Sigh... please let my A4 start this time.

[JimG]

The gradually getting harder to start syndrome probably rules out wiring order, etc. When I bought my boat last decade, it was really tough starting, and it turned out to be the carb gasket leaking. Since I replaced the gasket, it starts within 5 seconds, even though it sits for 6 months at a time (another boat in a nicer sailing area!). I think my fuel is at least three years old (non-ethanol).

On my engine, full choke, push starter button, pump throttle lever once, bingo. Choke goes off in about 15 seconds.

I would think starting fluid would work with a bad gasket.

[rsanghera]

The saga continues...

New fuel in a gerry can. Disconnected the fuel line into the fuel pump, drained the bowl through the drain plug. Got the new fuel piped into the pump, and then drained a bit of the new stuff out the bottom of the bowl as well. -> no starting. Got a pop, but didn't catch.

After cranking for a while, I do get fuel back into the carb.

I pulled the plugs... they're wet with fuel. I went with Chef Neptune's baked plugs again. That kept them dry for a bit, but still no starting. All was with brand new fuel.

I checked the choke again, and all seems to be good there as well.

Per others' recommendations here, I rechecked timing. I feel the compression on #1, get the pin vertical, then looked at the rotor... pointing dead nuts away from the block. I'll lool for other methods to find TDC just to make sure I doing it correctly, but seems to be good.

Pulled the plugs and am getting spark, but they get wet quickly. Was thinking that the fuel mix is too rich, so I backed out the idle mixture screw about 4 turns... probably about 6 turns out now. Still now firing and the plugs still seem to be wet.

I like the thought above of disconnecting the fuel line and spraying small amounts of fuel... but where am I spraying the fuel?

Could something else be going on here with the stuck valve on #4 that could cause this reaction??

I took a celebratory beer down today thinking I'd have it solved with the new fuel, but I had to drink it in shame at the end of daylight instead. Sigh.

Appreciate the advice so far.

RICK

[sastanley]

Rick, so now that you are confident you've set timing correctly (thank you!), you need to fiddle.

Sometimes I've found that even though I think I have timing perfect, I need to spin the distributor a bit to get it to fire while the starter is running...then...set it so it will run, and you can fine tune the timing later. A few degrees makes a huge difference.

[rsanghera]

That's interesting. I'll give that a whirl.

[tenders]

You’ve had this engine a while and are sure you got those points and condenser in there correctly? How old is the coil, are you sure it wasn’t burnt out from leaving the ignition on too long while going through all this? Are you sure the carb is clean now that you’re using fresh gas? Are you sure the wires are on the cap the way they were when the engine was last running? (I had symptoms like yours a long time ago - no running - and it was because the wires were 180° out of sync.)

I think you’ve got a tiny thing misadjusted, taken for granted, and when you find it the engine will roar to life and you’ll smack your head at having overlooked that tiny thing.

[Dave Neptune]

CAUTION

Just because the piston of #1 is at the top of the stroke and the rotor is pointing directly away means nothing unless the piston is on the compression stroke AND the DISTRIBUTOR is in the STOCK position.

Take a good look at the timing again. Besure #1 is on the compression stroke and at the top of the stroke, then pull the distributor cap and SEE WHERE THE ROTOR IS POINTING!! where it points is where the #1 spark plug wire should be. Do give the rotor a twist and be sure it springs back to confirm the centrifugal advance is operational. I have only worked on a few A-4's that the distributor was actually installed in the stock position!!!!!!!

Dave Neptune

[CamaroMan]

any updates?

The distributor can sit in any gear requiring the rotor to be re positioned, on chevies the gear will only go in 0 or 180 degrees due to a flat slot, on other motors each gear tooth it a different position - as mentioned above CONFIRM the rotor is pointing to the correct wire at compression/power tdc (when the exhaust valve is closed).

Im having a non start issue as well - Ill prob be eating my words early in the morning!