Hey folks,

I changed out my upper timing chain tensioner this past Saturday, and the old girl fired right up when I was finished, so I drove out of the garage.

I had to shut it off in a big hurry, because I noticed copious amounts of oil spewing out around the new tensioner, because I hadn't sealed it properly.

Lost a good amount of oil, can't tell how much, maybe 1 qt. I fixed the leak yesterday and left it overnight to cure the sealant, without even trying to start the engine

Today I replenished the oil, but now it just cranks and cranks, but won't fire up.

Any idea what I've done wrong?

(There's a little doohickey right next to the tensioner that had to be removed to get the tensioner out. It's black, about 3-4" diameter, held in place with a single bolt, with an adjuster slot. On top, there's a clear window.sight glass.
Internally, it has a driven gear on the bottom of a short shaft. Could this be related? Is it possible to miss the correct tooth on this thing when putting it back in? What is that thing anyway?)

Thanks,
John

 

That black thing you're referring to is the Cam Sensor, and yes it has to be put in similar to that of a distributor.


You'll need to reset the timing. You need to rotate the engine by hand so that the mark on the crank pulley lines up with the timing tab on front cover. Then the cam sensor needs to be put in so that the dot lines up in the window ( circle in glass ) on cam sensor.

 

Thanks JB! Must have just been a fluke that I got it to fire up the first time then... OK, back to work then!

 

Possibly.....


Or its because you started it for very short period, and shut it off. The V8's were notorious for this.


Just double check the timing, make sure is in time.


It could be fuel flooded. 2 ways you could go about this, remove the plugs and dry them, or do clear flood mode.


Clear Flood mode - Before cranking, press accelerator all the way down. Begin cranking, as this will inhibit fuel injection operation, but still allow spark plugs to fire, and will dry the plugs. Try this a few times, at about 15 second intervals, each time remembering to keep accelerator pressed all the way down before cranking. About 3rd time, you can begin to slowly raise your foot, and you should hear the engine is trying to start. Might take a few tries, and might have to start pumping accelerator as you hear it try to start, keep doing this till it starts and allow to run up to operating temp.

 

All good, timing was a mile off, I must have turned the shaft inadvertently removing it, or while it was out. Fired up instantly, even faster than it used to, and idling smoother than it was, probably a combination of the timing being slightly off before, and the new timing chain tensioner.

Thanks again JB!

 

No Worries - glad you were able to sort quickly