New Engine wont start any pointers???

aplvlydrtybird

Registered User
Just got the engine back together, 99% sure that every thing is connected correctly, she cranks but no start, doesnt seem to fire that well, brand new optima red top battery, today still no work, any suggestions, or any probs that you guys have run into. anything will help. i have an afpr, and the nut that is next to the vacuum line...is that supposed to be tight when cranking over or loose??? well ask away please, and give me any pointers

heres a pic of what she looks like
 
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Any CODES at all ?

Well what you could do is get a spray bottle like a windex bottle wash it out and put some gas in it . Make sure you have oil circulating so turn it over a few times to make sure... Then disconnect the MAF tube at the throttle body. Have sombody get in the car and hold the throttle open then start spraying/squirting gas into the throttle body and have them turn the starter over and keep spraying the gas.. It should start up and run as long as you keep spraying... If it does run then you could have fuel delivery problems if it don't then you have spark problems. Pull a spark plug put it in the end of wire and hold it aginst the block to make sure it is sparking.. Do you have new plugs and wires. Old plugs will foul over time and not work... LOOKS real nice the picture that is ..
 
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yea i have brand new NGk Irridium plugs, with taylor 8mm wires, when she is cranking she will sometimes backfire but not every time.
 
Does read like fuel delivery problems..but you never know...

Get a noid light at autozone for like 6.00 you want the bosche one... Pull the connecters at the fuel injectors and put the light on them one at a time and have sombody turn the starter over to make sure they are firing... If some are firing and some arn't this could cause backfire. Too much fuel and leakdown from from bad injectors can load the cylinders up and cause backfire.. These are just some suggestions mind you.... Do you have new injectors? What is your fuel pressure at the rail before start up?
 
Did you put the engine together? If so excess oil on the cyl walls will come off and foul the plug right from the start. I had a guy bring his engine to me with the same problem and I put new plugs in and it even though he just installed the new ones, and tried to start it and all it did was backfire. After installing the new plugs it fired right up.

Also check your CMP. If your cam sensor if out some it won't fire the injectors at the right time. I've seen this several times on ppl who done there own engines with that type of CMP.

GL and hope you get her going. Looks nice!
 
that was my other question...what should the rail pressure be at when the engine is off, how tight should the nut be on the afpr? i have a test light, and i also have a fluke meter. newest one out there. so would using that help, im an aspiring technician, so i have some new tools, but anyways, yea i got new plugs, should i take em out clean em and then put em back in??? would that help, i dont want to buy new ones these NGK's werent cheap

now whats ur question the cam sensor, didnt quite get that one, i have a new sensor, bought it from ford, still have the stock gear that goes down into the timing cover to the oil pump, but i primed the system and yes i did it all myself with the help of some friends. how should i check the cam sensor, should i loosen that torx bit and turn it??? i never touched it before.
 
Fuel pressure should be 38 to 42

Should be able to hold the pressure for a good 5 minutes .. If not there could be leakdown problems..
 
Stuck open fuel injectors...

I myself have never saw a bad fuel injector that is stuck open but I'm told it is possible.. I wouldn't worry about leakdown.... If you are holding good pressure... I have however saw injectors with broken pintle caps I myself have two of them in back stock....
 
well i got 8 when i bought the injectors so if one is bad i can try another, but anything else to really look for, i think i am going to try and check the plugs first.
 
There is a certian procedure to installing the cam sensor. I can't remember off the top of my head but when I get back to my shop I can look it up on ShopKey.

You have to roll the engine up to TDC and it go's in at xx degrees with the shutter just entering the hall. In other words when the engine is on TDC the metal shutter should just be starting between the magnet. You have to take the top off the sensor to do this. Ford sells a tool to do it but it's not needed. It's just a little plastic pointer is all.

You can pull one plug and make sure it's not oily or gas soaked. If not they should be ok. I just brung it up cuz I don't know how many times I've had ppl about to pull there hair out because they can't get the engine to run due to the plug fouling out right to start with.

Since your a tech one of the best sites ever for new and exp tech is www.iatn.net. I'm a member there. They have TONS of info on basicly every car ever made. And for 10 bucks a month you can get even more info and use a FIX database to search for a prblem your having with a certain car. And if what your looking for isn't there you can post questions reguarding a hard to fix problem and let 48,000 other ppl help you figue it out.
 
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ok, the fuel pressure is at about 30 psi key on and off...i pulled first plug of pass. side and it seemed very gassy...like it was flooded. so they are "gas soaked" as you said, now does this mean i need new plugs??? please say no...yea if you can let me know how to install the cam sensor properly that would be great, i had the engine at top dead center when she went it, the two dots on the cam and crank gear were lined up correctly, and i just put the timing cover over that with the oil pump on and away she went...so if i can take that top off and reset it somehow that would be great. or if there are any other pointers that would be nice to thanks for all the help so far. i went outside to check my high tension leads and they were all jsut a lil loose, but it didnt fix anything, is there a way i can just check the codes and then clear em?? would that do anything, i have never done that before, but i dunno.
 
cool, im goign to try and do that today here in a lil bit, but another question i had is that when she cranks, it seems kinda slow, i have a brand new red top optima battery, and i know thats not the problem, but if i grounded the battery in a bad place would that be the problem???

just a wuick question on that cam snesor alignment...now can i just undo that torx bit and move it and see what it does or does the cap have to come off?? just wasnt that lear on what it was saying. thanks again
 
No, you have to make sure you are at 26 degrees after TDC. Then pull the Whole Cam sensor housing out of the oil pump and reinsert per the directions in the link above. Its just like installing a distributor in the older cars. You have to pull the actual sensor off the housing too.

Have you put a charger on the new battery? They usually are not at full capacity off the shelf.


Double check your plug wires too.
 
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is there any easy way to get to 26 degrees after tdc??? besides just hittin the ignition and checking??? then after that i just pull her out, and replace her in there again...
no if i just loosen that torx bit and adjust that, would that do anything or no?
 
aplvlydrtybird said:
is there any easy way to get to 26 degrees after tdc??? besides just hittin the ignition and checking??? then after that i just pull her out, and replace her in there again...
no if i just loosen that torx bit and adjust that, would that do anything or no?

You can get a socket and extension on the balancer bolt and and turn it in the direction of rotation with the car in nuetral then you can watch the mark at the same time. You have to pull the cam sensor shaft out and line it all up and get it in on the right tooth. It might take a while to get it right.
 
wezar said:
Loosening the bolt and just moving the housing does not work. Its the window in the inside housing that attaches to the shaft that needs to be properly aligned.
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ok this window...sorry getting a lil confused, is it that half circle under the cover, and in the pic that you showed me earlier without the pass side bracket on, is that that what it supposed to look like.

oh and is the no. 1 cylinder supposed to be at tdc, and then you set the cam sensor at 26 deg after??? is that correct, or is it that you set the entire engine to 26 deg after tdc...and if its that how do you do that

heres a pic of mine now
 
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If that's the way it was when you took it apart that would not be your starting problem because that looks like it's right where it's supposed to be. Unless you didn't have #1 at 26*ATDC when you put it in the first time. The way it sits right now you should be able to look down at the balancer and it should be at 26 ATDC.
 
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