Paul Gilders writes >
> compression test on my MGB
> pushed the compression tester with its rubber seal into no.1 plug.
> the compression tester has been pushed out.
> I think I'll wait until I can get Scott to hold the device in for me
That is one way, but there are several ways to do this yourself.
Some compression checkers have a hose that screws in. The air-cooled VW and
Porsche dugans need these, as they don't have the ready access to plug holes
that the MGB offers.
Another alternative is to stand there and hold the checker in the hole whilst
cranking the starter yourself. Look at your starter solenoid. Does it have a
button on it? The British solenoids I have seen can be operated manually
without the ignition key. On my Midget (and I think on MGBs, too) the solenoid
was right where you could reach it with your left hand whilst holding the
compression checker in place with your right hand. The solenoid on the Europa
is mounted on the starter (those French!), but the end of the shaft is exposed
and I can use it to run the starter. It is on the wrong side of the engine,
but I have to use a screw-in tester to reach the holes anyway. I just hold the
gauge up where I can see it with one hand whilst triggering the starter with
the other.
If a solenoid has no external button, but you can reach the contacts, you can
bridge them with a screwdriver and run the starter. Watch out for sparks.
More socially acceptable is to use a remote starter switch (cheap at your local
car-parts joint or Sears). This is a high-current switch that looks like a
slot-car controller. It has long enough leads to reach the solenoid wherever
it lives. I don't want to be the guy to try hooking mine up the the solenoid
on the Mighty K-wagon, though, as Chrysler saw fit to really bury the sucker,
so I conscript one of the kids.
Happy compressing!
Phil Ethier, THE RIGHT LINE, 672 Orleans Street, Saint Paul, MN 55107-2676
h (612) 224-3105 w (612) 298-5324 phile@pwcs.stpaul.gov
Disclaimer: I speak for the City only in matters of sewer charges.
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