D16potato

Vehicle info:
99 honda civic EX
automatic chassis with a manual conversion
97 d16y8 with a manual harness
Completely stock, other than a/c delete
Stock bore

Hey guys ive been struggling to get my car to turn on.
Its a fresh stock rebuild, along with a manual conversion. I have the shifter wired so i can crank the car and pull my key out as well.

So what i am getting is a burping noise. Im thinking its timing related. Im very positive everything was lined up when i put it in.

Ill try to describe the situation and post a link to the video so you can see exactly what is going on.

So i pulled all the plugs after a few attempts. All were wet, i let them dry off. I have confirmed spark by pulling plug one by one and ground it on the power steering pump. All of them sparked bright white. In the video you will see that only 2 cylinders fire. Cylinder 1&2 do not combust and gas and spark is present. So ill add the link below and you guys just throw me suggestions and ill get to them right away.


Thanks

D16potato

To the top

TomCat39

Well, if you have spark and fuel, that only leaves compression/oxygen.

You might want to go into detail on the "stock rebuild". That might give some clues. And it doesn't hurt to check your mechanical timing.

D16potato

Your right, ill get my hands on a compression gauge.
When I get home ill double check the mechanical timing, im glad i still haven't put the harmonic balancer back on.

D16potato

Re-used pistons, used a hone tool on a drill and went to work 5 seconds on each cylinder. Crank was cut and polished. New gaskets, New rings. Head was within spec for warpage as well as block so that shouldn't be an issue. Pretty much kept it stock.

*I cleaned all parts in solvent before going back in, and I will add that this is not my first engine rebuild.

mk378

Do not try to run the engine with the crank pulley/harmonic balancer removed, it holds the timing belt from sliding off the sides of the sprockets into the cover.

You will also lose compression and not start if the valves are adjusted too tight.

D16potato

Thanks for the heads up. The head worked fine and I haven't made any changes to it since removal.

mk378

Also check that the spark wires are in the right order.

If the drive dog is worn enough, it is possible to engage the distributor shaft to the cam 180 degrees out of time. When you have the engine at TDC to check the timing belt, take the cap off and confirm the rotor points at #1. Then going clockwise looking at the outside of the cap, the firing order is 1 3 4 2.

D16potato

Im sorry for the delay, i just got back from out of town.

Update: checked the compression and cylinders 1-4 respectively are 90.90.87.95. Rings arent worn in at all, but they're all within the 10% range, so that leaves me with mechanical timing. Ill get to that first thing in the morning. Anything else I should check?

Ima go ahead and lean on mechanical timing. Are the D series and interference engine?.

TIA

chrysler kid

Yes they are interference motors. If your compression is good then the timing is most likely good. You should recheck the spark plug order on the cap to make sure it is correct.

D16potato

I redid the sparkplug firing order, in the video above I had it wrong. But i now have it how mk378 described it

D16potato

Bump.

Timing is spot on, any other ideas?

TomCat39

Not that this applies to your no start condition but what do you mean the crank was cut?

For the no start, I think you need to break out the Factory Service Manual and begin the trouble shooting process for the no start. Starting with the electrical side of things. It should run you through all the ignition components ruling it down to the ECU.

slomofo

iTrader: (1)

Didn't read thread fully, just skimmed.

Do you have injector pulse?
Is your thermostat ground clean and bolted on?
Is your firing order correct?

90psi compression on a fresh build is low, regardless of whether or not the rings are broken in.

Is your valve clearance correct?
Timing belt on correctly?

Did you prime the cylinder walls with oil when dropping the pistons in or did you do a dry drop?

If you pour a small amount of oil in the cylinders, does the compression go up?

D16potato

I had the crank sent off to the machine shop to be turned and polished. I was hoping it would be simple, but looks like i gotta break out the multimeter.

D16potato

Havent checked injector pulse, but i am positive injectors are spraying because of plugs being wet and smelling like gas.

Thermostat ground is bolted in pretty tight, i wire brushed all parts that had corrosion including that specific ground.

Firing order is correct, 4-2-1-3. From cap to cylinder.

You may have a point with compression

The head was not touched, it was pulled off when i spun a bearing, checked for warpage and was within spec.
*i double checked the timing and its spot on. If anything its a few mm like 1-2 off cant tell because its hard to see the arrow but its pretty much spot on. (When i did the belt on the stand it was spot on)

I installed rings wet, very wet lol, used atf.
Im sure the compression will increase with fluid in the cylinder, i can go ahead and try that and come back with numbers if that may help?

TomCat39

Can you post pics of your cap and wires? You may believe you have the correct firing order but if you put 4 on post 3 on the cap..... Will still be out of order.

As can be seen in this post Honda puts a circle mark by the #1 post so you can get the proper firing order of 1-3-4-2 while the engine is from left to right 4-3-2-1 while facing the motor from the front of the car.

D16potato

Ill get a picture up. But let my try to bring some attention to one of the above posts, where a member stated that if the harmonic balancer was off the belt would slide off... when i went and double checked the belt it seed impossible for the belt to slide off because of the gear cog teeth stick out so it would be impossible for it to slip off. Is it possible i have it reversed?

TomCat39

I believe if you reversed the cog you would not have the timing mark/arrow to set mechanical timing.

D16potato

I figured. Well im lost, if its meeting the conditions like gas fuel and compression it should at least run horribly

TomCat39

90 psi compression I am not sure is enough to run. If you put a little oil in each cylinder what does the compression jump up to?

As well as if you put the plugs onto the wrong posts on the distributor it won't run as it's sparking the wrong cylinder at what should be the right time.

D16potato

D16potato

When i get home ill try adding some oil in the cylinders. Sorry about the wait i just got back from out of state for a conductor position

mk378

That is correct, the flange on the cog goes on the outside.

But without the pulley bolted on, there's nothing stopping the whole cog from sliding off the shaft. You really should put that on before something gets damaged.

I agree with the other guy, only 90 psi compression is not good, and likely to prevent starting. The service manual says the minimum acceptable is 130.

D16potato

When oil is added to the cylinders. Compression jumps up to 215 across the board. So i take it the rings arent sealing? OTOH I appreciate everyones help