Sounds like a Subaru, won't stay running

[BurrowZ]

Made a new thread because I did a little more work and research and made new discoveries.

LONG story short: Car won't run after head swap. Starts but won't run.

I believe it is the injectors not firing. I am getting spark (yes I checked, so don't waste my time by asking) and timing is dead on. I checked that for the 4th time this morning.

Pulled the fuel rail off the head and rotated my 1G CAS by hand. The injectors seemed to fire intermittently. It was tough to tell because they would not stay in the rail and the pressure kept pushing them out, resulting in fuel sprays everywhere.

Things tested and known to be working:
-Resistor pack
-Injectors (brand new)
-ECU (which is a 95 eprom, spark plugs swapped properly)

There is only one known issue with the car and that is that my battery does not hold a charge very long so when I try to start it I keep a battery charger running @40 amps on it. I'm stumped and honestly will a new battery be my solution? It ran fine and battery was fine 4 months ago the last time the car ran.

 

[98yctuner]

for the battery, make sure your alternator is working, check the wiring for corrosion. Or just go to your local auto parts store like autozone or oriellys and get it checked to see if it needs replacement or not.

 

[casuprock]

Could be the voltage level. Injector duty cycle is modified by the ecu depending on the voltage...

 

[RedTsi_PR]

If is stuttering like a Subaru maybe is a Bent valve or a piston not getting spark.

 

[GsxMan98]

Check your timing marks make sure there all aligned.

 

[BurrowZ]

Check your timing marks make sure there all aligned.

I stated above that I have checked it 4 times, but make that 5 times today. It is dead on. Yes, I am checking it correctly.

Battery tested bad, got a new one and didn't really change anything.

Okay, I got the car to run a little longer after screwing with my DSMLink settings. I unchecked the "use non 95 CAS" button and swapped the plug wires back to stock.

I have a log now. In the log the car actually revs itself, for whatever reason it didn't log TPS this time (but reads on the SAFC normal) but towards the end of the log I took my foot off the gas and it kept hitting my 4k launch limiter and not stopping.

Now I did a visual inspection of the head before I put it on, and it looked fine. I have no idea how long it sat. Should I have to bleed the lifters?

 

[genegoesfast]

It sounds like your car is running in limp mode with only 2 cylinders. Are you throwing a check engine code? If so, reset your dtc's and i bet your problem disappears. If all of the above is the case then Ill bet its your cas. A 1g cas generates a different type of signal as opposed to your 2g cas. Random misfire code would confirm this. Tell dsm link not to check for that code and the problem will go away. Good luck.

 

[steve]

Did I miss where you posted your compression numbers?

If it revs to 4k by itself you have a leak somewhere allowing air to bypass the throttle butterfly or it's not closing due to something like the cable holding it open or some other mechanical problem. Did you pressure test the intake after installing the head?

 

[BurrowZ]

Did I miss where you posted your compression numbers?

I guess it's time to break down and buy one. The last time I had it at my school shop (with the stock head) it tested 165 on all 4. I suppose I did check for everything else it's time to check compression.

I'll do a BLT as soon as I can find my tester. I keep misplacing everything in my tiny garage.

 

[beendenied]

165... I wish, hopefully I'll have better luck this time hehe.

Compression tester, nifty tool to have. People borrow it all the time too.

 

[Calan]

There's a crap load of air unintentionally entering the engine if it is bouncing off the launch limiter at 4K. I'm going with Steve on this... my bet is a binding throttle cable or other mechanical issue in the TB, and possibly a TPS issue as well.

 

[BurrowZ]

There's a crap load of air unintentionally entering the engine if it is bouncing off the launch limiter at 4K. I'm going with Steve on this... my bet is a binding throttle cable or other mechanical issue in the TB, and possibly a TPS issue as well.

Could this also be from an intake manifold gasket as well? I installed the IM on the head with it out of the car. I torqued the nuts and bolts to spec but it really just seemed as if it was possibly not tight enough. I left it though, figured spec is spec.

 

[Calan]

You'll just have to get that BLT done to know for sure.

If the BLT doesn't find it, post up a log that includes ISCPosition, IdleSw, ThrotPos, and TPSVolts.

 

[CrawlinZX14]

well you said your testing your injectors with the fuel rail loose? Try getting a noid tester. You can borrow them from autozone anytime. Hell they cost like 20 bux at harbor freight if u have one near you. Didn't you say you moved the TPS? maybe its stuck?

