[V8] ANOTHER V8 won't start...and I am stumped!

[Ingo Rautenberg]

Ben,

Definitely do a compression test first.  When you are saying the engine
spins so freely that it feels like there's no compression -- trust your
instincts. May have jumped a tooth or two.  If you do have compression,
breathe a sigh of relief, replace all the plugs with clean dry ones.  And
make sure you have a full tank of gas.  If it's been sitting for a while and
there was little gas in the tank or if you got bad gas, then the water will
be at the bottom of the tank and the gas will be above it. May have to purge
some of the fuel from the tank first.  Can't run on water, ya know.

Ingo

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ben Howell" <bhowell at rmi.net>
To: <v8 at audifans.com>
Cc: "'Ben Howell'" <bhowell at rmi.net>
Sent: Tuesday, December 14, 2004 9:35 PM
Subject: [V8] ANOTHER V8 won't start...and I am stumped!


> Yep, another V8 that won't start......
>
> Here's the situation: The car is a 91' 5 speed that doesn't get driven a
> lot. Timing belt water pump and rebuilt heads went on less than 15k miles
> ago. Plug wires, caps, rotors, plugs were done at the same time. About 3
> weeks ago, I started it up to move it in the driveway and after about 4-5
> seconds of running, it just died. I tired to restart it and it doesn't
even
> try. It turns over fast, like it has no compression or like the timing
belt
> is broken. Fearing the worst, I pull a the driver's side timing belt cover
> for inspection and the belt is fine. My next suspect is the reference
> sender. I know they go bad all the time as I have now put two in this car.
> The one that is in there is less than 10k miles old, but I swap in a known
> good one anyway...same result, no start, fast crank.
>
> So, feeling dejected and defeated, I walk away and leave the car. Finally
> this weekend I get the chance to dig into it and see what I can see and
here
> is where I am at:
>
> I get only one code and it is Intake Temp Sender. I KNOW that won't kill
the
> car, but I check resistance and it is within spec AND I swap in a known
good
> one. Still no start.
>
> Now I fear a timing belt jump. I pull both caps and both valve covers and
> bring crank up on TDC. All cams and distributors are in time. Nothing has
> skipped anywhere.
>
> I stick a spark plug in a wire end and crank....I see a spark, so now I
know
> I have a good spark. Still no start.
>
> Now, I run the output test to see if the injectors are firing. All 8
> injectors pass the output test (or at least the click like they are
supposed
> to). Still no start.
>
> Now I pull the plugs out. All 8 plugs range from extremely to somewhat
> fouled. So, I replace all 8 plugs with new units. Now it's almost like it
> wants to start. I can hear it trying to catch, but then it just starts to
> crank fast again. So, I pull all the plugs back out and they are soaked in
> fuel. I blow all the gas off the plugs with compressed air, pull the fuel
> pump relay and crank it over for a few seconds to purge it. Now, I leave
the
> car with the plugs out of it for 24 hours in the hopes of really drying
the
> cylinders out. After 24 hours, I reinstall the plugs and hook all the plug
> wires up and try to start it. Again, it tries to catch every few seconds,
> but still won't and just ends up flooding again.
>
> So, here's the bottom line, I have seen a spark with my own two eyes, the
> plugs are covered in fuel, so there must be fuel and I know everything is
in
> time....why will this thing not start? It makes no sense. Does anyone have
> ANY idea. Anything? I like to think of myself a being competent with these
> cars, but this one has me stumped.
>
> Any help is appreciated.
>
> Thanks!
> Ben
>
> P.S. I am still subscribed to the list, but I have not been getting list
> mail for months now. So, if you could either reply direct or CC me that
> would be great.
>
>
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