starting issues after hg replacement help????

[taka21]

ok its driving me nuts now
i put the motor back together after the head gasket job and it refuses to start
im getting spark and fuel
i set the distributor right on the 1 spark plug position
the crank is set at tdc
the cams are set at tdc as well
and it is on the compression stroke
i cant figure out why it wont start

 

[supraduper]

does it putter? pop?

100% sure the distributor isnt 90 degrees off?

3 things needed to make an engine run
spark, fuel, and compression.

and just because you have spark doesnt mean its firing at the right time
also, just because you have fuel pressure... that doesnt mean your injectors are opening
food for thought

 

[AJ'S 88NA]

Many have forgot to plug the AFM back in, connect the grounds on the middle intake manifold. Also when putting the timing belt back on forget to rotate the motor a couple of time and check the timing marks again, verify #1 is at TDC with a pencil then check all your marks again.

 

[taka21]

i remembered the grounds
im not sure what you mean by 90 degrees off
its right on the #1
and everything is set to tdc
cams and crank

 

[AJ'S 88NA]

i remembered the grounds
im not sure what you mean by 90 degrees off
its right on the #1
and everything is set to tdc
cams and crank

Are you sure #1 is at TDC?

 

[taka21]

Are you sure #1 is at TDC?

yes i pulled the spark plug and put an extendy magnet down on the piston
i rotated the crank manually till it showed that the piston was at the top of the compression stoke
i looked down at the crank pulley and it showed the timing marks and its at 0
i keep pulling the cam cover and checking the cams and each time they are lined up with the timing marks
i then pulled the fuel injectors replaced all their seals cause they were bad
then i put new spark plugs in cause i seem to have fowled the set i had in there
i then pull the distributor and make sure that the rotor is pointing at the #1 spark plug wire then i try to start it
it acts like it wants to start but it wont kick over
im stumped and its driving me up a wall as this is my daily

 

[AJ'S 88NA]

Codes?

 

[taka21]

Codes?

nope its not throwing any codes

 

[taka21]

im also wondering how you can tell if your on the compression stroke and not the exhaust stroke
and what difference this makes
cause i ended up thinking i was on the exhaust stroke and fliped the cams 180 degrees now its seems like it wants to turn over but its harder more of a rythmic struggle when i turn the key as opposed to a flat struggle

i started to do a compression test then i realized that the motor being cold wouldnt give me an accurate reading

one other question
when installing the head bolts will it cause an issue to install it do it all at once or at least hand tight then strait to 72 ft/lb ?
i installed the head with arp studs im starting to think that the motor is just not holding compression

 

[AJ'S 88NA]

im also wondering how you can tell if your on the compression stroke and not the exhaust stroke
and what difference this makes
cause i ended up thinking i was on the exhaust stroke and fliped the cams 180 degrees now its seems like it wants to turn over but its harder more of a rythmic struggle when i turn the key as opposed to a flat struggle

i started to do a compression test then i realized that the motor being cold wouldnt give me an accurate reading

one other question
when installing the head bolts will it cause an issue to install it do it all at once or at least hand tight then strait to 72 ft/lb ?
i installed the head with arp studs im starting to think that the motor is just not holding compression

Don't understand what you are talking about "flipping the cams". Thought if the marks were all lined up, #1 on TDC, rotor pointing at #1 wire, it will fire up. Unless something else is wrong.

You are suppose to torque in progressive values, 4-5 incriments. If you didn't do that then yes you maybe loosing compression. Didn't follow the TSRM right? Don't think that's your problem though.

 

[taka21]

Don't understand what you are talking about "flipping the cams". Thought if the marks were all lined up, #1 on TDC, rotor pointing at #1 wire, it will fire up. Unless something else is wrong.

You are suppose to torque in progressive values, 4-5 incriments. If you didn't do that then yes you maybe loosing compression. Didn't follow the TSRM right? Don't think that's your problem though.

sorry i should have been more clear im talking about the compression stroke vs the exhaust stroke as far as flipping the cams
cause there is tdc on each of the two strokes
if you mistakenly set the cams to tdc on the exhaust stroke it wont work. the cams timing mark will be 180 degrees in the wrong direction when the distributor sparks on the #1 cylinder. that being said fliping the cam means rotating it 180 degrees so its lined up correctly on the proper stroke.

 

[taka21]

i got the car running properly and did a slight timing advance 12 degrees
the problem was that the distributor was way off and the cams were set on the exhaust stroke
flipped the cams and set the distributor and she started right up.

thanks everyone for all your help

 

[taka21]

ok so now that the car is running im now getting a code 52 knock sensor
i just filled her up with 93 octane so im sure its not that
im wondering if its just a bad connection

when i first start the car it runs fine then as soon as you get on it the it throws the knock code

any ideas?

 

[AJ'S 88NA]

Have you got 5-6 heat cycles on it? If so I would re-torque the HG by reading your previous post about how you torqued the head.

Not normal that you are getting code 52 after a rebuild. Check your connections, don't think that's it, post back exactly what you have done as far as your rebuild.

 

[taka21]

Have you got 5-6 heat cycles on it? If so I would re-torque the HG by reading your previous post about how you torqued the head.

Not normal that you are getting code 52 after a rebuild. Check your connections, don't think that's it, post back exactly what you have done as far as your rebuild.

ok just so i get it strait how would you recommend i re torque. should i break them all loose and do it in 10 ft/lb increments
or do it one at a time (break one loose and torque it back down before moving on to the next one)

as for what ive done as per the rebuild
ive replaced all the upper gaskets, head intake intake plenum and exhaust
replaced the injector seals
cleaned the valves
had the head shaved down three thousanths


put her all back together and used arp head bolts torqued down to 72 ft/lb
set the timing (i advanced it a little its running at about 12 degrees instead of 10)

now i dont know if this mades a difference but the #10 head bolt didnt come out like the rest, i had to beat a torx into the bolt head to get it out. could that have anything to do with making the knock sensor not work?

 

[taka21]

ok the conector was on wrong
i now have it connected properly and the code cleared itself

 

[AJ'S 88NA]

Retorque by breaking loose each one, I'd do it in the same order as the TSRM says to, then torque to spec.

Glad to hear you cleared the code.