Trabi/IFA Chat Forum

Unless the early cars used a different thread size(I have no idea), someone stripped your plug threads by cross threading -or over tightening.... Then they probably ran a drill, and a M18 tap. Might want to find a set of heads down the road.

Almost forgot, if your engine is as old as the car, you should be running 33:1 fuel/oil ratio. Somehow, I doubt it is original. Seems most all have been swapped around a few times. The later engines use 50:1.

Personally I run 40:1(makes me feel better about super high speed runs!).

Very good idea about the fogging oil, I'll get a can myself for other projects.

Take your time, then when it gets going-[FONT=Trebuchet MS]" the real fun begins!"[/FONT]

Spooky:

Your theory makes sense, though whoever did that managed to bugger up both cylinders if that is the case. Not out of the realm of possibility for sure, but someone with bad luck or had no clue what they were doing. Generally I would expect just one side to be accidentally damaged but that seems not to be the case.

I plan an order of parts once I figure out what I really need. It looks like the heads are not too expensive, and I assume I need little more than them and new gaskets for that replacement. It looks like pulling the heads is not a super complicated job like it would be on most modern, water cooled and overly power accessory laden vehicles. Maybe a good winter job to take on.

Mark

Spooky Ghost:

I stopped by the one Walmart that showed those tires in stock, and they had three of them (too bad it was not 4). I got the three for $31.50 - such a deal even if I may need to have mismatched front and rears. The spare wheel I have has a good tire on it, so if I can match that tire, I will have mismatched front/rear pairs, but good rubber all the way around, plus the third tire I got today will make for a nice spare.

Thank for the heads-up!

Mark

Seems most any Walmart, that has a tire center-had these tires at one point. Even if they are not listed online, give them a call....

They said they were phasing them out of their inventory, so they were liquidating them. I might call around to a few others just in case to see if their inventory is not correct online. I would love to get one more if I can.

These are the size and type you want: https://www.cokertire.com/145r13-firestone-f560.html

Thanks for the link Roger.

I had a few hours today so I gave it a try to see if I could get it started. No joy for the first attempt.

I gave it a good soaking with anti fog spray a few days ago down into the heads. Today I gave it some more there and also put some thru the carb while hand turning the engine today. It was not easy to turn but it seemed to move. Side note: There was a fair amount of debris in the 90 degree intake pipe at the carb due to the hose being disconnected at that end so I removed that elbow and cleaned that with some of the anti fog spray and some carb cleaner spray. I also sprayed a bunch of the anti fog into the carb to flush any junk out prior to turning the engine.

I put a couple gallons of fresh mixed gas (ethanol free gas) in the tank and turned the gas shutoff under the dash to the down position which I believe is how it is supposed to be for “on” but it is not labeled. Hooked up a fresh 6 volt battery, and found that all the lights and flashers seem to work which is good.

I gave the key a turn in the ignition and sometimes nothing but a small clunk happened. Other times it turned a very few times very, very slowly and stopped. It never spun fast enough to even come close to starting. After about a minute of off and on trying I figured it was a no go. When I looked at the starter motor, it looks quite old. I touched the wires to see if any were loose and the cable from the battery was quite hot to the touch. Indeed, both battery cables were hot near the battery so I disconnected them.

Based on the above, it appears most likely that the starter is bad and is drawing a large amount of current. Since the engine did turn some, or it seemed to anyway, I don’t think it is bound up. At least I hope not. Fortunately, in the trunk was a spare starter (and a spare generator too) so I have one to swap. And it appears that replacing the starter should be a fairly easy operation. Perhaps the starter was going before the car was stored thus the new starter being on hand. It that is the case then the generator may also be bad but that is secondary at the moment.

Do you all think it is more likely the starter than the engine? I’m going to swap it out next week sometime and see what I get. One start attempt my foot slipped from the clutch pedal and it was in gear and the car moved forward just a bit which means the engine turned and attempted to drive the transmission, which should mean the engine is free, right?

Of course, I have no idea about if there are issues with the ignition system yet, which I am expecting but one step at a time.

Thanks to everyone who has shared their knowledge with me so far. I hope I replied personally to everyone but if I missed someone, thanks to you too.

Mark

If it has the original aluminum battery cables, would replace them first with modern copper ones. They never send enough power to the starter. Second, hit the body of the starter with one good rap using a plastic-head hammer. Might jog loose any crud keeping the solenoid from moving the starter.

Roger has written exactly what I first thought after reading your post.
Those starters are pretty robust and the original/aluminum battery cables were terrible.
Additionally, check/clean all connections.
Corrosion is the enemy and always attacks connections.

I will definitely check and clean all the connections, which are very conveniently located so that is an easy first step. I have some Deoxit that is a fantastic contact cleaner, especially after using a brush to clean any gunk off them I will also see if the battery cables are the aluminum ones and if so, swap them out. My guess is that the battery cables are original since pretty much everything on the engine looks many decades old. If that does not rectify the issue, I can swap the starter out for the spare that I have on hand. It looks like the easiest to access the starter of any car I have worked on.

When you take that starter off, try testing it with some jumper cables-just to see what is going on. With a cheapy multimeter, you can check the resistance, and voltage drop of the cables. You should see the same batt. voltage at the starter cable, and up on the battery. If it is not the starter, cables,connection or batt. Then either it is a 12 volt starter, and or your engine is kinda stuck.

On mine, you can rock the fan back and forth fairly easily-by hand(until it hits some compression). Often do this at car shows, while explaining how it all kinda works...

If you can't move it like this, there may be some motor issues.... At best the rings have some rust, and will loosen up once running.

If you haven't already replaced your cables, buy your battery cables from AutoZone. Reason? They seem to be the only autopart store that sells battery cables with lead connectors. Those cables with steel connectors Advance and O'Reilly's sells corrode too easily. It seems all modern cars are using these plated battery connectors. My 2003 Subaru has steel battery connectors. I haven't had any issues with that car but at least with lead you can scrape any corrosion off.

Thanks for the advice. Autozone was closed today and I just couldn’t wait, so I got cables at O’Reilly’s. And they are definitely steel connectors. If they go bad, I will get something better later. They’re super easy to swap out at least.

It seems the aluminum cables may have been the problem. I swapped out the starter since I had a spare on hand (what better way to celebrate America's independence than by working on my communist car, right?), cleaned all the connectors but I had the same issue with the cables getting hot and the engine barely turning at all. I did spin the engine by hand with the plugs removed and the pistons move freely so it is not at all bound up.

I swapped the battery cables with new copper ones and the engine turns. Still not super fast but it is probably as it normally is with a 6-volt system. I was not able to check for spark since I was by myself.

Next problem up was found when I turned the valve to turn the gas on. I had a nice leak streaming from the fuel line right near the cutoff valve. I turned it off and disconnected the line, reconnecting and repositioning it so that the line was above the valve to see if I could determine if it was the line or the valve, which I understand is quite likely to leak too. It certainly seemed like it was leaking from the hose itself, maybe an inch from the tank end connector. So, I need to start ordering parts it seems. I probably will see about getting both the valve and the line, assuming I can determine the correct part. I will also see what else I think I might need to save on shipping. I might get new coils just in case I need them, and I need to evaluate the brakes to see what I may need to get them safe.