Completed putting in a new OEM head gasket after it decided to finally bust all the way on Wednesday before work. Got it all back together yesterday (friday), started it, barely ran so I shut it down, then I had to get to work. Today, found a few coolant leaks, Got those taken care of.
Now, I have the bad starting issues and a major misfire. Heres a video of it trying to start.
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOPDy0g9XiE[/YOUTUBE]

I was trying to start it on 3 cylinders like I had done earlier, but it wouldnt have it. Why 3? I found that #4 is the one that is misfiring, which is where the old head gasket blew. As I was pulling the plug wires off the plugs before this video to put new spark plugs in, the stupid wire pulled apart. As did #2. Luckily I had another set lying around. It is doing the same thing regardless if I have any one of the sparkplugs disconnected. I found that I had mixed up a few vacuum hoses right after I took this video, including one for the FPR VSV. Once I got those straightened out she fired right up, didn't misfire until idling for about 2 minutes. And, Before this video, I had taken it for a spin, low on power, stalled at a stop sign and wouldnt start for about a minute. It sounds really awful, like things are colliding. I'm fairly certain it just has to do with the starter though.
The misfire is really annoying. #4 for sure. It started to backfire a little, but I attribute that to the exhaust manifold not being fulling tightened down with the down pipe as one of the studs stripped. Maybe not though...
Timing issue perhaps? Why would timing make it not fire on ONE cylinder correctly? I haven't timed it yet, but the dizzy was put back in how it came out as I marked it well. I have adjusted the valves, seemed to help some. Tomorrow I'll do a compression test as I got frustrated tonight and it was getting late. Any help would be appreciated.

 

It doesn't sound like it has anything to do with the starter. You didn't pull the starter did you, so why would it be?

You HAVE to put a timing light on that. Don't forget to jump the two terminals in the diagnostics connector. To make it easier to see the marks, use some chalk or white out on the timing marks. That will make them pop out under the timing light.

If that doesn't take care of it, then go ahead and take a compression test and report back.

Good luck!

 

Sounds like mine did when I had the timing out of whack to me. You definatly go tthe timing belt on right? Not a tooth off on a cam? (I ask because I did it during one of my teardowns).

 

No belts on the 22R-E, but the the timing chain could still be off. It would be WAY off though, probably wouldn't run at all, and would probably be hitting valves.

 

Ya I was worried about not getting the t-chain back on right but I marked the crap out of it to make sure it was in the same spot. It had to have been. When #1 piston was at TDC, the marks I made were where they were supposed to be. Then, once it starts it runs fine, but #4 misfires like crazy and there may be another cylinder misfiring sometimes. Hopefully its just a timing thing. I didnt remove the starter. Some coolant and/or fuel may have leaked onto it though.

 

When installing the timing chain and sprocket/cam/etc., I would go by the factory marks, not self-made marks.

Once it starts, it's not running fine if it's misfiring. In fact, that's the exact opposite of running fine.

It sounds like the distributor is off a tooth, or the cam timing is off a tooth. My money is on the distributor. If I remember correctly, the factory marks are a little weird, because the marks didn't actually line up perfectly, tooth to tooth. Seemed like the mark was on one side or the other. I would check that again, and try the other side of the mark.

I didn't see anything that would indicate there is anything wrong with the starter. You should be able to pour coolant and fuel all over the starter, once it dries out it would be fine. The starter is exposed to all kinds of water splashing on it whenever driving in wet or muddy conditions, and it's made for it.

Have you checked compression yet?

 

I feel stupid. Tristan (Spanish_road) came over and he helped me put it in time. Now its running like a champ

 

Was the distributor off a tooth? Or did it just need adjusted? I did the same thing when I put the new motor in. The distributor was off by one, and it almost wanted to start, but ran like crap. Installed it the right way, and wow, it starts right up and purrs!

Glad to hear you have a runner again!

 

The dizzy was way off. I put it in with the engine at 0tdc, it was supposed to be at 5*BTDC

 

Well, that's not WAY off. If it was on the right tooth, than that's pretty close. The rest of the adjustment has to be done with a timing light in order to get it set right.

Either way, glad it's back on the road! Congrats!

 

Yeah I was borrowing his timing light, but hadnt used it yet. So this thread is pretty useless. ha! Thanks for the help though.

 

NOT useless, IF someone else gets something out of it....

Repo

 

true.

I'm so happy though. Shes running GREAT! better than before! Just gotta fix the exhaust leak. It makes me pretty proud of myself that I tore it down, fixed it and now shes running with no problems!

 

Is the exhaust leak on the flange where the manifold meets the down pipe? Those nuts will have to be re-torqued when it's hot, just be careful! Make sure you torque them evenly. If that still doesn't do it, apply some anti-seize on the threads and under the nut. That will help lubricate the threads to get the proper torque. In the manual, it says to use new nuts, but I'm reusing the old ones.

 

Yes it is. Haha. I know how to do it, man. I've owned 2 other 22res over the last 5 years. One with a leak there all 4 years I owned it