by clearing the shop area and carefully putting C-clamps on the flywheels and running the engine. A couple of 3" C-clamps on each side in the counterbalance area made it run much smoother, but it is much too dangerous to leave them on there, since they would likely fly off and kill someone before long, or else snag someone's britches and tear a leg off.

[George Andreasen]

Patrick,
Thank you for your quick reply! I'm pretty familar with George's site (even spoke to him on the phone...nice guy) and sent him an email on this. Even his instructions assume the reader already knows what the objective is, so that bit is missing. I've noticed the same thing on other sites too. I'd like to get this one timed and running to check its balance and learn more about it. If it's half as much fun as our antique engines, it'll be worth the wait ! George

[Patrick McNallen]

The Lister injection timing figure is 18 to 20 degrees before top dead center. More details are given on the UP websitementioned above. I'd be inclined to go with 20 degrees, since your new engine will probably wear in pretty quickly and that will probably cause the timing to slip a degree or two. You should be able to prime your engine's fuel system by hand cranking it. First, fill the fuel tank and let gravity prime the lines and filter, which may have a bleed screw on top, up to the injector pump. when you are sure they are free of air, connect everything up and then disconnect the high pressure injection line at the injector in the head. Then crank the engine over until you get a positive, bubble-free feed of fuel at that point. The engine will crank easily with the decompressor engaged, and a few minute's cranking or less should get fuel to the open end of the line. Keep in mind that the injector pump is a very low volume pump, so it may take some cranking to get fuel to the end of the line. If you don't get fuel after a few minutes of cranking, or if it shows evidence of air bubbles, even tiny ones, go back and re-prime everything, paying special attention to the filter. I haven't tried to time my engine, but I suspect that the adjustment under the injuector pump mounting is pretty touchy, and you will probably need to use good quality, American made wrenches in that tight space under the injector pump. Using rubber wrenches that could damage the parts could leave you with a real headache. When you get the fuel system primed and the injector timed, the engine should start easily in all but the very coldest weather. These engines run best with a load, and using a thermostat to keep the water jacket temperature up around 195 F is a good idea. Thermo syphon cooling works well, and a few feet of head in the cooling system is probably a good idea to prevent steam pockets. I'd recommend that you read all the info on the UP website about the governors on these engines, and be sure that you are familiar with the shut down lever on the engine and exactly how to use it and when. Also, take time to bolt your engine down to something heavy, solid and secure, like a concrete floor or a heavy steel skid, before you start it. These engines aren't intended to be run without being bolted down securely. They can, and will, jump up and down, walk around, and turn themselves over and wreak sheer havoc if they are not tied down properly before they are started.

[ListerDiesel]

Originally Posted by George Andreasen

Well, just for the heck of it I took the plunge and bought one of those Indian Lister clones, but need some help. The original injector pump was faulty and has been rebuilt. I reinstalled it on the engine and now comes the problem. I've researched every site I can find on how to spill time a simple diesel and they all give wonderful instructions except for one detail.......what in the world is the objective ??? I ASSUME (love that word) that you're trying to time the pump so that it is just starting to push fuel at the proper distance BTC, but nowhere is this stated that I can find. They also mention watching for the fuel to STOP pumping at a certain point.........all very confusing. If someone could just tell me what I'm trying to accomplish and at which point, I can get this iron monster chugging! Thanks guys!

George:

Have a look at:

http://www.oldengine.org/members/die...es/diesel1.htm

and:

http://www.oldengine.org/members/die...s/rrchapt6.htm

(half-way down the page on that second reference)

Peter

[George Andreasen]

Peter, Patrick.....Sorry I didn't respond sooner. We had a fiber optic cable cut here in northen California and it shut down ALL dsl and digital traffic until about 8:45PM.
A tremendous thanks to both of you! Between you and George Breckiridge at Utterpower, the light finally came on. The object is to have the pump just START to push at 20 degrees BTC, then rotate back to make sure it STOPS delivery. Simple enough and what I suspected, just couldn't find the "explanation hidden in the explanation". I have the engine mounted on two 3" steel I beams, welded to 2" x 4" heavy box channel and I plan on piling about 300 lbs. of iron on the frame to help keep it anchored. My buddy will be standing there with a CO2 extinguisher when we start up. If it shows any "unruly" behaviour and the governor rack cut off doesn't work, he'll shoot the air cleaner cutting off the oxygen. It might be a few days, but I'll post results. Thanks again!