ca18det wontt stay running

[1991black240sx]

my 240sx has a ca18det when i start it it starts and dies out. it wont hold idle and when i start it and rev it it back fires then dies. i need help bad its my only car.

[sjbsuperman1425]

hows your timing? can you give it throttle to keep it idling?

[jimbo22]

adjust your cas and see if that fixes anything

[1.8turboterror]

Check Timing, Does your car have a filter or are you running open MAF that could be your problem right their. Check your fuel pressure / Fuel Pump may be bad. Check spark plugs to see if you are getting flooded. Report back to us with as much info as possible and we should be able to help you better. If you live in central Jersey let me know . I will come check it. Check all your connections

[1991black240sx]

if i give it throttle it back fires... i know more on tuesday. what would cause no filter?

[sjbsuperman1425]

umm..try putting a pipe between the MAF and the turbo. i think its supposed to be like 7" or so? then put a filter on the MAF and recirc the BOV. those are my suggestions..

[1.8turboterror]

Ok Yea the way you have the MAF right on the turbo with no filter will Definetly cause your car to stall I will tell you that. Like the guy above me said you need an intake and a filter after the MAF to prevent air to surge back in right onto the MAF sensor causing it to have a false reading and sending more gas hence back fire and after the back fire go really lean and stall out. Is this the Stock CA18DET MAF ? It looks like a 300zx MAF to me if it is do you have it wired properly and is your computer chiped for it or do you have a standalone Engine Management.

[ca18detgabby]

back fire+dying=

over fueling.......

vac leak
out of timing (mechanical or igintion)
incorrect tune


I would start with moving the maf, but what does it do if you try and run w/o the maf hooked up?

is your coolant temp sensor hooked up properly?

what kind of tuning(if any) do you have.

did this car ever run, or is this your first attempt?

[1991black240sx]

its a car i am buying. i want to find out if it will be a generally easy fix. i curently have a 90 talon tsi awd that i will be trading for the 240.

[1991black240sx]

do you think getting another 240 but with the ca not running is worth trading a 90 talon tsi awd for? rwd>awd>fwd

[sjbsuperman1425]

its all up to you. it could be an easy fix, it could not be an easy fix you know? There are alot of well informed members in here that can help you along the way if you decide to get it, but if it were me, I'd be trading plus having him give me a bit of cash since it doesn't run. But its all up to you man. Cheers!

[1991black240sx]

that's how its gonna be... i just cant stand awd anymore well and the fact the the talon is a dsm. also this one will be my third s13. they drive and handle so much better than a 1g talon

[boost_boy]

that's how its gonna be... i just cant stand awd anymore well and the fact the the talon is a dsm. also this one will be my third s13. they drive and handle so much better than a 1g talon

I used to have a Hyundai Elantra with a 4G63T in it. It was okay at best, but it was awesome when I put the 4G61T in it. Problem-free engine until I over-heated it and smoked the H/G. Honestly, DSMs sucks when it comes to wrenching on them. I would spend more time baby-sitting the 4G63 than I did with my nissan stuff and that just wasn't happening anymore. So I ultimately sold the car and I don't regret it. I do know the kid that bought it has already spent double what he paid me for the car . Good 'ol DSM engines

[1991black240sx]

so i got it home friday. didnt spend much time with it then. im just not sure what i need to do to get her running... its got spark, its got fuel.... as far as i can tell its got fuel... there's fuel pressure. its been raining all day and the fuel rain is not the easiest thing to take off. whats left. its puzzling me. i cranks just doesnt start, even sounds like it wants to. i wish there was someone in this area who knows ca's

[boost_boy]

Where are you from or better yet, what area do you currently reside in or near?

[1991black240sx]

i live in waupaca wisconsin. im just not quite sure what its problem is.... i have never been able to start it.

[1991black240sx]

would almost no and very old gas be causing it not to start?

[boost_boy]

It will still crank if old gas is in there, but it will give you some trouble if things aren't hooked-up correctly. You have to really study this froum and then go over your car's equipment to make sure things are functioning correctly. As long as it have fuel, it should crank right up.

[1991black240sx]

it cranks just doesnt turn all the way over and start.... the gas in it is like a year old... tomorrow im gonna put some in her and see what it does.... if it fires and just needs the timing reset im going to laugh at the previous owner. the gas in it doesnt even smell like gas... the plugs where wet, there was spark i just think it was fuel.

