Today was the day to start The Merc.
After setting up the remote starter switch and making last minute checks, the engine did manage to start and run. I barely had the engine run for 2 minutes when I shut it off and checked the engine oil and transmission oil. The tranmission oil was so low it did not register on the stick with the engine off, so I added a quart. The engine oil, had, guess what, WATER and it seemed like it was ALOT. So I stopped at this point and did not attempt any more engine run time. I was very disappointed. Seeing more water in the oil when I did not see any while I was pressurizing the oil system in preparation of starting the engine kinda upset me. So at this point I am thinking I still have the original problem. I passed on this info to a co-worker who is quite the Gear Head. Once I described the situation he had a few things that I should check, and he also decided to come over to the garage!
After he arrived, he checked the engine over for coolant leaks at the cylinder heads. He used a cooling system pressure checker to see what was happening when the engine was off and when it is running. Since it didnt appear to be obvious leaks, he adjusted the timing by advancing it and that took care of the backfires through the carb and the engine actually ran without stalling. He recommended using a vacuume gauge and once he saw the gauge he had a few more items to check. So, tomorrow I will be doing those checks(adjust the valves back a 1/4 turn and check engine run and idle). He also noticed that the water that was in the oil appeared to burn off, which looks like it was just residual water from the last time it was leaking. Will check the oil in the morning to see what it looks like after cooling...
Also need to check the transmission fluid with it running to get the level correct.
Another thing that I need to look into is the water pump pulley is rubbing against the alternator bracket bolt and causing a screeching sound periodically.
So it looks like everything is on track now, thanks to Joe.
I need to look into getting a compression checker....
