89 DOHC wont start

[KA13]

I've checked the grounds and wiring. I reset the cams using JWT specs today because the guy working on it screwed them up badly. I'm getting fuel and some spark...not as much as I could but enough and the car still won't start. Please help this swap has taken to long and I'm ready to drive her.

[benemorius]

What exactly does "some spark" mean?

[KA13]

I'm not getting alot of spark coming from the distributor thru the plug wires...alot is going in just not to much coming out. The engine was running with the current distributor before the head blew so I can't see anything being wrong with the distributor except that on the inside of the cap on the connection points there are black marks that match the black mark on the rotor.

[benemorius]

So this wasn't a perfect engine before the swap? It really helps to know the history behind things. In fact, it wouldn't be too extreme to say that asking for help without giving the whole story is entirely useless.

[KA13]

Sorry...this swap has taken 6 months so posting the history would take awhile. When I bought the motor it was "supposed" to be out of a running 240 that had been rearended but the front end was perfectly fine. Since then the oil pump threads have stripped, the head was warped , timing chain broke and tore the inside of the front cover to pieces and now this. I finally took over the job myself (didn't have time because of college to originally do it) and she's almost ready if I can just figure out the problem.

[KA13]

I thought I should also mention that we had the car running until we realized that the headgasket was blown (ran terrible). We took it apart and put everything back in and fixed the broken parts I mentioned earlier. Now it won't start I believe I might have the Intake cam of by a tooth. I'm going to tear into the engine tomorrow and check the cam positions
Modified by KA13 at 8:49 PM 7/23/2006

[KA13]

...anybody have any thoughts?

[spank044]

Did you ever have the block or head decked?

1. check your timing because if your 180 off then no amount of spark matters.

2. get a compression tester (buy one its worth it). remove all the plugs and test your cylinder compression. if you have stock pistons then you could be anywhere between 145 and 165lbs.

those are a good start. good luck

[KA13]

No I din't have anyting dont with the block but when the head ws shaved the machine shop said it was fine. Timing shouldnt be that bad off. It was originally terribly off due to the guy not knowing what he was doing but I set it close and put piston 1 at tdc. I think Im of by a tooth because on the intake side my darker chain link didn't fit the mark on the sprocket like it should of it was a little off. I probably wont get a chance to work on it till the end of the week but Ill post when I get her running. Thanks for all the help guys.

[spank044]

Is the motor in the car domain pic the motor currently in the car? If it is then pal, you need to rethink your approach to the whole DOHC question. That is a SOHC motor. And if you have a DOHC swapped in. Then did you swap ECUs and wiring harness?

[KA13]

I uploaded a new pic to my cardomain front page. Yes it is the dohc engine. I did switch the harness and ecu.

[Philsnotfalling]

hows your gas tank look? Another problem I had is the car sat and sat and the gas had water in it, which caused the gas tank to rust and the sending unit to rust and gunk up. even though I was getting fuel it wasn't clean fuel and my car wouldn't start.

Are all your sensors in good shape?

[KA13]

I never thought about checking the tank for that...I'll take a look at it as well as the sensors. Thanks

[Philsnotfalling]

If you have access a scan tool will tell you which sensor is reading inaccurately. My car would start really funny b/c of the coolant temp sensor... scan tool said my car started at 270 degrees then jumped to 17 degrees, which made my car die. anyways post your findings.

[KA13]

Visually I can't tell anything fuel wise or sensor wise...I'm majorly confused cause I'm getting spark, I'm getting enough fuel that its misting out the intake. No matter which way I adjust the distributor it just won't start...

[Philsnotfalling]

check your vaccum lines all around the intake... theres alot of em, make sure none are kinked or loose. another thing to try it the idle air control vavle on the back of the intake lower plenum. pull that off I think its like 3 or 4 10mm bolts and check the senors on that. you can clean them with some brake cleaner and spray some wd40 on them before reassmebly. Just a wild guess there.

[prospec240]

MAke sure u change the coil pack to a the Dohc coil i had this problem to this was one of the things needed to be changed to get my 91 started

[KA13]

I changed the coil already, along with the ignition module. I'll check my vacuum lines as soon as I can...the car is getting towed to my house this week from my cousins so it'll be easier for me to tinker with it.

[KA13]

Well...I'm pissed. The guy working on my car didn't bolt down the plates with the sensors on the back of the head, or the disk shaped plate on top of the intake manifold....and that's just what I can see. So I don't know what else he didn't do and tried to pass of as complete. When he put the head back on I guess he didn't think it was important to have stuff bolted down. So I'm headed back out to see what I can see and try to fix his screw ups.

[KA13]

...well...I didn't think I could get more pissed off....I got a flashlight and looked behind the engine right above the transmission and guess what i found...unplugged hoses, alot of them. So come morning I'm tearing into it and praying that'll fix it. If I can even get to the hoses that is.
Modified by KA13 at 1:55 PM 8/10/2006

[KA13]

...I got the plate bolted back on and the hoses reconnected and guess what? ... It still won't start. I'm at a loss...Igntion system has been replaced, timing has been reset, new battery, new starter, fixed hoses, new cap and rotor button... I honestly feel like giving up...any ideas anybody?

[Philsnotfalling]

sorry to hear you're having a hard time at this point you need somone to physically look at the car that has done this before, if you lived closer I would have been more than happy to help out. scan tool, my best suggestion

[KA13]

Thanks man. I'm going to talk to a mechanic that I really trust with my car on monday because he's working on my moms car and I need to know whats going on with it. So I'm going to ask him that If I can get it to him, can he fix it? He told me before he could it might just be pricey because of the other guy screwing stuff up, but at this point I'm willing to pay it becuase I've done what I can. Thanks to everybody who gave me ideas. New pic of the engine set up on my cardomain if anyone wants to see it...even though it doesnt run. Thanks again everybody, I'll post a new thread when I get her running.

[Philsnotfalling]

I'd really like to hear what your problem ends up being.

[KA13]

I'll let you know. I talked to the mechanic today and he said that he's really busy this week, but that he can do it next week so...it'll be about two weeks before she's running. As soon as she is though I'll start a new thread and tell what was wrong and so on.