car wont start after H/C/I

[urban96]

well i just finished getting my car all back together and i cant get it started. itll turn over and almost want to start but no go dist is in 1 @ TDC (stabbed it in when i had it torn down to the shortblock) ive tried turning the dist a little to the right and left while cranking and hasnt made a difference. smells like its getting fuel, pretty sure its getting spark.

it was cranking over kinda slow so i have a battery charger on it now.

all electrical connections are good, tripple checked everything. good grounds.

i also swapped in a 5speed to replace my AODE, swapped computers too... could i possibly have a bad computer?



ahhh i just wanna drive my car again

 

[WhiteDevil]

probably timing. THere have been like 10 threads over the past month about not starting after a H/C/I and it has been timing EVERY time keep playnig with it.

 

[CManT1914]

Yea I vote for timing. You need to verify that #1 is at TDC on the COMPRESSION stroke. Then stab the dizzy to where it points at #1 on the rotor. Should fire up then.

 

[95CobraMike]

might have to flip the dizzzy 180*

 

[urban96]

when i had the motor out of the car i set the timing right after i did the cam (straight up) with the #1 piston all the way up... is that the right stroke or did i put it in on exhaust?

 

[CManT1914]

when i had the motor out of the car i set the timing right after i did the cam (straight up) with the #1 piston all the way up... is that the right stroke or did i put it in on exhaust?

Why don't you just pull the dizzy, turn the motor by hand until the 10* mark is in the timing hole, then you know you're on 10* compression stroke.

And how'd you set the timing before you put the rest of the motor back together? Just curious.

 

[urban96]

well i put the heads and stuff on but didnt move the crank

 

[CManT1914]

well i put the heads and stuff on but didnt move the crank

But you still had to drop in the dizzy right? I don't think the intake will go on with it in place. Remember, the rotor spins as you drop in the dizzy (I didn't realize this at first). Not to say you don't know what you're doing (heck you just did a freaking h/c/i swap! ) but just reverify where everything's at. I don't know how many times I've seen guys say the stang won't start after a big project like this, and it's always timing it seems.

 

[urban96]

ya i know the rotor spins a bit when you drop it in (learned that when i did my intake swap last year)... im 95% sure it was on the #1 pickup ill try stabbing it in again at 10deg after i get some food

 

[CManT1914]

ya i know the rotor spins a bit when you drop it in (learned that when i did my intake swap last year)... im 95% sure it was on the #1 pickup ill try stabbing it in again at 10deg after i get some food

Oh yea, make sure all your plugs wires are right. When I replaced my cap/rotor and wires, I accidentally got my wires on backwards (clockwise instead of counterclockwise) lol. It took me overnight to figure out what I did wrong, lol.

 

[GRGT1994]

OK, here's some stupid stuff to try. Not that you are stupid. I am. And I ran into the following.

Make sure the fuel shut off button isn't tripped in the trunk. You probably disconnected it during disassembly, so make sure it's connected back there too. Now put a gallon or two of gas back in the tank. (I drained mine down really low so I could drop the tank and swap the pump). Now run back over all of your connections and make sure you didn't miss anything (ALL of them, take your time on this). Check your fuses (especially the high current box under the hood).

After that, I would think you should look at the timing too. I think it might like anywhere from 6 to 10, maybe as high as 14 degrees of advance.

The first fire will probably be a little rough.

Keep it simple as you run through the list of possibilities. It probably is something simple. Good luck.

Oh, and when you find it, post it up here so others can know to look for whatever issue you had (when we run into the same thing)

 

[urban96]

ok just turned the engine so that the rotor is on the #1 spot... where on the timing pointer bracket thing do i look to read the timing? the hole or the top part?

 

[CManT1914]

ok just turned the engine so that the rotor is on the #1 spot... where on the timing pointer bracket thing do i look to read the timing? the hole or the top part?

Put it in the hole.

 

[urban96]

ok heres the #'s i have... tip of pointer= about 2... little notch= about 11 and the hole i couldnt really see

 

[urban96]

whoops.. read it wrong... tip of pointer is at 15 and the little notch 1/2 circle is at 0 and the hole is on nothing

 

[urban96]

set the little notch thing to 10 and still no dice also tried about 10 at the hole and no go

 

[WhiteDevil]

What always works for me is to have a friend crank the car while you turn the distributor. You may have to restab it a few times because the wires dont usually reach to far. But that has always gotten mine to start for me.

 

[Cobra4075]

Did you shim the rockers properly. If you bought ped mount heads, the deck height is usually different from stock. Sometimes this requires longer push rods and shims between the rockers and the heads. If the valves are staying open even a little the car won't start.

 

[CManT1914]

Did you shim the rockers properly. If you bought ped mount heads, the deck height is usually different from stock. Sometimes this requires longer push rods and shims between the rockers and the heads. If the valves are staying open even a little the car won't start.

That's true. Brandon (bjl95mustang) and I both had that same problem. If you have stud mount heads (which most aftermarkets are) then you need to make sure the rockers aren't too tight. How tight did you get them? I tightened mine 3/4 turn past zero lash and the car would hardly run. Loosened them up to 1/4 and it ran a lot better. You could try a compression test real quick, and that will tell you if your valves are sticking open. If you turn up good on compression, then you know it's either fuel or spark (sounds like it's not spark). Did you check to see if the coil is firing? Do you have spark at every wire? Checked fuel pressure? Do those things, then let us know what turns up. Good luck bud! I know you're anxious to drive that beast now.

 

[Cobra4075]

If you don't have a compression tester, just pull out a plug and crank the motor. Put your hand by the plug hole to feel the air. If it's strong your probably ok. Also, check the spark. Pull a plug out and lay it against the header to see. Good luck.