Hopefully this will be coherent:

I just put the car back together after my blown head gasket incident. When I tried starting the car, it cranked over, but wouldn't start. It seemed to almost kick in 2 or 3 times at first, but was never successful. I know it's getting fuel because the plugs are wet, and the cylinders smell like gas. Next, I tried a little test: I rested the spark plug on the threads, but didn't screw it in. It sparked, and the timing light flashed. I then screwed it in. It stopped flashing, and I assume the plug stopped firing. When the plug is just outside of the combustion chamber, it sparks, but once I screw it in, it stops.

After trying everything else I could think of, I decided to get all possible fuel out of the cylinders as I could, so I removed the spark plugs, hooked up a shopvac to the intake, and blocked off the breather hose. I turned it on, and when I opened the throttle, mist shot out of the spark plug tubes. After examining it, I realized it was coolant, all coming from the #1 and #2 cylinders (although all the plugs were a little damp.) This would definitely explain why I never got a spark when the plugs were screwed in.

I would normally assume I have a warped head, except I spilled coolant into the intake manifold accidentally before trying to start the car. I wasn't thinking, and refilled the coolant before torquing down the manifold, and coolant leaked from the port by the #4 cylinder. I thought it just went straight down onto the floor, but I guess it could have gone into the manifold as well, and then gotten sucked into other cylinders.

After I got all the coolant out, I put the plugs back in and cranked the car to see if any bubbles appeared in the radiator or coolant reservior. No bubbles appeared at all. I tried to start the car, nothing happened, so I put the shopvac back on. This time, hardly any mist came out, and what did smelled like gas. Also, the plugs were almost completely dry.

I did a few compression tests during the whole process, and the last was 190 accross all cylinders, so I doubt there's a significant leak, if any. I also know the plugs are good because they work in my dad's car. Since I can get the plugs to spark outside of the engine, I know the distributor is good.

Even if a small amount of coolant was leaking into the cylinders, wouldn't the car still be able to start? Could my timing (cam or ignition) be so off that the car won't start? Is it possible for my valve timing to be 180* off and not have interference?

PLEASE: any input! Thanks.

 

check map and tps plugs arent switched dist cant be installed backwards so thats all i can think of but you should make sure there isnt coolant in the cylinders cause you could hydrolock it if there is too much

 

if you blew your head gasket and overheated the engine, then the head is warped for sure. basically you swapped the gasket for nothing. pull the head off and take it to a machine shop to get resurfaced. everytime i do a head gasket job and the head is warped, it is usually off by like .006in. and the max is .003in

 

check your rotor and cap inside the distributor. had the same issues on a 91 si.. the rotor was loose, it would crank, but never start

 

tps and map sensors are correct; I didn't touch them. After I removed the head, I checked it for flatness, and it was fine. I tested all angles with a flashlight and feeler gauges, and there were no gaps. I brought it to a machine shop, and the guy said it should be fine; he didn't see any cracks or obvious irregularities. I'll check the dizzy rotor, but if it sparks when the plugs are outside, wouldn't that imply the dizzy is fine?

Also, even if I have a small coolant leak, wouldn't I still get a spark, even at first? That's what confuses me - the fact that I can't get a single spark... Assuming the cylinders are not full of coolant, which I verified last night, shouldn't I get a spark (at least at first?) The only things I can think of are bad cam timing (too much fuel), or residual coolant that forms a mist when I crank the engine.

Are there any additives I can use to "force" the engine to start? Is there any way I can get the engine warmer to help it start up? I think once I get the engine started and warmed up, it should be fine.

Thanks for your responses.

 

i would check over your timing again, if you have compression, and fuel but only spark when the plugs are out.. your wires might be arching..check the resistance of the wires you could try keeping the pedal floored while cranking also

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jdeemseerx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i would check over your timing again, if you have compression, and fuel but only spark when the plugs are out.. your wires might be arching..check the resistance of the wires you could try keeping the pedal floored while cranking also</TD></TR></TABLE>

I've tried cranking with the throttle open, but it makes no difference. What do you mean by the wires might be arching? Also, how much could my timing be off without interference? If I have good compression, could it be off by that much? Thanks.

 

if your wires are giving a weak spark or are arching (basically its like a short) it would give a no start condition,,,is your dizzy timing you said you used a timing light right? and are your wires in the right order?

 

Your timing is off.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jdeemseerx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">if your wires are giving a weak spark or are arching (basically its like a short) it would give a no start condition,,,is your dizzy timing you said you used a timing light right? and are your wires in the right order?</TD></TR></TABLE>
Check all of the ground wires to the engine you should have one from the rad support to the head also check your timing let me say this again CHECK YOUR TIMING you could have it 180 out Ive seen this on other cars and it will keep the from starting

 

I'm using a timing light, but it's been of little use to me, since it won't flash when I crank the engine. Could there still be a spark if the light doesn't flash (a weak one)? And, yes, I'm absolutely positive the wires are in the correct order. Is there a way to determine how "off" my timing is besides trial and error?

 

take a breaker bar and a 19mm socket and turn the crank pulley COUNTER CLOCKWISE. align the mark on the pulley with the line on the timing cover. this should put u at TDC, which is where u need to be to check the timing on this motor. check the valves and see which ones are compressed and which ones are not. The intake valves should be open when u do this so the intake on #1 should be compressed.

if i was u i would do this...

1. take out the spark plugs and dry them out or better yet go to pep boys pay the 15 dollars and get new ones.

2. check the wires as mentioned above the resistance u get with the ohm meter should be (15000 the resistance should be in the 1000's depends how long it is ) K ohms(reading will be kila ohms)

3. do a tune up cap, rotor, plugs, wires, filters.

4. the grounds which are so crucial but yet easily forgotton triple check

5. How about that Main Relay...

 

1. plugs are fine; 100% positive. I even tried 2 other sets with no luck

2. I don't know exactly what resistance they should all be, but the resistance measurements I got seemed good.

3. I'll check the cap and rotor tomorrow, but the others are new-ish

4. there's no grounding issue; again, 100% positive

5. What effects would become evident from a faulty main relay? I'm honestly not familiar with them.