To all who have done a timing chain job

[Hijacker]

Did you have any cam timing issues when you finished? A few weeks ago, I did my timing chain using a kit for a FWD SR. Since the exhaust cam sprocket was different, I had to reuse the old cam gear, but everything else from the kit was used. Now the motor's back in the car, I get spark and fuel, but I can't get it to fire. Ignition timing is close enough to get the car running, but I was hearing air pop back through the intake filter when I was hand cranking the motor. That says to me that the valves are overlapping funny. The chain was set to the mate marks on all of the sprockets, which matched the old sprockets perfectly, so I'm at a loss as to what the problem could be. Any insight would be helpful. Thanks in advance.

[180fan]

reuse the stock cam sprockets. Might have to adjust around the CAS to make it kinda start up. I had to do that when I first did the timing chain job on an sr that was installed on my buddy's car a little while back.

[180fan]

oh another thing it could be is the chain markings. Did you double check the links to the punchmarks?

[Hijacker]

triple checked the links.

The cylinders are flooded. Pulled the plugs and they're soaked. I managed to get the cylinders unflooded, but the moment i allowed fuel to reach the injectors, they flooded again. Gonna spend tomorrow going over the fuel system.

I hate cars lol

[180fan]

I'd rather be doing a timing chain job than a rebulid lol

[Hijacker]

I'm starting to think it could be weak spark caused by a bad ground. I had to cut one of the ground plugs when i pulled the motor because the bolt was fused to the head and I couldn't get a breaker bar and socket on the bolt while it was still in the car.

I resoldered it, but it was so thick, it was being a pain. Guess I'll have to go and resolder it again.

[got2b240]

damn good luck with that man, just make sure your cas is lined up well and your properly grounded. good luck

[s13sr20chris]

add grounds in addition to fixing them. cant have too many.

[Hijacker]

I've got eliminated down to a fuel delivery issue. The motor is just dumping fuel into the cylinders when i unrestrict the feed line. Tomorrow, I'm gonna check the fuel pressure and see what it's sitting at. If it's high, it could be the FPR went bad on me.

I've even swapped a new MAF on, changed back to a stock ECU, and have gotten nothing. Even the codes I pull all say "clear". I've had one of my mechanic friends troubleshoot this with me, and we're both stumped. If the pressure in the fuel line turns out to be normal, then I'll probably just cry.

[ItzGenX]

You can always try starting without the MAF plugged in to put it into safe mode to eliminate one problem. Another is, pull off the fuel rail and have someone try to start the car. Point the injectors up into the air away from your face and pull all the plugs to make it easier on the starting RPM. Watch the injectors fire starting with #1. It should fire 1, 3, 4, 2. All should have the same looking stream of fuel. If so, move on to the coil packs. I've seen dead ones before, so plug them into one know good coil wire and put a plug in it. Place the tip of the plug against the firewall or the exhaust manifold and have someone start it (again without sparkplugs bolted in). It should show a 2-3 sparks per second. Check all coils by placing them on the last known working coil driver. If all checkout, begin placing working coils on each coil connector driver and see if they all have a spark. My cousin had a problem where coil driver #1 was trying to substitute by firing for all 4 (meaning #1 will fire a spark 4x as fast). #2, 3, and 4 never fired. This is with a 61 ECU. I gave him my 62 ECU and all went well, so I let him have it since I use a Haltech now. The main thing is checking for fuel and spark in the correct order and making sure everything gets fuel and spark to begin with. If all checkout well, check CAS timing carefully, then move on to cam timing. To time the cams correctly without using mating marks, set to TDC, set exhaust cam KEY to about 12 o' clock in reference to a leaning motor (leaning to the driver side a little). From there pull all slack out of driver side of chain and slip over the exhaust cam sprocket. Then count EXACTLY 20 chain rollers in between the mating marks of both cams before bolting down the intake cam and sprocket. The "blind" trick I've used for all SR's I've worked with has never failed me even once.

[Hijacker]

i should be called a retard for not checking this earlier, but the CAS was out 180 degrees. She runs now