brand new ka24de wont start

[ka24powa89]

ok so i just got my ka24de engine rebuilt, new internals and all that other good stuff so i got it all hooked up, but one problem....it wont start. the only thing it does is turnover. its getting spark,the distrubutor works,it getting gas through the lines, i did everything i could but it wont start.i was told 3 things

1.wiring harness isnt compatible(engine came off a 93 ka24de and i kept the harness of my 95)2.injectors arent working3.missing a ground

[DALAZ_68]

if the engine came off a 93 ...ohh wait car is 95 huh, still OBDI

maybe a plug isnt hooked up some where

might be ground

u got spark, did u set it to TDC ? dont know if u know about that

because if ur not set to TDC and ur getting everything else..thats usually the case...

[boznuttz]

Is your timing set at 20 degrees at BTDC? If your timing is off, it's not unusual for the car to not fire.

[electricman]

if a ground wasnt connected i dont think it would turnover so your fine there..

[ka24powa89]

the timing is set its started before for the direct startand wats TDC

[VeloceDrift]

tdc: Top Dead Center.

whoever rebuilt it should have done it.

Maybe your firing order is wrong.

[distant240sx]

BUMP!!!! I am having the exact same problem. I just rebuilt my engine. I checked and doubled checked everything. The engine was running fine before the rebuild. Now it just cranks but never fires up. All spark plugs are getting spark. I cheked for fuel, and its getting to the fuel rail and return line. I checked each injector and they are all click if i leave the key on running position and turn the distributor manually(so crank sensor is good). I took out each spark plug, and they are all wet with gas. The only weird thing is, if crank the engine over with the crank sensor unpluged, and let the gas shoot out the exahuast, then plug it right back in and crank again, it tryies to fire up but never makes it. it makes me believe i am not getting enough air, or too much fuel. Any tips on how to further check this out? Sorry, if i am threat jacking, but maybe we have same issue.

[LayNLow240]

Sounds like a timing problem to me. Either cam or dis timing, one or the other.

[distant240sx]

Well in my case, i have checked timing already, Cams, TDC, Distributor, aligned and realigned everything over and over. no go. I must be missing something.

[DALAZ_68]

check ur ECU plug

make sure that there arent any bent prongs and make sure its tight on there...unsteady ecu signal will deffinatly not let it fire

[distant240sx]

checked. VERY CONFUSED .has anyone ever had this problem? A KA not wanting to start? what was the fix?

[RockStar240]

ok i just fixed this exact problem on my car. I had a brand new engine with a no start and fuel everywhere. It ended up being 4 different things at the same time. First check your fuel pressure it has to be 46psi at start up and 34 while running. I ended up having to replace my fuel pressure regulator. Second if you are flooding your plugs you probably have washed your cylinder walls so your compression is way to low to start the car. I poured oil into the cylinders with the spark plugs out and then shot compressed air into the cylinder to get the oil off the piston and onto the wall. Then crank it over with the injectors unplugged and plugs out so that the oil will get on the rings and to blow out any excess oil. I also had serious grounding issues do to my lovely paint job on the engine. Make sure all grounds are on clean metal surfaces and not paint. My forth problem was a wicked air leak on one of the vacuum lines i forgot to hook back up when i reinstalled the intake manifold. Now you will probably foul out the plugs a couple more time but a quick way to clean them is to unplug your fuel injectors start the car till it runs and dies then plug them back in and start the engine back up. its just quicker and easier then pulling and cleaning the plugs.

[ka24powa89]

ok so the results are....ok so the timing was off even though it was adjusted something got it out of time and I HAVE NO COMPRESSION.so wat can i do for the compression issue?

[distant240sx]

Alright, i cheked all my grounds(good) , vacuum lines(good), fuel pressure is at 40psi when i try to start the car, Injectors all click, But compression is at 60psi first piston, 70 psi second piston, 90 psi third piston, and 60 psi fourth piston. Is the compression right? it has new piston rings, they where installed and align acording to the manual. i heard it should be around 151 psi, when the car is warmed up, but does this sound right when the car has not yet been started???

