bmg123

I cannot get my 88 CRX Si started. It has not been driven for the last few months while I was changing the headgasket, having the fuel injectors cleaned, and installing new fuel filter, spark plugs, plug wires, dist. cap and rotor, air filter, etc.

I think I have everything hooked up correctly. When I turn the key, I can hear the fuel pump prime, and the starter turns over and I can see the timing belt move without coming off the teeth.

I did the test where I take one spark plug wire out with the spark plug still attached and place it against a piece of metal while trying to start, to make sure there is a spark. I confirmed that there is a spark.

I then sprayed from starting fluid near the intake manifold to induce the car to start to find out if there is some kind of fuel issue. The car still would not start. I then also took off the hose off the fuel filter, and confirmed that there was a lot of fuel dripping off the hose. I also took the fuel rail off to make sure fuel is getting there, and there was a lot of fuel dripping off the fuel pressure regulator. So it seems like there is fuel.

So I am not sure what else it could be. I checked and rechecked to make sure all the vacuum hoses were attached. I wonder what else it could be. Maybe some kind of sensor? I do have another good running 88 CRX that I could swap sensors off of. The check engine light is not coming on.

OneBadTurboCRV

Check to see if your LED is coming on in the ECU. It should flash when you turn the key to the number two position. IF it does not flash, then there is your problem. Check your fuses.

t3601

did you check your timing, not the dizzy but the timing belt? in case you didn't know there is two different ways to time the single cams, one for vtec and one for non.

bmg123

The fuses are all good and the ECU flashes once when I move the key back and forth between the number 1 and 2 positions. So I think the ECU is fine.

Maybe it is the cam timing. Before I took the head off to replace the headgasket, I thought I had the arrow pointing up in the TDC position. Then when I put the head back on I made sure the arrow was pointing up before I connected the distributor. But it was my first time changing the head gasket, maybe I did it wrong. Is there some way to check that the cam timing is right without taking the head off?

.Manny.

iTrader: (1)

There are timing marks on the crank pully and cam gear. Check the FAQ and look for a quick guide

t3601

yep, line up the white mark on the crank pulley with the raised plastic on the lower timing belt cover. then depending if it is vtec or not is where you line the cam up. but don't forget that there is compression stroke and overlap stoke. and you want to check your timing on the compression stoke. one way is just like dohc motors you put the up arrow up with the horizontal lines level with the head surface. the other way is to line the extra mark on the cam gear with an indication arrow on the inside belt cover. I don't deal with single cams that much so i forget which one is which.

bmg123

okay thanks, yeah I just spaced out and didn't think that correcting the cam timing was the same as when changing a timing belt. Yes, the reason why it wouldn't start was because of the cam timing.

I started it, but then the CEL came on with code 9. I switched out the distributor with the one in my other CRX, and the CEL went away. So it looks like I need a new distributor.

After having it run for a while, a big cloud of white smoke came out of the tail pipe. It was so bad I could not even see the driveway. But then I let it idle a bit then drove it around the neighborhood a few times, and now the amount of white smoke is less. But I can still see some white smoke.

I wonder if I should just keep driving it and see if it eventually goes away, or if it means my head is warped and should have had it resurfaced when I changed the headgasket.

DJYoshaBYD

sounds like you had an uneven mating surface.. should have checked.. sometimes you can get away with it..

it wont eventually go away.. not if it was uneven to begin with... when taking off and putting the head on, did you torque/untorque the bolts to spec, and in the right order?

~sp33~

It could just be burning up any water that was left in your exhaust after your previous head gasket blew. Either let it idle for a while, or take it for a decent drive to clear its lungs. If it's still bad, or you can feel a loss of power, then you've either not torqued the head properly, or the head was warped.

Also make a note of if you are losing coolant. If you're not then don't be too worried.

t3601

do your radiator hoses feel like they have to much pressure in them. cause sometimes your head gasket won't seal just around the combustion chamber and leak between the water jackets. do you have to keep puting water in it? have you done a compression test? have you atleast checked your oil to make sure it's not a milkshake yet.

oh yeah, and don't count that dizzy out yet. i have had that happen plenty of times, pulling the dizzy off for a different repair and when i put it back on it throws a code 9. but sometimes you can reset the code and it wont come back, and other times your dizzy will take a complete **** in a couple weeks. in most cases i replace the cam positioning sensor in the dizzy and it takes care of the problem

bmg123

I think there was definately water left over in the muffler from before I changed the headgasket. That muffler was old and the inside was breaking down and mixed with the water, so I replaced the whole exhaust system with the one from my other CRX. Now there is no water whatsoever appearing on the exhaust tips.

I am not losing any coolant, the coolant level was still full when I took off the radiator cap.

But I am burning a lot of oil. I just drove the car 300 miles and had to add back in 2 quarts. It does smoke when I hit the gas pedal hard, but it is not a big cloud of white smoke like before.

I wonder if the burning of so much oil is related to the headgasket or if it is just because this is a tired and old engine.

I took the car today to get smogged and barely passed the emissions test. The HC levels were 146 and 115 (147 and 122 are the max allowed).

VTECengaged

Could be a combination of both. The same thing happened to me when i replaced the head/head gasket on my crx. I bought an a6 head that was rebuilt and didn't bother to getting the head resurfaced. I installed the new head, head gasket, and head studs, and the car continued to smoke. It would smoke like crazy under heavy load, like pulling away from a stop. I would burn about a quart of oil to every tank of gas. The car still ran good for the time i needed it to.

~sp33~

I don't think the head gasket is going to make you burn oil. Sounds like the piston rings are worn.

88efZ6

x2
also, check for oil leaks potentially hitting the exhaustthat happened to me.