Crank and ALMOST starts

[j_tiz]

OK this is going to be an in depth question and I can't find much information on it. I have a 1995 Nissan 240sx with a ka24de engine that I have turbocharged. I am running Nistune and I've had it dyno tuned. I've been driving it with a turbo for awhile now and it ran great.

Here's my problem, one day I accidentally stalled out while going up my driveway (6 puck stage 3 clutch lol) and then the car would no longer start. It cranks and sounds like it is about to start, but it won't.

Things I've checked:
Battery. The connections were a little loose so I cleaned off all the contact points on got them all tight and added an extra ground cable from the battery to the chassis. My battery is located in the trunk with a 0 gauge negative and a smaller gauge probably 8. The positive is a 4 gauge, but I have tried jump starting it with the leads connected at the front directly after the 4 gauge wire. I took the battery to autozone and they said it was fine and slow charged it to 100%. Its an optima red top.

Ignition. I've checked all the ignition wires and changed out the 30amp fuse just to be sure. One thing I found is that the ignition wires going to the distributor had the rubber torn off right by were they connect to the distributor and its possible they could have been touching so I taped them up with electrical tape. I know one wire comes from the 12v ignition and the other goes to the 2 ohm resistor than to the ecu. I checked the continuity and the resistance on those wires and they are good. Also I checked the ground for the distributor and it wasn't perfect so I cleaned it up.

Spark plugs. I'm getting really strong spark from the spark plug wires using a spark tester. I bought new wires anyway to be sure and checked firing order probably over 10x. Im running very expensive new ngks with only a few thousand miles on them but I also have some known working copper plugs that I tried as well.

Fuel. My fuel pump is working fand, and I've taken out my fuel rail to test the injectors and they are spraying fine and not leaking at all. I also have other injectors that I know work that I tried. I also tried disconnecting the injectors and spraying lighter fluid while trying to start but it did the same almost start thing.

Camshaft position sensor. I went through the FSM and did tested everything rlayed to the cps and it all came back good. All the grounds are good and the ecu grounds are good. Its giving the 5v on and off just like its supposed to and I visually inspected it and its clean as can be.

Timing. I put my car in tdc on the compression stroke marked the distributor where the #1 spark plug was and checked the rotor. The rotor was slightly advanced but not by a lot. Before checking it I tried starting with the dizzy advanced and retarded and it didn't matter. I tried lining it up better, but the teeth seem to line up either a little advanced or way retarded so I just kept it how it was. When I try starting it more advanced or retarded than it is set at, it just cranks and doesn't sound like its about to start.

Compression and air. There is compression in all cylinders although I don't know how much. I tried pouring a little oil in each cylinder but that didn't help. One thing that may be useful info is that when I press on the gas it sounds even more like its going to start. I've tried unplugging the MAF and taking the cold pipe off the throttle body but neither helped.

I also tried using different tunes on my ecu like the one before I got it dynoed but that didn't help either. Also, when I go to start the car, there is a voltage drop from 12v down to 10v while its cranking. I'm pretty sure that's normal though.

TL;DR version: I've got compression, spark, fuel, and timing but my car still won't start.

[Monicadena]

If you find what it is please let me know im going trhough the same exept my car is automatic! you can always send me private or email! and if i find my problem ill let you know !

[j_tiz]

OK I'll let you know. Quick update. I checked my timing while cranking and I was slightly past tdc so I adjusted it right to tdc but it didn't help. I also fixed cleaned up the connection from the 4gauge positive wire to the starter and accessories. It was really dirty.

Any diagnostic gurus out there? I have no idea what to check next, and this is my DD so I have to use the bus until its fixed I'm thinking about just removing the whole engine block and head and replacing it but I want to be sure its not something else.

[j_tiz]

No one? I really don't want to replace the whole block and then it still not work because it was something else.

[blkvrtswp]

Did you set the timing using a timing light? That is a must, especially with a turbo.

EDIT: My bet is your timing is off and now the cyls are flooded. You may need to 1) set timing properly 2) dry out cyls with a hair dryer 3) change your oil if dipstick smells like gas or you will spin a bearing.

[j_tiz]

Thanks for the reply blkvrtswp. Hyes I already set with a timing light, dried out my cylinders, and changed the oil because it smelled like gas. I'm gonna buy a new cap and rotor because I found a post like this and he fixed it with a new rotor. Even thoug I'm getting strong spark, it can't hurt since I don't know how old they are.

[j_tiz]

I found the problem. While reckecking my injectors I tried turning my engine over with them out and noticed that my cylinders were flooding anyway and realized it was flooding with oil, not fuel! *Facepalm I'm going to get a heavier weight oil and see if I can get her started but chances are the piston rings are to far gone

[j_tiz]

Does anyone know if its OK to mix 10w-40 with 20-50? Would that make it 15w-40. Or would it just separate in the oil pan?

[Empire087]

doest work that way, you should never mix motor oils of different weights.

[j_tiz]

K thanks. I just went with 20w-50 and it started but barely and it blows bluish white smoke out the exhaust like a mofo. Not sure how many more times it will start withoutnew rings.