well after warping my head 2 weeks ago while getting my novice liscense i finally got everything put back together (at least i thought so). i popped in the car and tried to start it, but to no avail. after a few attempts i could smell fuel so i hopped out and check the fuel lines i disconnected, but they were fine and not leaking. i triple checked all the electrical stuff and didn't find anything. this is the first time i've done anything like this and i really don't know where to start looking for the problem.

any ideas?

ps.....this is on my 91 miata

 

Check ignition. Maybe no spark = fuel getting pumped into exhaust.

 

Did you mess with the fuel pressure regulator, anything near the fuel rail, check the bolt near the fuel filter. Is the engine turning over?

 

good idea......

i don't really know what to check on the ignition........i'll just follow the wires and make sure everything is connected i guess

 

didn't touch anything on the fuel system except for the two lines the FSM told me to disconnect. the fuel filter is way in the back of the car near the gas tank, i haven't gone anywhere near that.

yes the engine is turning over

 

you should check to see if you have spark. On way to check this is to pull a plug and ground the threads of the plug, with it connected to the plug wire have a friend turn the motor over. If there is spark then you would see it. If you have spark then I would try make sure you have the timing belt on correctly. Good luck

 

smells like fuel near the engine, but not back by the tailpipe.......

checked ignition.........seemed to be all connected properly

 

my guess would be the cam timing is off by 180*, thus making it so the intake valve is closed when the injector fires, thus making it so you can smell fuel at the engine end but not the exhaust. good luck.

nate

 

Hold a plug wire up to something metal in the engine bay to test for spark. You've obviously got fuel.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by solo-x &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">my guess would be the cam timing is off by 180*, thus making it so the intake valve is closed when the injector fires, thus making it so you can smell fuel at the engine end but not the exhaust. good luck.

nate</TD></TR></TABLE>

i talked to a technician at work.....this was his theory as well. from my understanding you just take the belt off, rotate the crank once, then reinstall everything.

please...please.......correct me if i'm wrong. the last race i was going to run my head gasket blew and warped the head the day before the race. if i don't get to race this weekend i'll just die.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by .RJ &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Hold a plug wire up to something metal in the engine bay to test for spark. You've obviously got fuel.</TD></TR></TABLE>

i will try this before i start taking the timing belt off again.

thank you

 

I'm not at all familiar with a miata's ignition system, but it you described these symptoms on a honda, I'd say check your ignition coil and control module. I've ruined 2 igniters on my car because the coil gets very hot running 8,000rpm on the track, and then things inside the distributor tend to fail.

 

update: have spark

-removed intake tubing........REEKS of fuel
-removed cam gear cover and rotated crank back to TDC, cam gears are still ligned up properly (intake might be 1 degree off, but shouldn't be enough to keep car from starting).

-have to be gone for 1.5hrs to pick up trailer (yes i know i'm being optimistic).

 

tried rotating 180 degrees...........nothing.

still doing the same thing. either i'm doing something wrong, or it's a different problem.

i give up. i guess i'll just have to wait until next season.

 

Couple questions, don't freak because these are no-brainers but I have done dumber things, so I'll ask:

Obviously if the head was warped it was removed and disassembled before machine work was done. Are you sure it was reassembled correctly, i.e. intake and exhaust cams are not in the wrong place? That would seriously affect engine performance , and properly positioned timing marks would still be possible to achieve with cams that were actually no where close.

Have you checked compression? Fuel and spark together that produce no bang usually means no compression.

Scratching head, trying to think of all the possibilities. I just got my car running again after 6 months of pouring over almost identical symptons. Plenty of fuel pressure, plenty of spark, good compression. Come to find out injectors were getting no pulse from ecu telling them to open. No codes set in ecu. Replaced everything that may have been a possible contributor. No bang. Ended up to be a bad crank angle sensor, which had already been replaced once, seems the replacement was bad as well. 4 ecu's, 2 distributors, hours tracing ground wires.

I'd drag the car to a local shop if you have a mechanic you trust before I give up. A mechanic friend of mine was actually the one who solved the problem, and he did it by using a lot of tools and test equipment that I don't have access to, as well as a lot more knowledge than I do.

Good luck.

 

how about ignition timing being off by 180*? the whole thing about the cams being switched would make sense too. exhaust cams won't work very well as intake cams. don't give up d00d!

nate

 

i know the cams are correct since the intake cam is about 3'' longer than the exh it's impossible to screw it up. i treid turning the crank one rotation to check if it was 180 degrees off last night, didn't work.

i'm giving it one more shot tonight, and i'm taking off the crank pulley to make DAMN sure it's really at TDC.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tnord &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i'm giving it one more shot tonight, and i'm taking off the crank pulley to make DAMN sure it's really at TDC.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I did that once. Cam gears lined up, crank gear one timing-belt tooth off.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tnord &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i know the cams are correct since the intake cam is about 3'' longer than the exh it's impossible to screw it up.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yeh, a little harder to screw that one up than say, a Honda cam. Oh well, just a thought.

 

ignition timing off by 180*?

nate

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by .RJ &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I did that once. Cam gears lined up, crank gear one timing-belt tooth off.</TD></TR></TABLE>

if it was just 1 tooth off though it should at least start.

can someone tell me their understanding of how to rotate 180 degrees? i know how i did it, but that doesn't mean it's right. i can smell fuel coming out the intake so it's gotta be like 90 or 180 degrees off er somethin

 

Just another suggestion...

Can you even bump start the car? It might circumvent any electrical nonsense, and let you know if you have enough fuel for it to idle...

Is there a fuel leak under the hood? Sometimes those little rubber hoses can get get pinched causing them to leak just enough to keep you from starting and/or idling.

Plug wires in order?

When all else fails, just whack the distributor.

 

bump starting would've been a great idea............BUT

I FIXED IT


no time to say what happned, must pack and load up. thank you everybody for your help.

to H-T members