Topic: 1976 455 4 speed

[TASEGIRL]

Hello everyone, I have a 76 455 4 speed and was wondering about this:
The car starts good when it is cold but once it warms up and I shut it off it won't start again.  Let it cool down and it starts great.  My brother's 78 455 does the same thing.  Is this normal for these engines or??
I'll be asking many more questions as I aquired 3 SE cars besides the 76 and where I live not to many people know a lot about the T/A's (especially working on them).  Thanks    

[Rick]

It's possible that your starter is getting too hot and that's causing your problem.  There is a "heat shield" that can be put between the exhaust pipe and the starter -- if the exhaust has been replaced, or the car has tube headers on it -- the pipes could be too close to the starter and cause it to overheat.  Another solution (besides the metal heat shield) is to use a modern "mini starter" -- those are smaller so the distance between the exhuast pipe and the starter is greater, thus reducing the problem.

[Tin Indians Rule]

Wow, sounds like you had a gold pit fall into your lap. I check the ignition timing and the battery cable connections too. If the timing is too advanced trying to start the engine while it's hot will be more difficult and would also explain the easy start while cold. You may have a coil problem.

Exactly what does the engine do when you try to start it while it's at operating temperature? Does the engine crank over at the same speed it does when it's cold? Does it crank over slowly and sometimes stop turning completely?

[TASEGIRL]

Well the gold mine consists of 2 "diamond in the rough SE'S".  Have a lot of work to do on those 2 car's.  The 455 does crank over very slowly like the battery is almost dead.  Just dosn't seem to have enough juice to crank over when the car is warm.  I will have to look and see if there is a heat shield as there is header's on the car also.  Hate taking the car anywhere.  I don't want to leave it idle the whole time.  Gas dosn't last long in these car's .  Thanks Guy's

[ta78w72]

By "won't start" I assume you're saying that the engine cranks but won't start.  

Check your vacuum hoses
Check your timing
Check the carburetor fast idle cam for sticking
Check for carburetor flooding
Check for faulty distributor cap
Check distributor for: worn shaft, bare and shorted wires, fautly pick up coil, module, ignition coil and shorted condenser.
Check spark plugs.
Check fuel pump
Check vacuum for at least 12 inches
Check fuel lines
Check fuel strainer in tank (oh yeah!  That one would be fun)

Buy a service manual from Brett on CD.....all the above are covered under  "Hard Starting - Hot (Engine Cranks OK)"

[ta78w72]

OK....scratch the above post.....you're not cranking.  You've either got heat soak like Rick was mentioning, or you've got a bad battery.  Since these cars sit for long periods without being driven, I'd suspect the battery first.

My 1978 W72 has starter heat soak.  But, the car always starts.  But it turns over very slowly when hot.  I haven't wanted to change the original starter.

But you should still by a service manual.  They're pack full of great information.

[Rick]

AHEM...cough, cough -- aren't you going to tell them were to FIND the nifty sevice manual on a CDROM? :?  :?

[dblhh]

AHEM...cough, cough -- aren't you going to tell them were to FIND the nifty sevice manual on a CDROM? :?  :?

I think he did in the previous post.

[ta78w72 wrote]Buy a service manual from Brett on CD.....all the above are covered under "Hard Starting - Hot (Engine Cranks OK)"

[Rick]

Yeah, but you gotta make it *easy* for them!  Go to:

http://www.78ta.com/sale/index.htm  and click on the "Manuals".

How's that for a plug, Brett? :lol:

(Hmmm -- link won't take for me at the moment, but I know it will...)

[Tin Indians Rule]

Well the gold mine consists of 2 "diamond in the rough SE'S".  Have a lot of work to do on those 2 car's.  The 455 does crank over very slowly like the battery is almost dead.  Just dosn't seem to have enough juice to crank over when the car is warm.  I will have to look and see if there is a heat shield as there is header's on the car also.  Hate taking the car anywhere.  I don't want to leave it idle the whole time.  Gas dosn't last long in these car's .  Thanks Guy's

Don't rule out your timing! If the timing is too advanced and you have a weak battery it'll do exactly what you've described. Cold starts are fine but wont start when hot. Turns over slow.
Check the timing when you get it cranked, adjust if needed. Then check it from there. Be sure to replace your starter with a high quality part, battery too.
Setting the timing, replacing the starter (cooked to death from the headers) and a new  battery should have the old girl starting like new again.

Unless someone has been in the bottom of the engine and didn't torque something right? How do you normally get the car restarted quickly while hot? With a jump start?

[TAluvr]

Ive had hard starts to, but mine always starts. Ive done everything mentioned here and to no avail. Ive stumped a few mechanics with this one to. We even went so far as to do the Ford bypass trick and it still hard starts when hot.