Engine running hot
 

So the previous owner of the '69T with a 71 2.2 that I just got claims that the oil temp would get very hot when driving in the summer. Im not sure exactly how hot but I get the impression it was probably approaching the safe limit. I haven't had the chance to fire up the engine yet as I am still rebuilding the carbs and sorting out the fuel system after the car has sat for more than a decade. I am concerned with how much force I am having to exert with a wrench on the crank pulley to get it to turn over by hand. Is there any real benchmark test I can perform to determine if something isn't right with the engine?

To give you guys a reference of the amount of force it takes to turn over by hand, I usually have to put 2 wrenches end to end to initially start the engine moving, then I can keep it turning with a single wratcheting wrench (about 10 inches long) using moderate force on the wrench. Does this seem about right or should it be easier to turn over?

How does it turn over with the spark plugs removed? Shouldn't be difficult.

I had a 2.0 in early 80s that the cast iron cylinders would go dry and be a bear to turn.

Bruce

The description above is with 6 plugs removed. My concern is that given that it has run hot in the past, perhaps the mag case is warped creating heavy drag on the crank.

Perhaps it has a little more drag now after having sat for a decade, maybe after I get it running things will free up a bit.

To Bruce's point, it make sense to put some WD40 or Marvel's Mystery Oil in the sparkplug holes to help break up the rust in the cylinders.

I did spray a bunch of WD40 in each of the cylinders prior to rotating the engine. I even went as far as borescoping each cylinder to look for rust and didn't see any. So now my focus is on why is it fairly stiff to turn over and is it possible that it if quite normal on an engine that has sat for so long.

How much did you spray in? I wouldn't be surprised to use most or all of a can to lube up all 6 cylinders.

Another thought - did you bore scope all 6 cylinders? One may be worse than the others. I recall disassembling a 2L years ago, and found one cylinder to be quite rusted compared to the others. Maybe some water got in there, or the engine happened to stop with a valve wide open so humid air got in? In case you have a similar situation, it could be helpful to know which cylinder to focus on.

Lubed each cylinder generously and borescoped each one. No rust in any of the cylinders. The real effort is to make the initial movement of the engine, after that I can turn it with medium force using just a standard wratcheting wrench on the crank pulley.

I believe that I would keep adding a light lubricant to the cylinders as I turned it over. Could be that it's the 2nd compression ring or an oil ring that's hanging up and you might need to put quite a bit of lube to free it up. Also, is the oil tank hooked up with oil in it so you're getting some gravity forcing oil into the oil pump. If not, you could use a long hose and a step ladder.

I've drained the old oil (which looked very clean) and put new oil and filter. I have cranked the engine using the starter with the plugs out and had oil coming out from the small holes near the rockers. I may be over analyzing this whole situation and there is nothing to worry about but I would rather be sure.

I would really like to check the compression on this motor to see if the hot running conditions have caused any issues. Is there any harm in doing the test with the engine having sat for 10 years or should I wait to do the test after I have ran the engine a little?

Don't see any harm in checking the compression now, but it may not be that accurate as far as checking for ring seal. With adding lots of oil in the cylinders to free the engine up, you won't get a true reading until the extra oil is burnt off.

Thanks for the input guys, for the moment I have put compression and leak down checks on the back burner. I really can't figure out why it takes so much torque to break the engine free, yet I can continue turning it with relative ease with a single wrench and one hand indefinitely after that. If I stop and come back no more than a minute later I need to put a tremendous amount of force to break it free again and then the same story....can continue turning it over quite easily with one wrench on the crank pulley and one hand.