JohnBoy825

Hey everyone, im new to this site but have been reading alot of the posts for a while for help with my truck.

anyway, i have a 88 pickup, 22re manual. the head blew on it once and i replaced the gasket and rebulit the top end. fast forward two months later the head went again due to a combo of bad thermostat, 90 degree weather, and my temp gauge going bad. what luck. so when i tore it open that time the head was warped and said the hell with it and ordered the LCE street performer engine...wanted an upgrade to the engine anyway.

sorry if this is long i want to make sure that i dont leave any grey area. i got the engine in fine with the help of a friend. i started it and ran it for a little around the block, but there was a problem with the idle. took it apart making sure everything was done right and now it wont even start. im about ready to pull my hair out. ive checked and double checked everything i can think of and still nothing.


valves are correct
no vacuum leaks
all vac lines are in the right place
plugs are new and gapped correctly
new cap rotor and plugs

im almost positive i have the ignition set correctly but im thinking that maybe thats were the problem is. idk any help would greatly be appreciated.


ps...engine was a long block so the timing chain and all that was already assembled. i did double check to make sure that the cam and the crank were properly lined up and everything checked out.

toyotacharles

did you get the ground wires reattached to the intake? was it only the idle that was incorect? how was power from engine? how long did it run before shut off? did you replace fuel filter when engine was out? you said took it apart, what did you take back apart?

JohnBoy825

yes all grounds are clean sanded and reattached. new fuel filter too.
the power was good, however i felt that it need some tweaking and wasnt running as good as it possibly could.

and when i took it "back apart" i took the intake off looking for anything that i might have messed up and just went back and made sure everything was tight with no vacuum leaks.

at the time yes the idle was the only problem...it kinda had a mind of its own. i kno my tps is either shot or out of whack which im pinning the motor not feeling quite right on, but it DID run fine with it the way it was. when i would unplug the tps before it would idle fine. if this makes sense, i kno its a problem, but its not THE problem thats causing it not to start....does that make any sense?

toyotacharles

I have seen wire loom get damaged right where it goes over the fuel rail and or where it goes from intake to body, seen injector power wires break there. If you have noid lite check for injector pulse, ebay sells really cheap and I got a good set for 12 bucks. Have you checked spark? Just a thought, also have you got fuel pressure loosen the cold start injector banjo bolt see if fuel sprays with key off after short crank period.

JohnBoy825

i have spark and all my injectors work. and my fuel pressure is good. i jumped my diagnostic box and then cracked the cold start a tiny bit and had gas everywhere. i was working on it today and if i floor the gas pedal it will stay running but will not stay running by itself or start normally. i will double check the wires though they are lookin a little rough.

btw...i was wondering how i should set my distributer from scratch (manually) just to get a base line. i may be overthinking this but if the timing goes to 12* btdc then should i set it there by eye and then once started jump the box and then set to 5* btdc as per factory spec or should i set it to 5*.

thanks for your help i do appericate it. hopefully ill have her runnin soon.

toyotacharles

I would set it to 1 deg over spec per 1500 foot of elevation. Ie im at around 6500 feet so mine is at 10 deg but if it pings lower it a deg or two as needed

JohnBoy825

so just from eyein it up set it to 6*.[edit: i have and advanced timing light but it wont run long enough to use it] im down at sea level. thanks ill go and try that now and see how i do. i started looking at my egr also. is there a way to clean it or whatever if its stuck i remeber cleanin it but im afraid that maybe all the carbon got stuck in the diaphram? or is there a way to bypass it for a little just to see if thats causing a problem before i take it apart.

this things like a rubix cube sometimes lol.



and i checked all the things that you mentioned with the wires with a multimeter and all checked out ok. only bad thing that i noticed was that my rotor had about 1* of play to it. is that normal?

thanks again, its always nice to have another persons input.