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Full 5.3 rebuild won’t fire

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Old Apr 7, 2021 | 11:01 AM
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Default Full 5.3 rebuild won’t fire

Hello,
so I got a 2000 5.3 out of a Chevy Silverado with a blown head gasket, tore it all the way down to the block and fully rebuilt it. Resurfaced the heads, honed and decked the block. All new bearings and seals, put in a Brian tooley racing torque cam and switched to flat top pistons. Got it all put together and in my Toyota pick up. Wiring with a Holley terminator x system and Holley fuel rails. I have between 140-160psi of compression on each cylinder, also have fuel and spark. Whenever I try to fire with the base tube the Holley came up with nothing happens, so I dropped the timing down from 15 to 14.3 to see if it was that and got it to fire a little but not run. When I have the throttle open I can hear popping coming from inside the engine. This leads me to believe that my timing is off and my intake valves are still open when it’s igniting. Would that be a correct assumption? I thought I lined my cam and crank up dot to dot but maybe I was ever so slightly off? Would that be the cause of this? This is my first time doing anything like this. Any advice would be appreciated. I’ll try to attach the video of the firing that I did get, won’t let me upload from my phone. I’ll try to get it to the computer to upload
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Old Apr 7, 2021 | 12:14 PM
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Make sure the coil harnesses are on right, as it is TOO EASY to get them backwards or switch sides, causing the symptoms you related above.
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Old Apr 7, 2021 | 12:20 PM
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You cant really be slightly off on cam timing, 1 tooth off is very obvious. Also if it was 1 tooth off it should still run.
First thing I would do is make sure your Holley is set for the correct reluctor ring 24x or 58x depending on witch crank you have.
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Old Apr 7, 2021 | 01:59 PM
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Originally Posted by G Atsma
Make sure the coil harnesses are on right, as it is TOO EASY to get them backwards or switch sides, causing the symptoms you related above.
coil harnesses are correct, odd ignition plugged into drivers side, even plugged into passenger side. Coil packs are also on correct side and everything is plugged in properly
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Old Apr 7, 2021 | 02:04 PM
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Originally Posted by Ls7colorado
You cant really be slightly off on cam timing, 1 tooth off is very obvious. Also if it was 1 tooth off it should still run.
First thing I would do is make sure your Holley is set for the correct reluctor ring 24x or 58x depending on witch crank you have.
I know It definitely wasn’t more than one tooth off if it was even off at all, I built the engine a few months ago, so it’s hard to remember. But I’m pretty sure it was dot to dot. From what I remember I put it on the first time and the crank sprocket dot was one tooth counter clockwise but I’m 99% sure I pulled it off and put it on dot to dot.
as far as the Holley being set up for the correct reluctor ring, I’m also 99% sure it was set up for the 24x sensor which is what I have.
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Old Apr 7, 2021 | 02:19 PM
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It is also possible if you run aftermarket harness to have coil sub harness backwards. 7 fires thinking 1 is firing, 3&5 also swapped.
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Old Apr 7, 2021 | 02:58 PM
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When I built my motor I did dot to dot.... Turns out the dots weren't, or the cam wasn't, ground perfect.

Verified timing was off with a degree wheel, timed the cam right and it fired right up
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Old Apr 7, 2021 | 03:50 PM
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Is someone helping you with the base tune on the Holley system?
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Old Apr 7, 2021 | 04:46 PM
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Originally Posted by Darth_V8r
It is also possible if you run aftermarket harness to have coil sub harness backwards. 7 fires thinking 1 is firing, 3&5 also swapped.
i put the coil pack in the way they came off of the engine, so they should be correct. The Holley harness only lets you plug it in one way
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Old Apr 7, 2021 | 04:47 PM
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Originally Posted by 1FastBrick
Is someone helping you with the base tune on the Holley system?
no, I’m just using the base tube they Holley terminator x comes up with with the initial programming
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Old Apr 7, 2021 | 05:15 PM
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couldn't figure out how to upload a video here, but here's a link to a video

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Old Apr 7, 2021 | 06:11 PM
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Sounds like the ign is wired to be hot only on the start side of the switch....
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Old Apr 7, 2021 | 08:56 PM
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Old Apr 7, 2021 | 08:59 PM
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Old Apr 7, 2021 | 09:09 PM
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Originally Posted by Old Geezer
Sounds like the ign is wired to be hot only on the start side of the switch....
I have it wired like this. 12v switch wire from holley to a relay, coming out the relay (relay is wired to a 20 amp fuse on a fuse panel) to the switch side of the switch, and 12v constant to the other side of switch. ive been tapping the starter activator wire to that 12v constant on the switch. could that be pulling power from the holley and not giving the holley enough power to stay running? even though there is a 12v constant to the holley as well? when i got it to fire a little bit in that last video the holley immedietly went all red on the computer lights then shutoff and turned on again.
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Old Apr 8, 2021 | 03:31 AM
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If you think your wiring isn't working the way you have it. You could always hook it all straight to battery to see if it will fire then move 1 wire at a time till you find which one isnt getting power when it needs it.
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Old Apr 9, 2021 | 10:31 PM
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I dont think its due to wiring, but ill try running a different hot wire for the starter switch and see what happens. I feel like its most likely timing, because when i pulled hot half a degree of timing is when i got it to fire a little as you can see in the video. with the base tune the holley made when the throttle wide open i can hear some popping coming from inside the engine, and some smoke comes out of the intake. i just dont want to mess with timing too much and hurt something
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