Won't start

[Lord_Vader]

Did a head job, checked everything (so I think) All the vac lines are connected, but there is a strong Gas smell. My FPR wasn't tight, so I tightened it, no noticeable leaks. Don't have a compression tester, can't afford to rent one. Any thoughts or ideas? Anything that is commonly overlooked? I even looked at the disty arm to make sure that at TDC, it was at the #1 plug wire. All plugs are tight, everything SHOULD be working.

Again, what is commonly overlooked in a head swap?

Seems to have 3 quick revs, then a slow one, like it almost wants to start....

[Lord_Vader]

It would figure that this would happen on a damn friday damn night when EVERYONE who is smart is out drinking or asleep already. Oh and I have job orientation in less than 7 hours. **** my goddamn life, I'm not going to sleep until that ****ing pile of **** is either running, or ablaze.

[atomicEGT]

if you took the cam sprockets off, I'll bet $20 you put them back on wrong.

also, wrong section.

[Lord_Vader]

****, you're right. I am in the wrong section. How does one put the cam sprockets on wrong? Both of them are in their respective niche, Intake is in the I nipple, the Exhaust is on the E nipple. Two nipples that aren't doing me a ****ting good thing.

But seriously, this is not me being my usual smartass self, I'm curious as to how one would put the cam gears on improperly?

[Lord_Vader]

My paypal is dickey.jared@yahoo.com Whenever is convenient for you :D

[atomicEGT]

Jeff, Jon, and I all managed to do it. some of the BP cam sprockets have three slots (I, E, and I think Z) and if you get distracted/have ADD/are drunk, occasionally they get put on wrong. usually it's the exhaust side, which causes the car to misfire, dump fuel into the cylinders (making a gas smell and wet plugs), and act like it's trying to start and doesn't. mine also shot two-foot flames from the exhaust and sounded like a shotgun.

[Lord_Vader]

Well I triple checked them, and my cam sprockets, mine only have two slots, Intake and Exhaust. I did the E-cam swap, and IIRC, when you do the Ecam swap, you put the 'new' intake (exhaust cam) sprocket goes back into the I slot for the intake side, like it was before the swap, with the modified cam gear 21 teeth clockwise from the 'I' tick on the modded cam gear. That was my TDC for that.

[Lord_Vader]

Got it fired up, tinkering with the engine timing, I was about a tooth off in each opposite direction with each of my gears, it ran for about 10 min, did the funny Vac-idle where it revs and drops, revs and drops every second or two, got it to operating temps, the temp hand spiked to between the R and M in Normal, then dropped all the way down to the N-O region, and now it won't fire back up. I damn near give up on that stupid ****ing piece of ****.

[The Pile]

Idk,,, if i get something started, even if it doesnt run very long... i feel like i accomplished something... and ive done ****loads of motorswaps, trans swaps.... dont get discouraged dood.. its just probably something you overlooked, that you will know better next time, or could possibly help someone in the future in similar circumstances... i would definitly spend the 30 bucks on a compression tester... you will use it ALOT more than you think

[Lord_Vader]

Haha, trust me bud, this ain't my first rodeo with this particular beast. When I bought the car, I did a motorswap with no CLUE what I was doing, turned out to be easier than I thought, but still. Had issues then too, turns out my grounds weren't hooked up. (Yes I already checked them all ) Umm I checked all the vac lines, all the fittings, just wondering if there were more vac lines I'm missing besides the cluster**** of them on the P/S connecting the FPR, and VICS, and the one behind the intake mani that goes to the top of the intake.

I dunno, I have spark, I would assume I'm getting air because it DID start, and it even idled fine,

Here's what I've done thats not factory:
Ecam swap (Goes on the I notch correct?)
stage 2 cut intake (not like that guy did on here, eliminating VICS, just the two restricted bars)
4 wire TPS, irrelevant to the no-start I think...
K-code Hybrid VAM

Everything worked before the head swap. That's whats stumping me.

[1st Gen]

What does your gas gauge say?
Reseat as many plugs as you can find and try it again. If it ran, that means a host of stuff has to be working right.

[Lord_Vader]

Gas was filled up right before the cam snapped, I think I've got 24 miles on this tank. Yeah, that's what really irks me, is that I have a LOT of stuff working right, but I can't pinpoint what isn't... I took all the plugs out, checked to see if they were arcing, and they are. I'm obviously getting fuel, because my plugs seem to be getting gas gunk on them from it not going through the combustion cycle, Only thing I can think to check, is the VAF and try to figure out why my fuel pump is continuously running with the key on. Doesn't it usually cycle enough fuel to crank the car, and when the car cranks it goes to a certain percentage? With the key on, (not turning over) the pump keeps pumping fuel, nonstop, until I turn the key off.

I did ground out the old head on the starter trying to remove it, so maybe it blew a fuse?? I'm kinda dumbfounded, but if it ran, then it's gotta be something simple.

[Lord_Vader]

Reseat the plugs?

[1st Gen]

Reseat the plugs?

It's a long shot but it does happen. Give a little push to the TPS sensor plug, the coil plug, ect. Make sure they didn't get jostled loose during the head work you did.

If it was running prior to the work, and the work you did was correct, then it has to be something like that. Otherwise, it has to be something you did during the repair. Recheck your facts again and don't be quick to dismiss anything as trivial. Start with the cheap and easy.

Good luck

[Lord_Vader]

I'll recheck all my plugins. One thing I think I should bring to your attention is the fact there is a green plug on the head, behind the T-stat on the head, and the one on my old head was level horizontally, the one on the new head is at an angle. Don't know if that bears any relevance, but it's the only thing different that I can visually tell.