Excelsior engine in a WD
Posted: Sat December 23rd, 2006, 8:45 pm
Please,
I have been given an unfinished Wild Duck to restore. She has no sail or rigging and needs painting
But my first challenge is the engine. It's an Excelsior 3 cylinder, two stroke and it has been laid up for a _VERY_ long time. Any suggestions as to where I can get help ?
I have taken out the spark plugs and tested them for spark. All are working. The engine seems to rotate freely.
But when I put the plugs back in, the compression is so strong that I have great difficulty turning the starting handle ! The electric starter is really struggling to crank the engine - and this is with a heavy duty battery, fully charged, that normally starts a 6 cylinder Gardner engine no problem
Should I try to start her on one cylinder - ie with two plugs removed ?
Any other tips ? Any idea where I might get a user/service manual ?
I suspect that this engine was installed brand new. So I have assumed that the spark timing is OK.
Thanks
Joe
I have been given an unfinished Wild Duck to restore. She has no sail or rigging and needs painting
But my first challenge is the engine. It's an Excelsior 3 cylinder, two stroke and it has been laid up for a _VERY_ long time. Any suggestions as to where I can get help ?
I have taken out the spark plugs and tested them for spark. All are working. The engine seems to rotate freely.
But when I put the plugs back in, the compression is so strong that I have great difficulty turning the starting handle ! The electric starter is really struggling to crank the engine - and this is with a heavy duty battery, fully charged, that normally starts a 6 cylinder Gardner engine no problem
Should I try to start her on one cylinder - ie with two plugs removed ?
Any other tips ? Any idea where I might get a user/service manual ?
I suspect that this engine was installed brand new. So I have assumed that the spark timing is OK.
Thanks
Joe