[1991black240sx]

so a was working on it today... i put new gas in it.... before trying to start it with good gas in it i took all the plugs out and cleaned them so after trying it i could check them.... it cranked but did not start still. i took the plugs out and they were dry. so no fuel but after the fuel rail pressurizes there is 40 psi of gas. doesn't change much when cranking. i also held one of the coil packs off of the plug a bit while cranking and there was spark. what could be the problem??? i think that the injectors are not opening up like they should.

[1991black240sx]

ok so i finally got it to stay running!!!! but where the cas is adjusted to for it to stay running there is no mounting holes.... and when i ran it for awhile it was smoking out the breather on the valve cover. it has a really choppy idle i don't know the rpm the tach is not wired. the car did move under it's own power.

[boost_boy]

ok so i finally got it to stay running!!!! but where the cas is adjusted to for it to stay running there is no mounting holes.... and when i ran it for awhile it was smoking out the breather on the valve cover. it has a really choppy idle i don't know the rpm the tach is not wired. the car did move under it's own power.

Good you got it to start and not good at all if smoke is coming out of the breather on the valve cover. The CAS has mounting holes to bolt it down to the timing cover. WE need to see some pics of your car because I got the feeling it's all whacked-out. Please don't try to drive it in this state or it will be most catastrophic.

[1991black240sx]

i wont drive it... i just ride with the women. i'll take pictures tomorrow if its not raining.

[float_6969]

Sounds like you either need a new exhaust cam, or the exhaust cam slipped on the belt. Take a pick of where the CAS is oriented when you can get the car to run. Then pull the upper timing cover, and look for the alignment marks on the cam gears and the backing plate. The marks on the cam gears are a round dot, and the marks on the backing plate are a punched line. The lines are on the outsides of the backing plate, almost behind the cam gears. Once you've located these marks, turn the motor over (clockwise) until the alignment tab on the lower timing cover is pointing to the 2nd mark from the left on the crank pulley. (Crank pulley marks read, from left to right, 5°BTDC, TDC, 5°ATDC, 10°ATDC, 15°ATDC, 20°ATDC). When you have the motor set at TDC, the dots on the cam gears should line up with the dash's on the backing plate. If anything is off, even by a little bit, this could be why you have to have the CAS set like you do. If everything is lined up, then the spline in the exhaust cam has slipped and you'll have to get a new exhaust cam.

[1991black240sx]

so i took the cas off. i do need a new exhaust cam... i just can't find a stock one... i don't want to go buy an aftermarket set because i leave in two months. when i come back i plan to have the whole head redone. could anyone help me out and sell me a stock one?

[1991black240sx]

Is there any way to just line the CAS up to the cam in the right place and leave it for a month or two? I plan to park the car for about 9 months come the end of June. I just need to be able to drive it up till then. A friend who has DSM's thinks that we if we could get the CAS into the correct place on the cam and bolted it down that it would work for now. All that would be left is exhaust it self. The only thing I'm concerned about is that it has a GT28R on it and no other supporting mods. just a 3" down pipe, tubular manifold with an external wastegate. The down pipe flange has an internal wastegate block off and the internal wastegate is just clamped shut.

[ca18detgabby]

how do you know you need a new exhaust cam? you sure the teeth on the CAS arent tore up and thats why it is running like crap?

are you positive the timing belt is in the proper placement?

[1991black240sx]

the teeth are fine... the timing belt is properly placed. the exhaust cam is missing the key on the end of it which lines up the CAS. i needed to reweld the down pipe flange on the turbo. that is getting done tonight. i also need an exhaust. she kinda loud. it is also not building boost. i don't know if the EWG is not working right or what? i'm lost on that one.

[1991black240sx]

Ok so a few months back a acquired an 89 240sx with a CA swap in it. It was not running at all when i trailered it home. Two days went by and i got it to crank, another day went by and I had gotten it to run, but very poorly. Now i have no idea what the problem might be. It had a Z32 MAF on it. i figured that was the problem... i went and found a KA24E MAF and the wiring and put it in. there was no change in the way it ran. Then I took out the entire engine harness and checked every plug. Everything is good there. I'm just not sure what the problem is. Does anyone have any suggestions with what to do next?

Thanks

[1991black240sx]

Also my ecu number is 78... from what I have found it says it is a fwd ca18det ecu... could that be causing problems?