Possible timing issue with D902 engine swap in an RTV900

[Sixsixvette]

My RTV900 blew its engine so I just completed an engine swap from a grasshopper mower. It had the D902 block, but has a few things that needed to be swapped from the old engine to make everything work. Afer putting everything together it will not start. A tell tail sign to me that I have a timing issue is that when I turn it over, I have suction at the tail pipe and pressure at the air intake manifold. So I am now second guessing everything I can think of to see if I did something wrong. I did have to swap the injector pump cam because the grasshopper cam was not notched on the end to allow the power steering pump to mate up. I made sure to align all three gears to the idler gear with the one, two and three gear marks. Here is a list of some of the swapped items.

Injector pump cam swapped.
Idler gear swapped (Original RTV gear had a ball bearing where the grasshopper was a bronze bushing, so I swapped to upgrade)

No other internals were swapped. Everything else was external such as dip stick, alternator, temp sensor, etc....

Any ideas as to what is causing me to have suction at the tail pipe and pressure in the air intake?

Thanks in advance.

 

[lugbolt]

you can't go by suction and pressure

the engine will fool you

what is your compression pressure? Need 400+. They'll run on 350, but hard to start and no power usually

compression test is #1 priority on a non-running diesel and you need the proper gauge and proper adapter to do it, a good diesel engine compression tester with adapters is not cheap

 

[Sixsixvette]

you can't go by suction and pressure

the engine will fool you

what is your compression pressure? Need 400+. They'll run on 350, but hard to start and no power usually

compression test is #1 priority on a non-running diesel and you need the proper gauge and proper adapter to do it, a good diesel engine compression tester with adapters is not cheap

Thanks for the help. I will run a compression check today and go from there.

Jim C

 

[Sixsixvette]

you can't go by suction and pressure

the engine will fool you

what is your compression pressure? Need 400+. They'll run on 350, but hard to start and no power usually

compression test is #1 priority on a non-running diesel and you need the proper gauge he and proper adapter to do it, a good diesel engine compression tester with adapters is not cheap

Did the compression check. Did not have a good gauge, but it did have very good compression. I swapped out the fuel injectors with a spare set. Still no change. Im back to a timing issue from everything I am seeing, but I am sure I had all three gears on their marks when I put the new injector pump cam in. IM STUMPED!!!

 

[Henro]

Did the compression check. Did not have a good gauge, but it did have very good compression. I swapped out the fuel injectors with a spare set. Still no change. Im back to a timing issue from everything I am seeing, but I am sure I had all three gears on their marks when I put the new injector pump cam in. IM STUMPED!!!

What does very good compression mean? It would seem to me if you do not have a good gauge you should get one and know exactly what you have before you start on a possible wild goose chase...you really need accurate information to troubleshoot successfully. Very good compression compared to what? A gasoline engine? Not the same animal...

 

[Fedup]

So does the engine not run at all, or it runs but runs poorly?

 

[Sixsixvette]

So does the engine not run at all, or it runs but runs poorly?

Does not run at all. Turns over easily. Fuel is flowing. But never kicks or fires

 

[Henro]

Did the engine run before you started the swap? If so, perhaps the question regarding compression is less likely to be the issue. Just thinking out loud....