On Thu, 19 Jun 2008 23:33:29 -0700, with neither quill nor qualm,
Gunner quickly quoth:

I mentioned having bought a 400 amp Miller multiprocess gas powered
welder a bit ago.

Its gota Continental F-163 4 cylinder engine in it.

I picked it up today, and took it to my shop, and started to putter
with it.

I pulled the plugs, sprayed PBlaster down the cylinders, and checked
the oil, looked good, the gas tank has about 1/4" of something that
was once gasoline..have to drain that, water isnt visible in radiator,
but could see where it splashed in the neck from hoisting and moving
the welder.

No battery, so after letting the Blaster work its magic for an hour, I
put a wrench on the nut on the end of the crank pully and tried to
turn it over. Nope.

Tried harder....nope

Stood on the wrench carefuly...nope

Bounced on the wrench...nope...

****...damned thing wont turn.

BTDT, my friend.


I may have flushed $600 right down the toilet.

Plugs looked ok, with a very fine patina of rust..almost not visible

I filled the cylinders with Pblaster and laid a rag over the open
holes. Tommorow Ill try it again.

What are the other options and possiblities? Generator bearings
frozen?
How would you check without splitting the engine off the genny? Not a
fun task from the looks of it...?

Pop the sheetmetal hood, then the engine head...after you find that
the following doesn't do any good. (read on)


Magnito/governor frozen? Waterpump frozen?

Disconnect anything which could stop it from turning: all the belts
(mine has just one for the water pump and alternator), the starter,
etc. Now will it turn?


There is a thingy that has a linkage from the carby and is bolted to
the side of the engine with a chaincase I think..one assumes thats the
magnito/governor?

Ayup. Mine has a bellows at the switch end with a shaft to the carb
linkage.


There is about 2300 hours total on this welder best reckoning...I may
have been well and truely ****ed..though the seller did promise to
give me my $600 back if it didnt work. He seems honest enough...shrug

Id like to give it the old college try though before going back hat in
hand and pleading my case

That's good.


As it turns out..the seller never ran it either..though the ad
(written by his son) said it had been in storage for 2 yrs..implying
it was running when put in storage. He got it from someone else who
bailed out of his shop, ahead of the bill collectors, leaving most of
his stuff behind, along with his wife and kids....

Ah, the trustworthy sort. Ditto the old **** who sold mine to me. He
said it had been running. I hadn't noticed that there was no muffler
at all until I took pics of mine for eBay. I should have realized that
meant probable rain in the engine before I bought it. And we all know
that rain in the exhaust system will get into the engine and rust
those rings solid. sigh


Claimed it had 851 hours on the Hobbs meter..true enough..but the "old
meter 1550" scratched into the paint never showed up in the
pictures....

All that besides the point..

True.


Any suggestions what to do next..visa vis diagnosing or getting this
thing to turn over?
Ill pull the starter to see if its hung, but getting to the water pump
etc etc is gonna be a real pain in the ass.

HELP!!!!

They're time-consuming beasties, Gunner. That's why I haven't gone
through mine. It has the Hercules flathead 6-cylinder engine.

Talk with any rebuilders in your area. Look for conversion plates so
you could hook up something like a 4-cyl Toyota engine to it. It'd
likely be cheaper and quicker than a full rebuild.

If not, just get your money back. shrug

--
Everything I did in my life that was worthwhile I caught hell for.
-- Earl Warren