[distant240sx]

Ohh and i forgot to mention, I have 40psi from the fuel pump, before the fuel rail, but when i cheked the return line, i had no pressure. Should i expect it to be like this? I would assume there is no pressure on the return line because it just goes back to the tank, but any one know for sure?

[RockStar240]

obviously you didnt read what i told you so i will tell you again. Your compression is to low to start your car because you washed the cylinders with gas and you dont have enough oil on the walls to get enough compression to start it. So what you have to do is poor oil into the cylinders then shoot compressed air into them to get the oil out of the dished pistons and onto the walls. Then unplug your injectors, as to not get any more gas into your cylinders, then crank the engine until all the oil stops spraying out of the spark plugs. then put everything back together and try starting it. But YOU HAVE TO HAVE COMPRESSION TO START AN ENGINE

[distant240sx]

I did pour in oil, shot compressed air into it, ran it with the crank sensor unpluged, and did a compression test. compression was high at first about 200psi. so i cranked it a few times without the sparkplugs installed and then plugged them back in. tried starting and nothing. did a compression test again, and i got the 60psi, 70psi, 90psi, and 60psi, reading again. Maybe i am missing something.
Modified by distant240sx at 5:59 PM 11/24/2007

[DALAZ_68]

bad motor...or badly built motor?

[distant240sx]

Ok. checked everything again, everything is fine still, exept for compression. This is not my first ka24de rebuild. but it is my first problem like this. Now i had messured the rings(brand new) and they where all good, to spec. They where aligned according to the repair manual. so i don't think i built it wrong or bad. i tried the oil method a few more times, and it fired up for about 10 seconds then died, checked compression and again it fell to 60 psi at the first cylinder and stayed at 90 psi at the rest. I am trying to figure this out, but if anyone knows of anything that might be helpfull, i would aprecciate it alot.

[DALAZ_68]

im thinking ur system might be flooded

have u taken of the spark plugs and let it sits for a good long while??

[distant240sx]

yep, took out the plugs and cleaned them. anyways wouldn't the constant cranking flush anything thats in the cylinders out? if not what would be a good way???

[DALAZ_68]

not unless u disconnect ur fuel lines......

[95_240]

Make sure your timing isn't 180 degrees off.

[distant240sx]

OKay, injectors where disconected and cranked. so that should have flushed out the cylinders.

By timing being 180 degrees off, do you mean the distributor? or the timing chain itself. becuase the timing on the chain was according to the book, tdc and cams aligned. the distributor was timed according to the manual also, but i also followed the directions for aligning the distributor timing according to an article here. so could you point me in the right direction.

[distantcrowd]

You need to check your timing if you are a couple teeth off on your cam gears that will cause low compression like that.

check your timing.

if thats not it... it was rebuilt badly with bad rings or somthing of the sort.

if compression is good then check you firing order its not 1234 its

....21......4....3

I Believe...

[distant240sx]

im so frustrated at this point. I don't think the rings where bad, i messured the end gap on all of them, and they where all good.

as for timing, this is how i have it set up, Forget the timing marks on the chain at this point. 1st piston is at TDC, the intake and exhuast cams are facing away from each other, and the distributor is pointing at the first spark wire/plug. Am i missing anything??

[distantcrowd]

it sounds right but mine fvcked up the same way though...

they will face away from eachother but you wont be able to tell if you are a tooth or two off. you can bend your valves by gussing on timing like that so be carefull and just do it by the marks...

i later found that it had a blown head gasket so just make sure you check everything the guy that built it didnt torque down the head at all they were all finger tight and warped the head by .027

needless to say i pulled the motor, resurfaced, rebuilt, painted and reassembled myself in my garage and told the guy to f*** himself.

[boostRiSK]

stock internals?

[distant240sx]

Yes, all stock internals.

The bad thing about this is, the engine was running before the rebuild, so i don't see why it wouldnt have compression now. ????

[distantcrowd]

If you head is not warped or leaking your timing is off...

the only reason the compression would be that low is if its leaking past the rings or your valves are opening at the wrong time...

re-do the timing by the marks... i have had to do it before its really not that bad just dont drop the lower chain off the bottom gear...