i'm gonna be firing up my 603 in a day or two, i had the head rebuilt...
anyway, can i fire it up without installing the radiator? i want to verify if the timing is correct before i install the rad. and if ever i do this, will tranny fluid circulate while in park? i have a feeling it will...

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85 190E 2.3(SOLD)
86 230E (-->300D) sold
87 300D (-->300TD) sold
68 250S w/ a 615 and manual tranny (RIP)
87 300TD (SOLD)
95 S280 "The KRAKEN" (Turbo 2.9 602 transplant) traded
86 190E 2.3... current project

I would not do it on one of mine.

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Jim

hmmmm, if you wouldn't then i certainly won't.

thanks

__________________

85 190E 2.3(SOLD)
86 230E (-->300D) sold
87 300D (-->300TD) sold
68 250S w/ a 615 and manual tranny (RIP)
87 300TD (SOLD)
95 S280 "The KRAKEN" (Turbo 2.9 602 transplant) traded
86 190E 2.3... current project

Tranny fluid will circulate in park.

Why would IP timing have changed while the head was being rebuilt?

It's water under the bridge at this point but why is the radiator out?

Sixto
95 S420
87 300SDL

You certainly could fire it up without the radiator. But, the problem is that you can't keep coolant in the head without the radiator, AFAIK. If the engine was full of coolant, you would not need the radiator for at least seven minutes.

I would not fire a 603 without coolant in the head.

Yeah, if you use hose to bypass the radiator connections, it wouldn't hurt to fire it up for a minute. Hook the tranny lines together and you are in business. Might take some engineering to get the coolant in, but could certainly be done. Don't know if it is worth it, though.

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Keep everything as simple as possible-but no simpler--Albert Einstein

Sorry Brian, but even if the cylinders were surrounded with non circulating coolant I would NOT run the engine for as much as seven minutes.

With no coolant around the cylinders I wouldn't even run it for seven seconds. With no mass to sink the heat away from the cylinders, they will heat up FAST!!!!!

locry,

The risk is just not worth it. If you have to wait for the radiator or whatever the logistical problem, just wait. Haste makes waste.

Good luck,

Good luck,

It's a moot point of argument, but, I have to ask:

Why not?

Until the coolant reaches the point where the thermostat opens, there can be no damage to the engine. The coolant is very good at absorbing heat and it would be extremely unlikely that you could get a localized spot to boil (temperature above 100°C.) within seven minutes.

Because my ADD would make me get going on something else and I would forget that there is not any coolant in it.

I cranked one up one time and ran the oil out on the ground because I forgot to look for oil leaks. I'm over cautious when it comes to starting them up after reinstallation.

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Jim

What's the deal with that? I've got the same issues lately. If I put a socket down on the floor, I'm toast. I could spend 15 minutes finding it when I just used it 15 minutes ago.

thanks guys,

the reason i asked is because believe it or not, the radiator was the hardest to remove, its quite a reach to remove the lower tranny cooler line, somehow the thought of reinstalling it and then removing it again gives me chills.

anyway, only now did i realize(while reading the arguments) that i would be heating up the cylinders without any way of transferring heat elsewhere because of the absence of water... that would be catastrophic even for just a few cycles. i think.

i removed the radiator to remove the fan via the three bolts. i couldn't remove the fan clutch... also made it easier to rotate the engine

__________________

85 190E 2.3(SOLD)
86 230E (-->300D) sold
87 300D (-->300TD) sold
68 250S w/ a 615 and manual tranny (RIP)
87 300TD (SOLD)
95 S280 "The KRAKEN" (Turbo 2.9 602 transplant) traded
86 190E 2.3... current project