darkgant said:

^^^^


Like said above..go get a compression tester and check the compression......
Question: as the engine crank over does it sound like its cranking too fast?? If so that means air is escaping your not building any compression..mostly likely you just bent your valves...send video of the problem

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No it is not cranking over too fast it's cranking over normally but the batterys really shitty and cranks over normal then dies down really slow.. it just doesn't want to start.. Compression sounds fine.. I am going to get a new battery and see if that helps at all and then i'll take a video too show you guy's. And i'm going to borrow a compression tester and check it out..

a low battery on a new engine will make it hard to start at the least. plus the fuel rail has to get fuel going, my plugs were crap and i had to clean and gap them before it would fire after i got the new head on. do a compression test and a intake pressure test. sounds like youve got air fuel and spark, one of them or a combo is just a bit out of whack. they can be a pain that first fire after having them in pieces.

zedicus said:

a low battery on a new engine will make it hard to start at the least. plus the fuel rail has to get fuel going, my plugs were crap and i had to clean and gap them before it would fire after i got the new head on. do a compression test and a intake pressure test. sounds like youve got air fuel and spark, one of them or a combo is just a bit out of whack. they can be a pain that first fire after having them in pieces.

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Well i just got a new battery, RED TOP optima. See if it helps at all.. wish me luck

I just got done trying the new battery and no luck at all.. It smells like fuel from the exhaust when trying to crank it over... I also did a compression test and it was 133-55-117-135. The third cylinder is reallllly low.. What do you think could cause this?? Warped head?? I am stumped.

Its more than likely a warped head or really bad rings.Add some oil on the cylinders and see if your numbers increase.

I already tried adding a cap full of oil and it raised maybe 5psi give or take...

Any check engine lights? sounds like it may be the compression but I have also had coolant temp. sensor's cause a no start/hard start. Also I know you have said timing is dead on but it can't hurt to check that out again to be sure, i thought i had serious problems once and the timing was off just enough to let air out when it shouldn't have... Just some ideas based on things that have happened to me

Your 3rd cylinder is crazy low...causes for that:
1<bent exhaust valve (u smell gas coming out ## exhaust)
2<warped head
3<bad piston rings

U did a wet compression test n it improved a lil right?
More than likely its your valves..you should do a leak down test to make sure

Don't know why it didn't display the causes
Causes:
1: you have bent exhaust valve (u smell gas coming out your exhaust)
2: warped head
3: bad piston rings

91awd26 said:

Any check engine lights? sounds like it may be the compression but I have also had coolant temp. sensor's cause a no start/hard start. Also I know you have said timing is dead on but it can't hurt to check that out again to be sure, i thought i had serious problems once and the timing was off just enough to let air out when it shouldn't have... Just some ideas based on things that have happened to me

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No check engine lights. And the coolant temp sensor plugin is broken off and just has the wires sitting there. I need to get a plugin and fix it.. But other then that the timing is on 100% checked again today turned motor 6 times everythings dot on...

darkgant said:

Your 3rd cylinder is crazy low...causes for that:
1<bent exhaust valve (u smell gas coming out ## exhaust)
2<warped head
3<bad piston rings

U did a wet compression test n it improved a lil right?
More than likely its your valves..you should do a leak down test to make sure

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It barely improved after i wet tested it. But when i took her apart the third cylinder had coolant in it..And how can the car run before i took her apart and now she needs rings and valves? Can't be.. i am thinking it has to be a warped head... what do you guy's think??

I guess I would order an OEM MLS head gasket some ARP studs and redo the head gasket again. 55 is way too low on cylinder 3.

Service limit is 133 I think and obviously given the numbers you posted that is most of the issue.

I would also take the head in someplace make sure everything looks good and get it milled to flat. With a flat head, MLS gasket and ARP studs you should be able to get this all cleaned up pretty quick and relatively cheap to boot.

You replaced the HG without verifying if the mating surfaces were flat? Errr...

Skip the MLS as that will require a polish in addition to the work you already skipped. OEM w OEM studs (if 6 bolt).

