95 351w wont start

95fiveoooh

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Feb 17, 2019
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red bluff
I did a 351 swap into my 95, with the swap I change to the fox body throttle body, I'm trying to get the car to start, it just over, I'm getting fuel to the rails, I'm getting spark from to the plugs, but the plugs still look new like they are not trying to ignite. any suggestions would be great thanks.
 
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Have you tried a shot of starting fluid? That will give you a hint of what the problem is.
If it starts- fuel delivery
If no start- ignition
I think the 'cranks but no start checklist' will still work depending on what other modifications you've done.
 
yea, ive tried that, but plugs still have no signs of even trying to burn. but with a spark tester i have spark getting to the plug, the plugs are brand new so its easy to see. the block is stock with a cam, intake manifold, 70mm tb, not sure if i should throw plug wires at it or not at this point, i dont have a way of actually testing injectors either.
 
Listen for the fuel pump running for abot 3 seconds as soon as you turn the key on. If not running check the wiring.
If it is running, measure the fuel pressure.
Did you plug the control box mounted on the support in back of your radiator back in? This has the fuel pump relay inside.
Did you accidentally trip the impact switch in the trunk which will shut the pump off? If so, reset it.
I also did a 351 swap. Should not be a problem as long as you connect everything back up.
I would check these out before looking for power at the injectors.
 
Listen for the fuel pump running for abot 3 seconds as soon as you turn the key on. If not running check the wiring.
If it is running, measure the fuel pressure.
Did you plug the control box mounted on the support in back of your radiator back in? This has the fuel pump relay inside.
Did you accidentally trip the impact switch in the trunk which will shut the pump off? If so, reset it.
I also did a 351 swap. Should not be a problem as long as you connect everything back up.
I would check these out before looking for power at the injectors.
Yea all thats plugged in and ready to rock, without that ccrm i wouldnt get fuel coming to the rails. But after a few days of just turning over its not even trying to fire up. I tested and see spark at the plug wire going into the plug, but plug shows no signs of heat.
 
Check the pressure at the rails. You can have fuel at the rails but not enough pressure to start and run.
Any chance you mixed up the gas feed and return lines?

You sure the distributor is set up right, not 180 degrees out? Make sure you are at the top iof the compression stroke for number one cylinder and the rotor lines up with the #1 tower on the cap.

Is the 351 cam firing order the same as the 302 cam? My recollection from many years ago is the 351W can run on a different firing order depending on the cam which is installed. You would have to switch the injector wiring to fix this if different.
 
Check the pressure at the rails. You can have fuel at the rails but not enough pressure to start and run.
Any chance you mixed up the gas feed and return lines?

You sure the distributor is set up right, not 180 degrees out? Make sure you are at the top iof the compression stroke for number one cylinder and the rotor lines up with the #1 tower on the cap.

Is the 351 cam firing order the same as the 302 cam? My recollection from many years ago is the 351W can run on a different firing order depending on the cam which is installed. You would have to switch the injector wiring to fix this if different.
From my understanding the fire orders are the same. Im running a trick flow stage one cam.

Ill get a pressure tester and check that. Hoping my new pump just before the 5.0 chipped a piston hasnt gone bad already.

Pretty sure the dis is stabbed right, it was the 1st thing I re did a couple of times already.
 
If you crank it for a while and pull a plug, is it wet or dry?

note on firing order
The firing order for the early 221-302 engines and the early 5.0 engines is 1-5-4-2-6-3-7-8. This is the firing order for all prefix “31” cams and is the standard replacement cam for all early engines. The later 5.0 engine and all 351 engines are designed to use the 1-3-7-2-6-5-4-8 firing order.
 
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#1 make sure the distributor is right, #1 piston at TDC and the pointer is at 0* on the balancer, rotor at #1 plug wire on distributor cap.
#2 the firing order on a 351 windsor is the same as the 5.0 HO engine
1-3-7-2-6-5-4-8
Did it fire using starting fluid? Can't remember.
 
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I was also going to suggest compression. How did you set the rocker arm to valve preload?
I set my "preload" to 1/2 turn of the bolt/nut as soon as the arm contacts the valve when the opposite arm on the cylinder has the valve compressed. You need to be careful you have not started to compress the lifter when you just touch it.

If you have fixed bolts instead of adjustable ones you need to put shims under the pedestal of the rocker arm to set this properly. Summit sells the shims.

I accidentally put to much grease on a lifter which must have gone inside through the oil port which caused some initial problems when I started mine. Found this out when I did a compression test and had zero compression on one cylinder. Had to back off the preload completely.

As someone else mentioned, try Ether in the throttle body to see if it starts to fire on one or more cylinders.
If it does, then look for fuel related problems.
It it does not, then look for compression, spark and timing problems.

Are you using the trick flow head and intake as well? Did you connector all the vacuum hoses or plug the fittings underneath the upper TF manifold? Check for other missing vaccum lines as well.
 
I was also going to suggest compression. How did you set the rocker arm to valve preload?
I set my "preload" to 1/2 turn of the bolt/nut as soon as the arm contacts the valve when the opposite arm on the cylinder has the valve compressed. You need to be careful you have not started to compress the lifter when you just touch it.

If you have fixed bolts instead of adjustable ones you need to put shims under the pedestal of the rocker arm to set this properly. Summit sells the shims.

I accidentally put to much grease on a lifter which must have gone inside through the oil port which caused some initial problems when I started mine. Found this out when I did a compression test and had zero compression on one cylinder. Had to back off the preload completely.

As someone else mentioned, try Ether in the throttle body to see if it starts to fire on one or more cylinders.
If it does, then look for fuel related problems.
It it does not, then look for compression, spark and timing problems.

Are you using the trick flow head and intake as well? Did you connector all the vacuum hoses or plug the fittings underneath the upper TF manifold? Check for other missing vaccum lines as well.
only using the the TF manifold, factory e7 heads. compression on #1 all ive tested so far read 115, not great, but not dead ether, all vaccum lines that im running are connected, no egr, no smog pump, the ports on the back of the heads have block off plates. And yes valve lash was set but with the lifters being soaked before hand. Ill run compression on the rest of the cylinders on monday when im off of work.

With starting fluid it didnt even try and start.
 
only using the the TF manifold, factory e7 heads. compression on #1 all ive tested so far read 115, not great, but not dead ether, all vaccum lines that im running are connected, no egr, no smog pump, the ports on the back of the heads have block off plates. And yes valve lash was set but with the lifters being soaked before hand. Ill run compression on the rest of the cylinders on monday when im off of work.

With starting fluid it didnt even try and start.
115#? That's not good at all.
 
115 is not great but it should at least fire.

Did you research to make sure the TF manifold would seal properly to the factory heads? Never heard of anone running a mixed set up like this.

Did the upper manifold bolt on properly to the lower? I had problems with mine because the upper hit the fuel rail and would not seal to the lower. Had to install a TF spacer between the upper and lower manifolds.
 
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Everything fit fine, i forget the felt pro gasket number i had used, and got the rubber china wall with a slight touch of rtv. Sealed off fine, fuel injectors, i needed to lube up to fit down in their mounting spots, but they were rebuilt so new seals needed a bit of help.