cranks but won't start

[crimsondragon]

Ok I'm not entirely sure where the hell I went wrong so I'll start with yesterday. I jacked up the car on jackstands to get to the front motor mount so I can put prothanes in. Supported the engine through the oil pan using a jack, 3 pieces of wood, sponge with a shirt wrapped around it as well as a shop rag. I unhooked the stock LICP, stuffed rags in both the turbo outlet and IC inlet. Slipped in the mount but then I later added in polyurethane as filling and waited overnight for it to harden.

Come out this morning and I install the mount. Had a bit of trouble not lining up so I kept jacking up the engine. Finally got it through but it made a small dent in the pan. This is the part where I believe I messed up. I went to start it up cause I wanted to put it in drive and check the brakes cause it makes noise whenever I brake at a certain pressure. Cranked for a bit and died.

So I pop the hood and low and behold I forgot to reconnect the LICP and the rags were still there. Took them out and replaced the pipe. Tried to start it again and it cranks but won't start. It tries to start up a couple of times but then it quits. I really think I messed up something. I'm leaning towards hydrolock from the excessive fuel dumped in.

I also think I starved the engine of oil possibly. The way my driveway is positioned, it's on a slope so all the oil is headed to the back. I also jacked only the front up so it's on an even steeper incline. The oil pressure light goes off when I try to start it though so I don't know. When I took the dipstick out, it was past the minimum point.

I feel mad stupid. Something as simple as installing motor mounts and I can mess that up too. I really need help.

 

[SBR Joe]

Ok I'm not entirely sure where the hell I went wrong so I'll start with yesterday. I jacked up the car on jackstands to get to the front motor mount so I can put prothanes in. Supported the engine through the oil pan using a jack, 3 pieces of wood, sponge with a shirt wrapped around it as well as a shop rag. I unhooked the stock LICP, stuffed rags in both the turbo outlet and IC inlet. Slipped in the mount but then I later added in polyurethane as filling and waited overnight for it to harden.

Come out this morning and I install the mount. Had a bit of trouble not lining up so I kept jacking up the engine. Finally got it through but it made a small dent in the pan. This is the part where I believe I messed up. I went to start it up cause I wanted to put it in drive and check the brakes cause it makes noise whenever I brake at a certain pressure. Cranked for a bit and died.

So I pop the hood and low and behold I forgot to reconnect the LICP and the rags were still there. Took them out and replaced the pipe. Tried to start it again and it cranks but won't start. It tries to start up a couple of times but then it quits. I really think I messed up something. I'm leaning towards hydrolock from the excessive fuel dumped in.

I also think I starved the engine of oil possibly. The way my driveway is positioned, it's on a slope so all the oil is headed to the back. I also jacked only the front up so it's on an even steeper incline. The oil pressure light goes off when I try to start it though so I don't know. When I took the dipstick out, it was past the minimum point.

I feel mad stupid. Something as simple as installing motor mounts and I can mess that up too. I really need help.

Did you check for spark?? Do a compression check? A small dent in the oil pan wont cause oil starvation, our pans are pretty deep. And i can guarantee your not experiencing a hydrolocked situation. Do comp test and for spark and get back to me. Its probably something dumb..as usual with DSM's .


joe

 

[crimsondragon]

Did you check for spark?? Do a compression check? A small dent in the oil pan wont cause oil starvation, our pans are pretty deep. And i can guarantee your not experiencing a hydrolocked situation. Do comp test and for spark and get back to me. Its probably something dumb..as usual with DSM's .


joe

Ok how do I check for spark? I also never done a comp test but I have read about it. I have to make a trip to the auto store to get a spark plug socket. Can you link me a picture to what it looks like? I'm guessing I might as well get a wire gauge and gap them properly while I'm at it.

 

[erald01]

Well you can check for spark and the usual B.S, but you didn't touch any of those things. Now i am thinking where exactly did you dent the pan, cause you must have messed up the pump inside the pan that sucks the oil out, you know the one with the filter on it. Other wise i can't really think of anything else, unless god forbid your intake sucked in a piece of the cloth.

 

[turbosax2]

Have you done a boost leak test? If you have a GIANT boost leak the car won't start.

 

[marcmsj]

Start by checking spark and fuel and then work from there. Chances are you didn't harm anything just by cranking the motor, even if you were low on oil.

 

[turbosax2]

This thread is full of great information. Among other things, it explains how to check for spark and fuel.

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/articles-miscellaneous/217951-how-diagnose-no-start.html



This site explains how to perform a compression test.

http://web.archive.org/web/20060620005144/http://dsmgrrrl.com/FAQs/compression.htm

 

[SBR Joe]

Well you can check for spark and the usual B.S, but you didn't touch any of those things. Now i am thinking where exactly did you dent the pan, cause you must have messed up the pump inside the pan that sucks the oil out, you know the one with the filter on it. Other wise i can't really think of anything else, unless god forbid your intake sucked in a piece of the cloth.

The rag was in his LICP so it wont make it past the intercooler, and it would have to be a pretty big dent to have plowed into the oil pickup tube.

joe

 

[crimsondragon]

The dent is spread throughout the bottom of the pan. Instead of being roundish, now it's just flat. I made sure to put a piece of wood underneath as well as something soft. Also I left out one small detail. I pulled the plug connectors yesterday afternoon to check and see if there was any oil leakage cause I found oil on my valve cover. And right now it's raining. Sorta misty so I really don't want to risk testing for spark right now. It was running fine yesterday when I pulled it into the driveway. I'm goin to check the fuses and connections. Maybe I knocked one of those out by accident.

 

[crimsondragon]

Alright so I checked all the fuses and most of the connections topwise in the engine bay and everything looks good. I changed my CAS and no effect so it can't be that. I pulled my plugs and damn! Did I get smacked really bad with the smell of gas. I took a look at the plugs and I think they're pretty much done. They reek of it and so does the chamber. I think I can assume I'm getting fuel. I definitely think my ####up was when I forgot to take the rags out and tried to start her up. It flooded the cylinder with fuel but there was no compression. Here's some pictures.

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*edit*
I did a compression test but I don't know if I did it right...I got 65, 60, 55, 45 across the board which I know is absolutely horrible. I pulled the 20A fuse for the engine, unplugged the coil pack, took out all 4 plugs and tested each hole. I'm pretty sure I have a blown head gasket but that's not the concern at the moment. At the very least I'm getting compression even if it's low.

*edit again*
Replaced spark plugs. Nothing still but I did noticed there were several more attempts to start up only to die again.

 

[crimsondragon]

Ok my mechanic came over today to look at my car. He cranked it for a good straight 30 seconds before she started catching on and when she did, damn! A bunch of white smoke came out the back and she was purring like a cat. Not to mention those front prothanes are giving the car a real nice race car feel nowand rattling my hood. But I still haven't figured out why she wouldn't start before so I wouldn't call this resolved. I'm still pretty sure I have a head gasket leak since I'm losing coolant and oil on my plugs aren't a great sign either.