Totally stumped!

[monkeyodeath]

Any other ideas?

[sweet6e30]

try this :
unbolt the fuel rail, and set it up so when u crank u can see if there is an injector stuck open or if they r all spraying equally fine.
you might have an injector that is just pissing in there or one that is not at all spraying. try giving each injector a little tap sometimes that all an injector needs if it is closed shut or stuck open. ( thats my experience at least with skylines)

check the gap on your plugs ( i would use the proper plugs by bosch and if you do don't forget to unscrew the little cap so the wires fit properly on them.)
you might be getting spark but maybe not enough - is your coil new? sometimes a used coil is unable to provide enough spark they do get tired. you may be getting spark but maybe NOT enough

check the oil to see if it smells like gas, if it does not to worry right away, there is obviously some fuel that is in the combustion chamber and made its way passed the rings. if you can take all the spark plugs out and blow compressed air in there to try to evaporate the left over fuel , put NEW plugs making sure they have the proper gap. try cranking the engine over with disconected injectors for a few trys. it obviosly wont start but may sputter then since there is always a bit of fuel vapour left in there. then reconnect the connectors on the injectors as the rail and injectors have been re installed and have been inspected as they spray correctly . try cranking.


if your oil did stink like gas, change it and change the filter, the last thing you want is to wash your cylinders out and fuck your crank and main bearings


if you have enough spark and proper fuel delivery it will start.

Are you absolutely sure your timing is correct and t belt installed correctly? even a notch or two on the t belt off of timing will give you starting hassels.


keep us informed, theres enough turkies on this forum to surely help you out and get your beast running, hope that helps

[monkeyodeath]

Alright, so I decided to check the timing yet again just to make sure everything is kosher. I was thinking maybe my harmonic balancer was somehow messed up.

I notice that the crankshaft hub itself has a line in it that I assume is the timing mark. There's a small notch in the case above it as well. My question is, is the timing mark on the crank hub supposed to line up with the notch, or with the line in the in the timing belt cover?

Here's a couple pics to show what I'm talking about. The first pic is what the crank looked like when I took the harmonic balancer off. Balancer was at TDC at time of removal. As you can see, timing line is just about lined up with notch.



This is a close-up pic of what I'm talking about.



When I line the crank up with the line on the timing belt, then install the harmonic balancer, the mark on the balancer is off - so if that's how it's supposed to be, then my timing is off.

But when I line the mark on the crank with the notch in the case, then install the harmonic balancer, all marks are on point - the cam lines up with the notch in the head, and the balancer lines up with the mark on the timing belt cover. I'm assuming this is the case, cause it just makes sense. In which case, my timing is right.

The marks aren't PERFECTLY on - when I get the crank dead on the TDC mark, the cam is slightly off. But by a few millimeters - in other words, the mark is near the edge of the tooth rather than dead down the center. But it's way less than one tooth.

[monkeyodeath]

Anyone know if I'm right about the timing or not? All the instructions I've seen say to use the harmonic balancer and lower TB cover - never seen any reference to what you time the crank itself with.

[sweet6e30]

http://www.angelfire.com/blues2/bimmer/maint/tbelt/timingbelt.html

^^^^^^ check this write up with pics, it helps
check here, U need to have the lower timing belt cover on a nd line that mark up with the mark on the harmonic balancer.

if the the crank lines up and the cam sprocket is lined up properly then you r smack on !

[jlevie]

The definitive timing mark is the mark on the crank hub and the notch in the timing cover. When those are lined up the marks on the cam sprocket should be on or less than one tooth off. The cam sprocket marks won't line up perfectly if the head has been surfaced, but the error will be less than one tooth.

[monkeyodeath]

Okay, looks like the timing was right all along then. I'm getting good at tearing the front of the engine apart, I can do it fast now!

The first picture shows how off the timing is - as you can see, it's quite bit less than one tooth.

[PNWDan]

The notch on the block and on the crank should line up as should the notch on the damper to the timing cover respectively all while the notch in the cam gear aligns with the notch above it. For what its worth it sounds like the timing is off. If you jumped a tooth this could be it. Spark + gas + compression = fire unless its not all timed

[monkeyodeath]

Ok, so the timing is right on, no doubts about that. All marks line up within one tooth. Crank spins happily without obstruction. So I know I did that right.

Also, popped out the injectors and cranked the engine to watch them spray - all of them looked fine, none were stuck open.

[sweet6e30]

possibly your coil is tired, your getting spark but not enough, it happened to me before once.

[monkeyodeath]

man, i can't even get this thing started with starter fluid...i feel like there is a spark issue or something...just doesn't make sense why it wouldn't fire up even full of starter fluid. you'd think that it would at least fire with some starter fluid - just a little bit.

and as for compression - doesn't make sense that it would run one day, go 40 miles no sweat, then lose enough compression in a couple weeks of sitting to not start at all...

[monkeyodeath]

Shoot, I figured this out, after some major internet searching.

When I replaced the timing belt, I removed the cam sprocket in order to replace the oil seals. What I did not know or notice was that the plastic dust shield which bolts to the front of the cam sprocket and holds the rotor mounts is keyed by a little metal pin.

So when I reassembled the cam sprocket, I didn't make sure the rotor mount was correctly positioned (the pin has a low profile and is easy not to notice). So the timing was off - because the rotor was facing the wrong way. So I had spark, fuel, and correct timing belt timing, but the spark was happening at the wrong time. Kind of a tricky situation to diagnose.

Thought I was going crazy until I found that out!

So FYI to those who are replacing the camshaft oil seals - it's super easy, but make sure to get that plastic rotor mount on there the right way! Otherwise you'll go nuts trying to figure out why your car won't start.

Thanks to everyone for the help, I really appreciate you taking time out to help a noob get his rig running.

[bimmer630]

I put a rotor on crooked once like that, although not totally 180 degrees off. the car ran but ran crappy.

sucks that you spent so much time/money to find out it was your screw up.