Nice pair of Birmingham Screwdrivers in that first pic!

It's possible that the injection pump is not able to produce enough pressure to overcome the injector spring, when it's all bolted up. This would be the case if there was damage within the injector pump (deep scoring on the pump element or body for example). It's possible that when it ran dry, either it sucked a bit of crud in which did the damage, or possibly just the lack of lubrication after the fuel ran out.

First, though, I'd try reconnecting the injector (with it still out of the engine) & give it a fair few cranks again: Just in case it needs to bleed out the injector too. If you still get nothing/very little after a few minutes, then the injector pump would be the next place I'd look. The same place that checked out your injector could probably check out your injection pump too.

Could be dirt/debris in the injector, or in the fuel pump.

With the delivery pipe disconnected, are you getting a solid "squirt" of fuel out of the pipe to the injector? Or just a feeble drip or two? If it's not giving a good dollop, I'd suspect the fuel pump.  If the "dollop" is good, try removing the injector, re-connecting it to the line, then give it a crank or three. Are you getting a good mist out of it? If yes, then it's head-scratch time; if not, then there's either dirt or damage in there, making the next step either replacement, or rectification. Repairing an injector is quite challenging I believe, I've never tried it myself.

I have restored vehicle engines but never a Lister CS Single cylinder.  I have looked at dating it but the number does not suit the date on the plaque.  It has a cracked cylinder block.  Is it best to replace with new or can it be welded?

Yours is a 1940 engine - they were sequentially numbered from introduction in 1930 through to the end of 1951. All CS models were numbered like this, i.e. the 3, 3.5, 5, 6 HP singles, and the 10/12HP twins. From what I can tell, the JP1/JP2 engines were also in this sequence.

I need to get the engine dating tables up on this site somewhere...

WRT the frost cracking, this is extremely common on CS engines, they were frequently stuck out in unheated sheds/barns/fields, and (especially the tank cooled variety) very rarely, if ever, had antifreeze in them. Lister went so far as to print strict instructions actually on the side of the engine, explaining that the coolant should be drained in freezing weather - I guess people couldn't be bothered towards the end.

They're hard to weld - the bit that breaks is quite thin, where the rest of the casting is pretty heavy. It CAN be done, but it's not easy. There are three simpler options, in increasing order of inconvenience/time:

1) JB Weld, as Hugh suggests. This will work fine, as the cooling system is not pressurised.
2) Braze it back together. Easier than welding, but still a bit of a pain.
3) The many, many, many bolts method...

Option 3 is similar to the "metal stitching" option linked by Hugh. Essentially, you drill through the crack, tap the hole, Thread in a bolt or a bit of threaded rod. Rinse & repeat along the crack, getting the bolts/rod as close together as possible. Next, you drill between each bolt, thread the new hole, screw in bolt/rod. Repeat until you've done all the gaps. Grind down flat, paint, and as long as your threads were decent, enjoy a leak free head! I assume, anyway, I've never done it myself... Fingers crossed, I have one of the few un-cracked cylinders on my CS!

Looks like someone's got hold of an email list, as we're getting battered by spam registrations. e.g. see the pic below - 30 registrations, every single one of them spam (even the blue ones that the anti-spam software hasn't tagged).

If I do accidentally let a spammer through, please do report their post(s) as soon as possible, to let me shut them down. But fingers crossed, I'll get 'em all

UPDATED: 4th September

Due to the on-going (and, if anything, intensifying) spam attack - I've taken the decision to temporarily suspend new registrations entirely.

I'll re-open it in a week's time & see where we're at: If it's calmed down, then we'll carry on as before.

This is still an ongoing issue, unfortunately, I'll update further here if/when I get a resolution.

There's now plenty of cheap, useful hardware not for the Arduino that lets you just hook up modules instead of doing your own PCBs.  I did a solar tracking project a year ago using them. I use the Arduino Nano with ADXL345 3 axis accelerometer and DS3231 real time clock module for a recent single axis PV solar "tracker".  Plus a BTS7960 H bridge for controlling a 12V linear actuator. The accelerometer lets you measure the angle of the solar panel, so I have the real time clock wake up the Nano (with LED's removed to save power) every hour, reposition the panel to the designated angle for month and hour, then go back into sleep to save power.  I have 3 single axis tracked PV arrays which have been doing the daily dance for a year now.  Nice to not need any active sun tracking, just a sealed box screwed underneath the rack.  If anyone here needs such a thing I'll make a post about the details. Very cheap and mechanically simple, unlike 2 axis...  I was not a fan of trackers before, but this about $130 per 18 foot rack using this actuator:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/275015055633?var=575299527943

Hey Bruce,

Good save with the safety shut-downs, I'd never considered a vibration monitor for my (as yet STILL unused in any project) CS engine, but I'll definitely be looking to add one in when (if!) I ever do get A Round Tuit.

Definitely very interested in your solar "tracker" project! I've just been looking into what I need to do something like that myself, as my roof points in all the wrong directions for good solar capture (especially in winter), so a free-standing small array of moving panels will, I think, be the solution for me. I've been struggling to find good DIY guides for a "proper" tracker; your simplified solution sounds much more up my alley!


Cheers,
Ade.