No start after swapping intakes???

[Chevy3+3]

Truck I am working on is my '88 V30 454 TBI truck. I was pretty sure my intake gaskets were leaking so I decided to replace them and switch out the intake for an Edelbrock 454 TBI performer intake manifold. I had the intake removed for almost 2 weeks. After everything was reassembled I proceeded to start it but it was a NO GO.

I double checked my dizzy timing and spark plug wires. They are all correct. When my #1 cylinder is TDC my bug is pointing at #1 plug wire terminal on dizzy cap. My fuel pump pressures up and when I am cranking it is pulsing fuel. I thought maybe I had it flooded. Occasionally the truck will try and start but only sputters at low RPMs for a few seconds and then dies.

I don't know what to check next. I feel like the motor is just on the verge of starting but doesn't. The only components I changed was the intake manifold gaskets and the intake manifold. I have all the vacuum lines/ports and electrical plugs hooked up also.

Any ideas? I am starting to think maybe I'm not getting good fire but would not understand why since my truck was starting and running good before tearing it apart.

[chrismoore701]

Do you have good spark? Sounds like your distributer is off. Could it be out 180 degrees

[Chevy3+3]

Originally Posted by chrismoore701

Do you have good spark? Sounds like your distributer is off. Could it be out 180 degrees

I haven't been able to check the quality of the spark because I was by myself. I did set the timing light up where I could see it and it flashed when it hit #1 plug wire. My dizzy is not 180 off. I stabbed it at TDC of the compression stroke (checked using compression tester). Once the dizzy was stabbed the bug/rotor is directly pointing at #1 post/plug wire on dizzy cap when my piston is at TDC of compression stroke. My timing has been triple checked, lol.

I'm at work right now but the only thing I can think to do is check to make sure I am getting spark. I'm not sure why I would have lost it unless the coil or ignition control module took a crap when I had everything apart. Definitely strange......

[ironroad9c1]

Fuel pressure?

[Chevy3+3]

Originally Posted by ironroad9c1

Fuel pressure?

I haven't put a gauge on it but I did double check to see if it was a fuel issue. I hate admitting this but I did shoot a little starting fluid into the TBI (while injector pigtails were unhooked) and the results were the same leading me to believe its more of a electrical ignition issue of some sort. Even when it fires iit wont rev up then die when it runs out of fuel. It stumbles and rpms stay low

[Chevy3+3]

My dad just called me and said he load tested the battery. The battery was charged 100% and when he load tested for a few seconds the battery showed weak and was only at 9 volts.

Would that be my problem? Voltage is to low to operate the coil/ignition system? I would think if it had enough power to crank the engine then it would have enough to start it

[ironroad9c1]

yea if it turns over it should start, running off starting fluid wont run very long either , get a small bottle and squirt some gas in it.

[Chevy3+3]

When i am cranking with the injectors are hooked up it is clearly pulses fuel into the TBI but it acts like it is eventually being flooded since it doesn't fire up. This this always fired up almost immediately when cranked before I took it apart. Kinda wishing I didn't take it apart now but the oil leak out the back of the intake was getting more severe so it needed done.

[GM-power]

Originally Posted by Chevy3+3

My dad just called me and said he load tested the battery. The battery was charged 100% and when he load tested for a few seconds the battery showed weak and was only at 9 volts.

Would that be my problem? Voltage is to low to operate the coil/ignition system? I would think if it had enough power to crank the engine then it would have enough to start it

Dang he beat me to it! I'd hook a charger to it and see what happens. Low voltage can be a over looked culprit many times.

[chrismoore701]

That motor should not turn over at 9 volts. Did you adjust your distributer? Leave it loose while someone cranks it and adjust it a little one way or the other. Could make a difference.

[chrismoore701]

Not to ask a dumb question. But is the power to the ditibuter hooked up in the right spot. This would kill all your spark. So another reason to check for spark

[Chevy3+3]

Originally Posted by chrismoore701

Not to ask a dumb question. But is the power to the ditibuter hooked up in the right spot. This would kill all your spark. So another reason to check for spark

Its not a dumb question, lol. My distributer has 2 different multi-pin connectors to it and they are connected. My distributer has power

[Chevy3+3]

Originally Posted by chrismoore701

That motor should not turn over at 9 volts. Did you adjust your distributer? Leave it loose while someone cranks it and adjust it a little one way or the other. Could make a difference.

