Hello,

I followed the instruction given here for replacing intake gasket and plugs. Seemed fairly cut and dry beyond some very tedious bolts. Now, first time I turned the key, it went up to 700rmp and then stuttered and died. Few more times like that. Now it will not fire at all. Any suggestions greatly appreciated.
2003 x type 3.0

 

as an update. I disconnected the battery before starting. Went back out and have gone over all the connections and vacuum lines. Still same issue. Will not fire at all, or maybe once or twice, hard to tell. No smell of gas under the hood after multiple attempts.

 

I would check over all your connections, make sure everything is plugged back in. There's a few little connectors you have to disconnect to remove the intake, go back over it and make sure everything is connected back up. Maybe one connector is not plugged in and causing the problem. After that I would go back and check the sparkplugs and make sure they are all seated in there and the coils are on properly. Sounds like a spark plug issue to me because of the smell of gas, but it could be something else. Maybe put the old plugs back in if you have to and see if that works. Maybe the new plugs are defective or not the right ones for your cars.

 

My money is on a connector not seated at all or only partially seated. That explains why it started initially and now it just cranks and nothing doing...

 

Are you sure that the plug that goes into the bottom of the electronic throttle body isn't loose or damaged?

 

Thanks for the info. 04xtype04, actually I smell no gas at all even after continuous cranking.
I have the battery charger on tonight. I guess in the am I start over, at least to the point of removing the manifold bolts themselves and see if anything is amiss. I have looked and looked and see nothing loose. Seems the coils only go on one way so that should be okay. Autolite double platinum with the gap set at .050 so they should be good. I used one of the links here with pictures and detailed instructions, very nice by the way, whoever did that.

I will pull one plug and see if I smell gas, and then do the job again!!!

 

Yea, no reason why it shouldn't be cranking over and starting up. I replaced my not long ago shortly after I got my car and it was a big project, but it fired up fine when I put everything back together. Something has to be loose or not connected. Make sure all the coils are seated on all the way, after you check all the electrical connectors... There are some on top of the intake too I believe, maybe you removed them and forgot to plug them back in.

 

jzbrown, I would first start with spraying a little bit of ether into the intake (either through the PCV line or in through the brake booster hose) and then seeing if the motor catches momentarily. If it does, then that will confirm that your problem is a fuel issue. If you still don't have any fire, then I would be looking at the fuse for your coils as you may have accidentally blown the fuse. But, by what you are describing, I am placing money that your problem is fuel related which may be something as simple as you need to reset the shock sensor for the fuel pump or you accidentally undid a plug for the fuel injectors.

 

looking at the fuses now. Your mention of a reset of the fuel shock sensor only brings up this mention. Anyone know where that is?
When I do turn the ignition I hear a little thump in the rear. I guess that is the pump.

 

Thermo, waiting for ether to arrive. My bike has a dead battery. Not a good start to the week. Will check you adivice on that.

 

jzbrown, if you are hearing the thump, then that is the fuel pump starting. On a whim, try this: Turn the ignition key to the RUN position (DO NOT!!!! go to the START position), let the key set there for a few seconds and then turn it to the START position. Did the car start now? If yes, then your fuel pump is on its way out. You will need a fuel pump in the near future.

 

Thermo, Thanks for the help. Alas it is going to the repair shop this am. It will not be my car until the end of the month. I was trying to get familiar with it, and make a little extra money, rather than have my boss pay to have it done at a shop. I will update this thread with a resolution once it is found. Hopefully, I am not the culprit.

 

Man, just call me stupid. I put paper towels in the intakes while changing all the plugs. Put the car back together with the towels still in there. When the mechanic told me that, I was speechless. He laughed and said it wasn't the first time someone did that. I think he was just being nice.

 

JZ, you are among friends here and we will not judge you.
The fact that you shared this shows not only your character, but will give us something to think about as we re-assemble our stuff after do-it-yourself jobs. We've all done things things like this and if not...we haven't turned enough wrenches in our lives yet.

When the mechanic said that it wasn't the first time he'd seen it...maybe one of the times was his own.

Tom

 

Pinecone - thanks for the kind words. I did put this up as kind of never assume anything. I took everything off 3 times looking for errors. But every time I got to the intake I said to myself, there are no connections under there. I check the bolts for proper torque and that was it. It ended up costing 600 including towing to get it done, just because I did not take the last step of checking- I blame that on that dang back bolt. Surly it was not my fault!!!