New 2.7L rebuild Turns over very Slow! Help!
 

So after nearly 3 year, don't ask, I finally got it all together and it looks great! I didn't take any pics of the starter wiring when I took it apart so I did the best I could there. Also, I didn't connect the ground strap to the trans when it was out, so I connected it to one of the 4 smaller nuts for the trans mount to the body. Those are the only 2 things I can think of that stand out. I didn't have the starter rebuilt, but it turned the car over fine before the rebuild. Its a new Optima battery, and even when I put my battery charger on "start" and it really doesn't turn it over much faster, I got it to fire once and it ran well for the 20 minutes of cam/rocker break-in. But it still turns over soooooo slow...rrraaahhhoo.....rrrraaahhhoo .....rrrraaahhhooo.

Any Idea's?
Thanks,
Nabil

A "new rebuild", could it be that the engine is too tight? Did you take out the spark plugs and turn it over to pump oil througout / pump up OP prior to the initial start up?

S

73' 911 T

did you align bore the case? do you have a large 911 starter or a smaller SR17 vw starter?

I didn't align bore the case, but its an early aluminum case. Without the plugs, it turns over o.k. with a wrench on the pully bolt, with the plugs in I cant turn it over with a wrench. I had it running for 20 minutes once now, so I'm confident oil has made its way all around by now. the starter is the one I pulled out, it was a bosch unit and the solinod had a shiny silver color to it, maybe the solonid might be aftermarket. But Like I said, it worked fine 3 years ago when i took it apart!! So nobody thinks that its a ground issue huh? Or a wiring (I supoose it it turns over I have them all connected correctly?)
Thanks,
Nabil

I was thinking the same as JW (line bore issue). Aluminum case 2.7 liter? Details, please...

The engine that I bought it with was a pretty warmed up 2.7 on a 4R case. It had 36/35mm ports, S cam, 8.6 RS compression that looked heavily massaged, all the windage mods ect. One of the bolts on the intermediate shaft, broke its locking tab and backed itself out, launched up into the right bank chain box, broke the chain, bent all the valves on that side, broke all the rockers on that side, sent enough metal through to need a new crank, the shock cracked the case on one of the main bearing webs (thats why I sourced the new AL case) ect ect cry cry ect.
Its going together with mostly the same recipe except a Mod-S cam from John Doughrty Racing.
When I finished assembly of the block, without pistons or anything, it turned over without too much force on the wrench....maybe 15-20 Lbs of force, thats not excessive is it?

If it's a grounding issue, it could be a dirty contact. I would think that if the critical ground were completely disconnected, it'd be a complete no-go, rather than chugging.

That's the force needed to torque, approx., an 8mm bolt or nut. That's too much force. The crank in a freshly assembled bottom end should almost glide as it's turned over. This might not be your problem, but I think that it is, especially based on that you can't turn the engine by hand with the plugs in. It could also be a binding intermediate shaft, but...

Sorry Peter,
I miss-stated myself, fully assembled it turned over requiring the 15Lbs of torque, without plugs...not so bad considering the pistons and valvetrain. I'll run through the starter diagnostics tonight and we'll see what we have.
N

I don't think 20 lbs is that much torque to turn a crank. I don't trust Optima batteries. Did you have the battery load tested?

thats a good point, I bought the battery less than a year ago, but have only used it a few times. I did charge the hell out of it, and it turns a stock 2,2 T over o.k. but the 2.7 it struggles big time with. I'm gonna clean all my grounds, posts and cables and try again tonight, if that doesnt work I'll be giving my tranny a hug to remove the starter.
Thanks,
N