Timing could be dead on, hg could be blown, damaged etc. Looks like engine work is in the future.

If its just one cylender my guess is an issue with the valves. Next time you pull the head spin the crank and look at the walls for scaring. That will give you an idea of the condition of the rings. Also see if the pistons move a direction the arent suppose to. Or if one seems to be higher then the other on on the same stroke. If that stuff checks out the problem is in the head, rather its warped or valves are messed up.

My gut feeling would be valves or rings. I'd check the valve clearances first though and it might be something simple like a valve that needs lapping in a little.

That said, even with those compression numbers I'd expect the engine to fire up, even if it won't run that well.

I'd also expect that the OP did the compression test with the engine cold - with most engines you're supposed to do a compression test with the engine warm, and that would improve the numbers. That said, normal rule of thumb is that a good engine has less than 10% variation between cylinders...

Even with low numbers like that it should still turn on.My 1g had a blown gasket between cylinder 1,2 making my compression like 25 but it will still start.It will eventually die off but should still turn on.Redo the HG.I woulg go with Cometic or MLS and ARP studs for sure.Make sure you check for warpage first of course.

Thanks for all the help guys, i am thinking it's the head being warped. Since when i took it apart and there was water in cylinder 3, so i'm guessing since i threw it all back together. There is more then likely water in cylinder three again from the head being warped... And I checked the pistons by moving them from side to side and they didn't budge at all.. Also checked the cylinder walls and it all looked good. I also have ARP headstuds already torqued to 25/50/95 lubed with oil. So i got the studs. I guess I'm going to rip the car apart again and take the topend to get resurfaced and checked out.

Well i called a local machine shop that will resurface my head for 45$.. Going to tear her apart tomorrow after work and take it down to get resurfaced. I am going to use a felpro head gasket since i can get it at oriellys and are known to be good

Please say your red check engine light comes on when you put the key in. If it don't then your computers bad... and thats why it won't start...Trust me they go out randomly.

g4ebguy90 said:

Please say your red check engine light comes on when you put the key in. If it don't then your computers bad... and thats why it won't start...Trust me they go out randomly.

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I can't really recall if it comes on or not... I will have to go check..

Crazy idea i know, but years ago after doing a head gasket my car refused to start.Everything was bang on and could'nt figure out what was going on.After getting really frustrated i got a buddy to roll the engine while i gave it a shot of ether!bi*** fired right up and ran perfectly for the remainder of the time i owned it.Remember that ether is not good for your engine and can cause damage if used incorrectly.

Ether... I have scene that stuff blow chunks of diesel engine pistons apart... I can not imagine using that on a automotive engine.

A diesel is an automotive engine.Ether is designed for gas engines as well.While i don't promote the use of it,it worked for me.May i also add it was minus 15 at the time.Good ol Canada!

With compression readings that low on cylinder three is leading me to getting it resurfaced and slapping it together again.. I am pretty damn sure that's it since i was driving it and parked it in my garage before i tore her apart.

Well when I put my motor back together I messed up amd turned the cams with the crank at tdc, didn't noticed got everything back together and it was just running off 2 cylinders. Did a compression test and had 0 on 1 and 4. So the low compression you have shouldn't stop it from atleast starting.

mchustle said:

Well when I put my motor back together I messed up amd turned the cams with the crank at tdc, didn't noticed got everything back together and it was just running off 2 cylinders. Did a compression test and had 0 on 1 and 4. So the low compression you have shouldn't stop it from atleast starting.

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Well i am thinking there is water in cylinder three from the head being warped so it's not firing. Is the only thing i can think of...

It should still fire even with that low compression on one cylinder. Had a friend with an RB20 and had NO compression on one of his cylinders. Still ran and fired up. But it just ran like crap. If your CTS wires are broken, then that is part of the problem. If its the CTS that goes to the computer. That is a sensor the computer uses to know how cold/hot the coolant is. The colder is it the more fuel it puts in. If its disconnected it reads a negative number. So chances are is its putting in way too much fuel and flooding the cylinders. It will run off ether for a few seconds. As this happened to me. So fix the wires before you pull it apart.