318 wont start

[Xavi3r]

I Just found out my 318 has a Little over 300000 miles on it. Do you guys recommend i rebuild this engine.

The question is not here. No matters the age or shape of the engine.
If it started before you did something on it and do not after, you did something wrong.

I had exactly the same problem as you last year on my imperial after spark and cable change.
the cause was : wrong spark plugs cables position. check or re check that everything is placed correctly and in order.

 

[MoparFlores]

You're asking with a straight face?

I imagine you meant that as in "Are you seriously asking that?" But yes im asking with a straight face. Like i Said before im new to all this and am just getting into teaching myself all this. Which means i dont know what is a lot of miles on an engine i really dont know how many miles an engine can take or too much technical stuff. I can name a few parts here and there and fix a thing or two but I'm far from an expert on anything. Just so you understand what my knowledge level is at I might as well be in automotive preschool

 

[Yatzee]

Tow the vehicle to a reputable automotive repair shop and let them have a go at it. You've suffered long enough without driving your car.Explaining some things to "newbies" is not a problem but an understanding of things such as firing order, basic timing settings and an understanding of "means and methods" of trouble shooting can be. You could have a broken or spun distributor/pump shaft drive rod but to diagnose this is really a two person job unless you have a remote start switch. You really need to know what you're looking for in a certain order of operation which may really be part of the problem. There are "diagnostic ladder diagrams" that aid in solving problems which are sorta like an "if, then" logical approach but you would need a manual of sorts. Do you have one? Manuals not only offer a safe way to learn about systems and procedures,but keep you from creating new issues or causing serious damage as you resolve a problem. Vehicle specific manuals are the best to buy. You might do well to invest in one as I am sure other problems will arise with your vehicle as time goes by. Understand that this is not a short coming of members on automotive forums, we just assume you have a fairly good grasp of the methods for trouble shooting that are given by various members. These are nothing more than "tried and proven" suggestions not step by step indepth procedures.

 

[Yatzee]

I would be interested in how you determined 300,000 miles as the odometer only goes to 99999.9 Right?

 

[Landyacht]

I would be interested in how you determined 300,000 miles as the odometer only goes to 99999.9 Right?

There is no way of really knowing unless you bought the car when it was brand new and are the only owner. If the motor is covered in grime and leaks oil from every gasket then it probably has allot of miles on it. Like I stated earlier 400,000 miles on a 318 is not unheard of if it was properly maintained. They were some of the best motors ever built in my opinion. It is possible that after 300,000 miles the timing chain is so far stretched out that it throws both your valve timing and ignition timing off to the point where the engine will start and stall out immediately afterword or not want to run at all. Make sure the negative and positive wires are installed properly on your ignition coil. If the polarity is reversed you will get weak spark and can cause the problem you are describing. Make sure all your spark plug wires are routed correctly. Google" spark plug wire diagram for 318 motor" and you should be able to find one on line. Check if you have good spark. Try putting your old ignition coil back if you still have it. If you replaced it with a performance coil such as a MSD Blaster 2 coil you need an 8 ohm resistor to run it and your existing ballast resistor wont support it. Check to se if your air cleaner is oil fouled or if oil is blowing up through your crankcase ventilator(that is a good sign your engine needs a rebuild). Try adjusting your Ignition timing in slight increments advance and retard it slightly crank the motor over after each minor adjustment. Make sure you mark the original position of your distributor before making any adjustments so that you have a reference point to fall back on. you can do this with a paint marker or a small punch or chisel. Remember to mark both the distributor and the engine block.
Also look to see if you forgot to install a vacuum line when you put on your new carb.

 

[MoparFlores]

reviving a dead thread here but anybody know what this is?( I'm having an issue uploading the picture but ill put it up as soon as I get home.)

 

[MoparFlores]

 

[MoparFlores]

 

[celticwarlock]

That piece of paper is your build sheet. That is a checklist illustrating (among other things) the options the car was built with. It usually gets stuffed under the back seat when the car is assembled at the factory
I have no idea what that small tag is, though.

 

[1970cat]

the metal tag has to do with the manufacturer of either the rear seat frame or cover. i don't think we ever found a conclusive answer for it.