Intermittent Madness!

[narfire]

The guys and gal here have mentioned to me you need spark, fuel and compression at the right moment and the engine works. Have spark? Timing set? Rotor about to contact #4 while all the indicators(crank,intake and exhaust cam) are all at the right mark? Fuel flowing/pressure? All the leads on correct plugs?,I know that sounds daft,but it happens
Fuel pump working?,while cranking, the flap in the AFM should have moved and engaged the fuel pump.
Do you have a compression tester? perhaps a parts store has rentals?
A few things to check before you burn out the starter.

[BartusCompater]

You're absolutely right. I need to get collected, start with the basics, and go over everything again. I actually work at a rental store where I can get compression testers for free. I'll have to run those when I get the spare time.

What would be an indicator of a burnt our starter? I have a feeling that I may have worn it out already. And it would be fantastic if that's all this is. Would a starter be a possible cause for all of the smoke that I saw.

[BartusCompater]

It looks like the spark plug wires were mismatched the entire time. I had the #2 wire on cylinder 3 and the #3 wire on cylinder 2.

Could this have caused any damage or should I just be able to replace my burned out starter?

[BartusCompater]

Just replaced the starter.

It's starting now, which is fantastic, but it just revs up to about 2,000 and then dies.

My worry is that one or more of my injectors might have gotten something inside of them, but I guess it could be so many things. That's what I'm inclined to believe though, since I have a really dirty engine and I just re-inserted all of those injectors. Does this sound like a reasonable guess?

[majicwrench]

No, does not sound reasonable guess to me. If one injector was plugged would run but just miss. If two plugged, well it might sort of run but not neccessarily rev to 2000 and shut off. I haven't read this entire thread, I should do that....
Keith

[BartusCompater]

If not a clogged injector, something else I can think of is this:

The length of the hoses I had going from the fuel rail to the injectors caused me a lot of hassle when I was installing everything. I cut all of the hoses to 2 3/4 inches as recommended but this seemed to be too long, since I after tightening all of the injectors down I couldn't actually bolt the fuel rail back down flush like it used to be. I'm thinking maybe I've lost pressure in one or more spot because of the odd way in which the hose is situated.

[BartusCompater]

Tried replacing all of the injector hoses again today but no results. Things still don't seem to fit correctly (can't mount the screw that props up the fuel rail). Still starts and dies.

I hear a fairly loud PSSHHHH when the engine is running for the short time that it is, but it's been so long since I've heard it running normally that I don't know what to think of it. I've scanned around for loose hoses and can't find anything. Don't get any dripping fuel (but this doesn't necessarily rule out poor pressure in the fuel system, does it?).

Don't really know what to do except go back to square one and start doing compression tests, looking at the 02 sensor (which I replaced about two months ago) etc. Very very frustrating. Haven't gotten to the point before where I've put so much work into it without any results. Thinking about taking it to a mechanic, but I'm really reluctant to do so.

[Cozi]

My 81 Spider did the same non-starting routine a few years ago. Turned out to be a loose connection at the EFI temp sensor on the "T" at the front of the engine.

[majicwrench]

It is NOT your Oxygen sensor. It is NOT a compression issue.THe loud Phssssss needs to be looked at, could be a big vacuum leak. Length of inj hoses really not going to cause an issue. Everything needs to be reasonably air tight tween air flow meter and engine.
How long does engine run before dies??
Keith

[BartusCompater]

It will usually run about 3-5 seconds, jumping up to 2000 then dying as soon as the tach gets back down.

[BartusCompater]

Went back as per my recent daily routine, took all of the injector hose off and redid it again. This time I used a larger hose (9mm as opposed to 8mm, fits on MUCH easier) and cut it in shorter shorter sections (probably about 2 inches). Additionally, after trying to get everything fit in, I found that I had to make the hose for injector 3 slightly longer in order to get everything to fit evenly.

The good news is that after getting all of the hose installed and everything tightened back down I was able to start the car, and the engine STAYED running. However, it runs very poorly at something of a "chug chug chug chug". When I press the gas the engine sputters and chokes occasionally.

Examining the injectors, I found that there's the tiniest amount of exhaust coming out from where injector 1 enters the cylinder, so the seal there still isn't complete. I also tested each of the cylinders by removing a spark plug at a time and then starting the car. I didn't notice any difference in the way it started and ran with any of the spark plug wires disconnected.

One other thing I should note is that at a couple points, before the engine died there would be a sudden POOF of what I'm guessing was vaporized fuel coming from one or more injectors.

So my latest expert (novice) assessment is that I'm getting a poor seal at the injectors still, though there's a good chance I'm wrong. There's no fuel leaking out any more, just that bit of exhaust. I just don't know where else to look. The way the hose all fit seemed to work today, but it was too short to bolt the fuel rail back up properly. Additionally, I haven't tried lubricating the injector seals before putting them in, and I'm thinking that doing so might give me just a slightly better seal. One last concern that started to creep up me is that the seals that I got from O'Reilly's might not be fitted right. They seemed to be a bit bigger than the originals that I pulled off, and I'm wondering if the larger upper seals might be preventing me from tightening everything down enough.

So tomorrow after work I'm gonna remove everything again, cut slightly longer hoses for all of the injectors, lubricate and soften up the seals a bit, and then try everything again.

[BartusCompater]

Oh, and the sound I was hearing, I'm fairly certain, was just the belts turning. I was able to examine it more closely now that I've gotten the engine to stay running.

[bwilson27]

I'm sure that your engine just backfired because of the timing/fuel issues. I doubt you did anything bad like tweek a valve just because of that. Be sure to look at your timing belt, make sure it's on and that your timing is all lining up correctly.
Make sure all plug wires are correct. You may even want to take out each plug and make sure it's in good shape.
Other than that, get a carb.

[majicwrench]

NOTHING should be leaking past inj O rings, and certainly not exhaust.. Am wondering if you have injectors shoved down in all the way, they shove in hard. I ALWAYS lube the Orings, I use WD 40. If coming apart again, try an injector off the rail, make sure you can shove it in till O ring is IN not ON the opening.

[So Cal Mark]

yep, sounds like you have big vacuum leaks at the injectors. If you put them in dry, you may have torn the seals. I always lube the seals with white lithium grease