 

[-red97rum-]

Did you bleed down the lifters before you put the head back on? I'd check compression first, it's easy and if there is something horribly wrong it will show immediately. Good luck, hopefully it's just an injector or the like, keep us updated.

 

[210 dsm]

Compression test!

 

[BurrowZ]

UPDATE:

Steve, as requested here are the compression numbers as of 5 mins ago.

Cyl 1 - 125
Cyl 2 - 130
Cyl 3 - 125
Cyl 4 - 125

On a VERY cold engine, since I could not get it to run. Also for giggles I did a wet compression test. The numbers didn't change really. Just about ~2 or so.

Craig I still have not done a BLT. I might have to go make another tester.

The throttle cable isn't stuck.. so I have my money on any combination of the following three things: Fuel filter, bleed lifters, HUGE HUGE boost leak. I will get a log up as soon as I have time. For now I have to get back to class.

Thank you SO much for all the help everybody! I really appreciate it

 

[knochgoon24]

Double check your spark plug wire order.

 

[steve]

Since you have reasonable compression you can ignore the lash adjusters. You would have very low or no compression if they were pumped up.

 

[bryzenga]

Make sure nothing is in front of the throttle body.... One winter I stored my car, took some piping off. A mouse thought it was a good idea to store food in front of the throttle body. The engine seemed to rev up by itself... little did I know that there was dog food holding the plate open. Just something to check, you never know.

 

[snowborder714]

1. Make sure your spark plug wires are in this order.
swapplugwires [ECMTuning - wiki]
2. Make sure to check the "Use non 95/96 cas" box on the Misc tab.
3. Uncheck the "Cylinder misfire" box on the DTCs tab.

Then see how the car runs, and possibly take a log with values that Craig suggested.

 

[TuRBoTaLooN]

1. Make sure your spark plug wires are in this order.
swapplugwires [ECMTuning - wiki]
2. Make sure to check the "Use non 95/96 cas" box on the Misc tab.
3. Uncheck the "Cylinder misfire" box on the DTCs tab.

Then see how the car runs, and possibly take a log with values that Craig suggested.

I was LITERALLY just going to say the same thing. The 1g cas in a 2g is a tricky beast. Both injectors and plugs need to fire in the correct order. A mismatch of either can cause similar symptoms.

 

[johnovision27]

Your problem sounds like something I had a couple months ago. I tried everything, new plugs, new wires, new coils, everything I could think of. Turns out my CAS was toast. It would start, run very rought (on 2 cylinders) for about 10 seconds then stop. If you have a spare CAS, I recommend giving that a shot. What do you have to lose?

Also like to note, that my computer wasn't throwing a code when my CAS bit the dust. I know it should have, but it wasn't.


NM, disregard that, I missed your update post with the 4K revlimiter

 

[DSM1G90]

Sounds like a Suba: "No.3 cylinder is scorched"... thx goodness the turbo aint sitting next to a cylinder... for that turbo, when it gets red hot, cooks that part of the motor cooking up No.3 cylinder wall...

it's funny when you hear Sti's busting down the street huffing with a tired cylinder...you know that they got a cooked cylinder.

 

[BurrowZ]

UPDATE!

Triple checked plug order and checked the necessary boxes in DSMLink.

Did a boost leak test and found nothing. I then inspected the intake manifold and I noticed on the bottom right (passenger side) that I could SEE threads in between the intake manifold gasket and head. So I tightened it, then I tightened all the bolts and nuts again and tried to fire her up.. same as before.

BUT, I went and checked again, this time I actually took my glasses off and squinted. You will never guess what I saw.

On the passenger side intake manifold stud, there is a lock washer.. in between the head and the manifold. Yes, I put on the intake manifold myself and did all my work. Oh my god do I feel dumb.

99.99% sure that is my problem since it is not allowing the intake manifold to seal properly and letting any air out/in.

If you believe otherwise, let me know. Haha.. I will try to get a picture before I tear into it. Looks like I have a nice project for tomorrow morning.

Sounds like a Suba: "No.3 cylinder is scorched"... thx goodness the turbo aint sitting next to a cylinder... for that turbo, when it gets red hot, cooks that part of the motor cooking up No.3 cylinder wall...

it's funny when you hear Sti's busting down the street huffing with a tired cylinder...you know that they got a cooked cylinder.

.... what?