x Wild Bill x

Alright guys i am really lost here and need some help. My car threw a rod back in May, so I bought a new 4 bolt main short block, and transferred over all my goodies. Put it back in the car and went to start it this past week and nothing. Pretty sure I had bad gas at first as it smelt old and I would only get a few pops out of my exhaust. I checked the Opti, I have the AC signal and I have spark at the coil and at the plugs. When I pulled the #1 plug, it was wet with gas and had a little black on it, #3 wasn't soaking wet like #1, but had the black stuff on it also. So, I am thinking that in the time cranking it and trying to start it, I have fouled the plugs... That is the only thing I can think of, I double checked the timing and with the arrow facing up, #1 cylinder rockers were both down just like they are supposed to be. Also, I have installed a few opti's and I know not to force it on and this one slid on nice and easy, so I know that is lined up. I am at a total loss here and am getting very frustrated, please help.

Thanks,
Bill

red-_-z28

are you throwing any codes?

gregrob

iTrader: (8)

Spark? Fuel pres?

x Wild Bill x

Haven't checked codes and I know i have fuel and spark, getting a compression tester today hopefully, but I am assuming that I have compression, only reason is if timing is way off, but I'm 99% sure I did that right lol.

Bill

x Wild Bill x

Alright, haven't had time to work on the car, but I have been thinking more about what I did putting it together. It sounds like it pretty much has no compression, and I have read you should install the timing gears dot to dot, cam at 6 and crank at 12, but I have also read 12 and 12. However, one spin of the crank and you can go from either one to either one, so it should not make a difference correct? My other thought is that in installing them dot to dot when I turned them to adjust my valve lash, the lifters were not totally on the base of the cam. Therefore my lash is too tight and valves are hanging open causing no start...

just some ideas to think about.

Thanks,
Bill

97camaross

iTrader: (6)

it really sounds like a timing prob. might want to post a vid of what the car is doing...

x Wild Bill x

Umm just think of a car spinning over with no other noises haha, I get a pop once every three tries, but nothing that sounds like it wants to fire. I'm thinking timing to, just not sure and it is driving me nuts esp. bc I don't have a lot of time to work on it right now. The thing is, I know I lined up the gears dot to dot and the opti slid on very easy...

Thanks,
Bill

Michigan Skip

Bill, I have seen rebuilds not start if the battery wasn't up to full charge, and also if , not enough compression. If the plugs were wet, you may have wiped the cylinder walls and you need to squirt some oil into the cylinders and spin the engine a few times to oil up the walls again.That will help build come compression back in the cylinders. It's worth a try.

x Wild Bill x

I had read about the oil in the cylinders, only thing is taking the plugs out is a PITA, but I could do it. I need to order a compression gauge and check that, if they were wiped down, would I still get some compression? Yeah, plugs were wet from the Opti harness not being plugged in all the way, so I replaced them and the gas with fresh and still nothing....

What I need to know is dot to dot okay, or should I take of the timing chain and go 12 to 12?

Thanks,
Bill

psiconversion

iTrader: (5)

Dot to Dot is how you line up a timing chain if you are on #1 cylinder. 12 and 12 is if you are on #6 cylinder. As someone stated before, if you have fuel, spark and air, timing is all that is left. Additionally, make sure the fuel pressure is good.

94LTZ

iTrader: (5)

Ok yes liek every one stated dot to dot, but when i put my engine in a made the mistake of not plugging in the oil pressure sending unit behind the intake manifold and it wouldn't start, kinda sounded like what yours is doing, the guage read that it had FULL pressure.. I plugged it in and she started right up..

Another one i've seen is build up in the opti harness

x Wild Bill x

Yeah, I have that sensor plugged in and it reads zero pounds and goes up once I start cranking. As for the opti harness, I am getting the full voltage to ICM and the 4+ AC volts off the opti. Like I said, plenty of strong spark and fuel, as for fuel pressure I will need a gauge, but am assuming it is goo as it was fine before I swapped the motor and it shoots out of the rail pretty good.

Thanks,
Bill

SPEED#1

iTrader: (14)

check the timing chain.

Michigan Skip

Maybe not enough to light it up. You can just pull the plugs that are the easiest to get at and squirt some oil in them.

psiconversion

iTrader: (5)

This might be a dumb question but i'll ask anyway, how old is the gas in the car being that you did an engine swap and all?

ADM

Dude, re-do your valve lash now that your lifters are pumped up from the numerous cranking attempts.

I had finished my build, everything was on right, double checked all my wiring and my ignition cables 3 times. It would only pop a few times.

I undid the rocker arm nuts and re-adjusted the valve lash. Fired up from the moment it cranked over. When I had removed the lifters, I put them on a piece of cardboard upside down to bleed out all the dirty oil out of them, and cleaned them up, then soaked them for a day in fresh oil. However, its not enough to have pressure in them. When I went to start the engine, the valves were leaking compression once the lifters got pumped up.

Give it a try, it might just be that.

95redt/a

i was wondering if anyone could also help me on here.i have a 95 trans am lt1 355 forged internals brand new clutch.well ijust had the motor rebuilt and the car ran perfect then one day i really got on it in 2nd and then mad it home fine,then i was leaving later that day and made it about half a mile then the clutch had a vibration whemi fully engaged the clutch but the motor held rpm fine then just died and wont even turn over now and the clutch feels kinda hard to push in.any ideas?

x Wild Bill x

Yeah, so for some reason I didn't get any emails for updates to this thread, hence me not responding. But anyways, I went out last night and thought to check the valve lash on my own and sure enough, lifters were too tight, re-set the valve lash and she fired right up. Ran a little rough and did not want to idle, so I think I had the lash too tight, re-did it and started it up again, still running a little rough. I think I may have the lash still too tight, but I do not think the lifters have pumped up fully yet. The car won't quite idle on its own right now, because I think it need to re-learn idle for the tune, it will hold at 2K no problem. So what do you guys think I should do? Run it for a little more and then check the lash again or re-set it and leave them loose?

Thanks,
Bill

Ohh and juced, I had already drained the tank thinking it could be bad gas lol

psiconversion

iTrader: (5)

Always check the obvious : )

Good to hear it was the lash.

SS14PSI

iTrader: (11)

Wild Bill quick question, I have what sounds like the same exact issue. I checked the compression and had none. I adjusted the lash and voila, 180lbs, but still no start, only a pop every now and then. Since I have compression now, I can count the valves out, correct?