hebrewhammer8

First post here goes:


Put a new water pump/ headgasket/ timing belt in my buddies 94 civic, auto, 1.5L 16V (No-vtec) not sure on the engine designation.
All went smooth except now it won't start.
It ran perfect before it came into my garage.
Check engine timing, Looks to be spot on. Used a flat rule to check against the top of the head and as far as i can tell it is spot on.
Ignition timing is spot on also.
Pulled a plug, i am getting spark
I am also getting gas, i think too much gas.
Plugs smell like gas after i crank it.
This leads me to believe this is a fuel delivery problem.
When i pulled the plug (brand new) it was covered with a dark sooty substance. Checked in my haynes and said it was possibly a rich condtion.
check the fuses, didn't find any blown.
What could i have missed when putting it all back together.
What can cause a rich condtion in the engine, what sensor is bad etc.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!

boostedcivicsir

you need to go back and look at what was changed since it ran.

with that said, since you replaced the head gasket, dont assume the injectors, or the dizzy or annything else all of the sudden failed. it is unlikely.

remember you need 4 things for the engine to run.

1 compression
2 air
3 fuel
4 correct spark timing

with that said, start checking there.
have you done a compression test?
it can show a few things. if the cam timming is off enough, compression may be low.

hebrewhammer8

cylinder compression respectively 1-4
160
160
130
150

low is the 3rd and 4th cylinder....
what does this mean?

hebrewhammer8

also this car has 230k on it.
will this engine run if off by one tooth for timing?

Pothole987

does the car kick or backfire or anything?
are you sure the timing is on correctly and not off by 180? did you link the knotch of the crank onto the mark for the block? did you make sure the mark on the cam is on the mark on the head?
if you smell fuel its because its not burning (flooding because its not running) are you sure everything is plugged in correctly?

luvmycivic

rich plugs could be from bad o2 sensor and question does car crank over but wont start right.

luvmycivic

maybe the firing order is wrong check it out should be 1342 on the firing order

luvmycivic

engine would start but maybe backfire or rev up slow

boostedcivicsir

a bad o2 isnt going to matter in a cold start situation.

1992Si

Make sure all the connectors are plugged in correctly. it is possible to swap connectors. It's a bad joke honda played on us, sensors on the intake have the same connectors.

Most of us learn that the hard way.

If your getting spark, and fuel and compression, it's something simple, just step back, think, take a deep breath and think about everything you did.

Maverick

timing

compression

air

fuel

spark

civic_driver

Maybe you bent a valve if you moved the crank/cam while the belt was out?

hebrewhammer8

just retimed the engine and timed the ignition with a timing gun.
got it to sputter and almost start but does not sound promising.
Got Air.
Got fuel.
Got spark.
Got compression.

Maybe too much fuel or bad spark....

hebrewhammer8

i have pretty good compression across the board....
wouldn't a bad valve register as bad compression.

1992Si

I'm thinking timing.

hebrewhammer8

got it to spudder and almost start.
gonna let it sit for a few.
could i have fouled the plugs?

hebrewhammer8

re-compression tested it and its was 150 plus or minus 5 across the board.
also

1992Si

Compression is good. don't worry about it.

Make sure the timing is correct. Did you line it up like the book said. It is simple.

Oh pull number one plug and put a long thin screwdriver in the plug hole. rotate the crank by hand to your sure #1 is at TDC. Then check the rotor in the dizzy, is it pointing to #1 connect on the cap?

hebrewhammer8

found it.
**** haynes....had the #1 cylinder on the dissy 180 off.....
started right up.
thanx for the help all.