I hope to have some help in the morning to try that.

[Zach079xxx]

Is your engine grounded properly? You never know what could happen, as your experiencing right now!

[Chevy3+3]

Originally Posted by Zach079xxx

Is your engine grounded properly? You never know what could happen, as your experiencing right now!

I will double check them but I put the grounds back that I removed. I'm beginning to consider maybe an EGR issue? I also unhooked the air injection control valve that was part of the smog air pump system. Everyone said I would be okay to just unhooked it. I just plugged the vacuum port off on the TBI unit since I removed the valve

[bilfman]

My guess you are tdc on exhaust stroke, try turning the dizzy 180 degrees. Just pull it out and point the rotor opposite of where it was at.

[Chevy3+3]

Originally Posted by bilfman

My guess you are tdc on exhaust stroke, try turning the dizzy 180 degrees. Just pull it out and point the rotor opposite of where it was at.

I brought it to TDC on the compression stroke. I verified it with a compression tester

[Chevy3+3]

I just checked my EGR valve. The diaphragm seems to be holding a vacuum and the rod isn't stuck.

[LBJ]

A remote starter switch and a spark tester are about $20 at O'Reilly's where I bought mine. These are good to have on hand no matter what. The spark tester is a safe way to check the presence of a pulse at the spark plug. Just plugs in between the wire and the plug. Remote starter takes just a few minutes to hook to the starter. Easy peasy. Save's a lot of time and trouble when working by yourself.

[Chevy3+3]

I may invest in those tomorrow. I've always thought about getting a remote starter switch but I don't usually need to wrench on vehicles much. Guess I've been lucky until now, lol

[Chevy3+3]

I just pulled a few spark plugs and they look decent. They should be because they only have around 7k miles on them. The underneath side of my bug/rotor was terribly rusty looking. The dizzy shaft the bug slid onto looked really dirty. I bet it isn't making good contact.

[Chevy3+3]

Well I'm about ready for bed. I'm lost with this thing. Ran ran before I replaced the intake. Now I can't get it to run. I replaced the bug and cap. I pulled a few plugs and they looks good. Injectors are pulsing fuel while trying to crank it. I still feel like this is a fire issue. Just not sure what at this point.

Could the dizzy itself be bad? When I pulled it out it seems harder to turn the shaft. I sprayed a little penetrating oil behind the gear while holding the distributer upside down. It freed it up alot to where it spun more freely. I don't know much about pickup coils and ignition control modules. Maybe I screwed one of them up somehow. When I removed the cap it was really dirty and rusty/corroded looking. I could only feel the magnetic pull a couple of places when turning the rotor by hand when the distributer was out of the truck.

[MTCK]

Only two options really. I couldn't see the egr or air pump causing a no start condition. It has fuel, so must be spark. You said it wants to start. Is it backfiring? Missing? Could be a coil but unlikely it went bad just like that. Could you humor everybody and just flip your dizzy 180? You can flip it right back after you confirm that's not it. I've don't that more times than I care to count.

[Chevy3+3]

Originally Posted by MTCK

Only two options really. I couldn't see the egr or air pump causing a no start condition. It has fuel, so must be spark. You said it wants to start. Is it backfiring? Missing? Could be a coil but unlikely it went bad just like that. Could you humor everybody and just flip your dizzy 180? You can flip it right back after you confirm that's not it. I've don't that more times than I care to count.

Well I could humor everybody but not sure how I could be wrong. What I mean is that I pulled #1 spark plug, installed compression tester and rotated the engine until it started building compression. At this point I unscrewed the compression tester and brought #1 piston to the top. When my piston was at the top of the compression stroke my timing marks on my harmonic balancer was very close to zero on the timing mark tab.

With the piston at TDC and my timing mark almost at zero I dropped my distributer and when I did my bug is indexed and pointing at my #1 plug wire.

I'm not saying I can't flip it 180 to amuse everyone but I just don't see the need unless someone can tell me it's possible to build compression on the exhaust stroke.

[cadillac_al]

Just check for spark and get the basics out of the way. I changed a cam once and the engine wouldn't run. I took it apart again to check the timing chain and that was good. Sure enough the ignition module decided to take a crap at that exact moment. Shoulda checked my spark. Bad luck can happen to anyone.