Starting a motor OUT of a car.

[eurotrash]

Anyone ever assemble a system that would allow you to fire a motor for testing compression on a used motor, etc. I was thinking about what electric, fuel and coolant you would need and thought someone had to have set up a cheap rig at some point...?

[Scott Sislane]

I think Pat Allen has done that. Also think he has a YouTube video of it running.

[FB73tii]

Done on engine dynos all the time. You would need a rock solid engine mounting system, emergency engine shutoff, exhaust venting and fire suppression system. Set up a fan for radiator cooling or build a dedicated cooling stack. Read Dyno Testing and Tuning by Harold Bettes and Bill Hancock to get some ideas for requirements and setup. Curious what your application is, compression and leakdown before installing?

Fred '74tii

[eurotrash]

..to test orphaned motors on the cheap.

[Richard]

If you have access to a welder build a small motor stand. I have wheels on mine. works great double duty as a place to store motors. Very Important: Dont make it too tall and design it with a wide base. IF RUNNING AN Engine It must be anchored. The torque of the engine....Lets say that you wouldnt want to be around if it flipped. Rememberto use the rubber motor mounts. I anchor mine to the floor using removable eyebolts that screw into anchors...I copied the idea from a shop that dinos freshly built motors. I havent gotten the guts to bolt a tranny to it yet

[eurotrash]

If you have access to a welder build a small motor stand. I have wheels on mine. works great double duty as a place to store motors. Very Important: Dont make it too tall and design it with a wide base. IF RUNNING AN Engine It must be anchored. The torque of the engine....Lets say that you wouldnt want to be around if it flipped. Rememberto use the rubber motor mounts. I anchor mine to the floor using removable eyebolts that screw into anchors...

Can you make some sort of diagram of the electrical system that you use? I can hammer the rest out. I just want to see ideas on how one would energize/control the starter and coil..

[tinkwithanr]

Couldn't you just use a 'starting' button tied into a relay, which then goes to coil?

[Richard]

I simply use a test panel with a momentary start,a on off kill switch and most important a fire ext. I made the cables about eight feet long. and the battery sits in a tray on the cart....

[ahlem]

Maybe this?

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200334501_200334501

Sometimes points and condensors and simple wiring come in handy vs. ECU

[Swiftus]

First, please bolt whatever stand you make to the floor. At a shop locally, they have the mounting bolts sunk 18" into the pad of the building...and there are around 20 bolts... But they work in the 1,000s of hps.

Essentially build a box out of box tube steel with mounts in the proper location. I'd think that you would want larger mounts than normal since the box will be securely fastened to the floor. This means that the vibration from the motor needs to be completely dissipated from the motor before it reaches the frame since there is no suspension to do the rest of the work. Otherwise, you may find a few awesome craters in your concrete.

I would think that a standard 02 or 320i radiator with either a box fan or electric radiator fan would be able to do the job to see if a motor will run. If you intend on tuning the motor at high revs on the stand, then I would look in to two fans on the radiator because of the extra heat.

Th throttle can easily be made to work with a bicycle brake cable / handle and a sturdy return spring.

Be sure to have an E-Stop switch for the coil power. Nothing massive, but it should handle at least 5 amps. And it should latch in the safety position and require a turn or key to re-engage the switch. Just ebay 'E stop switch'.

The starter can be hooked straight to the battery like in the car, just be sure to have a momentary 'NO' switch on the solenoid trigger. Don't use a switch that isn't momentary or you could be in for some expensive mistakes.

Coil can be hooked up like in a car, just be sure to have the negative side through the E-Stop switch.

You could try to use the mechanical pump on the engine to it, but I would think that may be really annoying to prime every time. If it were me, I would have an electric pump feed the motor. A high volume, low pressure one if you are using carburetors... like the Carter 4070 for dual DCOEs or 60504 for smaller carbs. I think a 60504 may have the volume needed for a set of 45's, but I'm not sure. I'd would also want to hook up the positive feed of the pump in series with the main power on AND the E-Stop switch.

Finally, I would install a tach. The connection is real simple and it will give you some indication of at what RPM you blew up that nicely rebuilt motor of yours . . .

Ok, Back to work.

Jay

[jimk]

Been aroud two installations, and if the shaft is not loaded the reaction forces are slim to none, only the momentum of the rotating parts when the shaft speed is changed. Both were v-8s. Both were on a wheeled cart! Both were used for check out and setup of EFI systems.

[Swiftus]

The stand should be bolted down so that if/when something in the motor breaks and the shaft suddenly stops, all of the energy will be transferred to the ground... rather than to the block causing it to tumble.

Safety first!

[eurotrash]

This is shaping up to be a fun idea. I think an old subframe will make things easy. And old 320 electric fan. A radiator. Various square tubing sizes. A battery and an old gas can.. Some cheap switches. My timing light with tach.

HM

[Richard]

Absoultely bolt it down. As to there being no torque actio. If you have ever seen a 2002 with a subframe crack running in neutral and you rev the engine the motor lifts itself off the break.As to their not being as much torque as under load JMK is correct...

[allbim]

If all you want to do is check compression, you can just set it on the garage floor and crank it with the plugs out, so it won't start.