car wont start (after running for 2 days after cam install..)
 

buddy just did a cam install on his car...I kinda helped him out with it, we did cam and springs, put the car back together and it started on first try...stock oil pump, he bought an oreily/autozone timing chain i guess, i told him to crank it manually once and line up the dots on the cam again...not sure if he did this or not...but anyways, he drove it around (untuned) for a few days...had trouble idling on stock tune (ms4)...but he pulled it in garage last night, did TB bypass mod, and now it wont start...it barely acts like it wants to fire but just barely...any pointers so i can tell him? thanks

i have a similar issue.. if it dont start on the first try, it takes quite a few tries to get it started... not sure what the problem is

double check all your electrical connections. Something could just not be plugged in all the way and now has wiggled out.

could be. i wonder if he fouled a plug or too or something running too rich? i know i also had an issue with a coil pack connector. hard saying though.

it doesnt start at ALL since this happend. Before he said he would have to throttle it a little...

all the electrical connections are plugged in...like i said the car ran for a few days, then all of sudden after he did the tb bypass, its not starting? :cry:

so pull out a few sp. plugs and look at them. if they look black/sooty then thats your problem. it dont cost that much to just replace all the plugs and I bet it'll start after that. but, why doesnt he even have a mail order tune yet? its fine to start the car and make sure everythings ok before goin to a dyno tune, but stock tune on an MS4 is no good at all.

Maybe its the timing chain? Could be just a coincidence about the TB bypass. I also agree if its that big of a cam, it is probably fouling out the plugs. Take the plugs out, clean the tips with some sand paper, and throw them back in to see if thats the deal. That way, you don't keep wasting money going thru 10 sets of plugs. I don't understand why anyone would buy an autozone or Oreilleys timing chain when you can get an LS2 timing chain for like $28 from SDPC!

sandpaper? sorry but neverheard of that one. you dont want ot mess with a platinum plug ever. you can use a butane torch to burn off the carbon buildup if you have pretty new plugs. if there are some miles on them already (20K or more) then Id just replace them.

brand new plugs, tr55s, he hasnt pulled em yet, but the timing chain deal i am unsure of as well...he said it was a ls2 timing chain, but from oreily/autozone whatever you have type store...you think a cheap chain like this could have had too much slack and jumped a tooth when he went to start it this last time??

and he has fuel pressure, fuel at the rail, pump is turning on...

Not saying run them like that, just sand them off if they are covered and see if it starts. You will need to get new plugs after that, but at least that would eliminate that as a possability. I have done it before to old used plugs just to see if that was the case. If it does turn out that is whats wrong, at least you don't foul up a brand new set trying to determine that was it, then at the very least, you are out 2 new sets. By cleaning the old ones, you are only out 1 new set if that turns out to be the prob. And if it is, fix that problem before you put new ones in to stop from going thru so many plugs. Yeah, they are cheap, but they can add up fast if you gotta replace them every 2 weeks!

Check and make sure the engine temp sensor is plugged in...may sound weird but I did some work on my car and that sensor came unplugged and it started a couple of times and then would not start at all until I reconnected it. Just a thought.

You beat me to it ExceSSive. I broke mine doing a header install and didn't know it. It wouldn't start at all. As for it jumping a tooth, that would have to be one slack ass chain and I think with a cam like the MS4 you would have bigger problems than it just not starting after jumping a tooth or so.

Throttlebody bypass shouldn't have anything to do with it. On a no start condition you need to go back to basics:spark, fuel, compression. A fully charged battery is also needed so there is enough current left over after the starter motor uses up most of the juice from the battery during cranking that you can still fire the spark plugs. The starter motor is a current hog so if you're short on juice there may not be enough left over to power the coil packs during cranking. Eliminate the basics first before blaming the timing set.

..this levi and thats my car thats having the problem...i went with the ls2 timing chain even though its from oreily's will there really be a problem with that?? anyway im having a guy come out with hp tunner to take care of it thursday...had a question though and i know it might be simple but were is the engine temp sensor located?? also when it was running it was pretty rough...anybody know how streetable this cam is going to be??

a guy ino runs real good you just need to get it tuned alot of people have it and say its very streetable

temp sending unit is on the front of the drivers side head. It's really easy to break and I've had mine shake loose before. It's worth a look.

Pull your plugs, check those. Check your coil pack connections. Check all connections on the TB in case something isnt seated right from doing the TB bypass, check the temp connector. Triple check all your grounds. If all esle fails, the swap your coil packs from side to side. Its not common, but sometimes pops up that the coil packs dont like to be swapped. [/bold]Check all your FUSES too!![/bold]

Ski

got it running...buddy came over and wrote a quick tune on it and it started right up! plugs and 02s were bad from driving those 2 days untuned...runs like a champ now, just wanted to give a heads up as to what went wrong...

Shouldnt he be running colder plugs than tr55s?

well not if its a cam only car. but colder plugs will foul out faster then hotter plugs.