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Hi folks, I'm stumped on this and wanted to see if anyone has any ideas before I waste more effort / time / money.

I have a 98 Civic with a hacked together D15B7 engine. The timing belt broke. I got cam and crank to TDC and the new belt on. Before putting the crankshaft pulley, alternator belt, and power steering pump / belt back on, I tried it out and it started up no problem, sounded good but I only let it run about 5 seconds. So I proceeded to put everything back, and now it cranks but won't start. The battery light stays on. I got the battery charged but still no dice. There's spark, fuel, and compression, and all the cables and connections seem fine.

Could the alternator have gone out just putting the belt on? I had it fairly tight, but even if it was out I would think it would start. I could have it tested but I'm walking and if that's the problem, I can't afford a new one anyway.

If the timing is off, why did it start previously and sound fine? I could tear it all down and check again, but I'm not looking forward to it.

 
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How did the car run when you ran it?

The valves could have bent when the tb broke.

Other then that just check everything over again.

I have had cars skip a tooth sometimes during the first crank, unfortunatly you would need to pull the covers off to check.

 
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It was running real smooth on the try-out. I guess I'll have to bite the bullet and check timing again. When I bought the car there was no timing belt covers, so that's at least one less thing to deal with.

The thing that puzzles me is the battery light staying on. Tach doesn't move either. I pulled the diz cover and the coil spring was bent out into the middle, I bent it back as best I could. Possibly fried coil or ignitor?

 
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Well, the timing was off, re-did the belt and still no go... sigh

 
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If it was fired up without the crank pulley, you could have damaged the key, the keyway, the crank snout, and/or the timing gear.

IOW, the indicated timing marks no longer would be truly at TDC if the key has started to shear.

Just a random thought.

But I bet this is what you did:

If you pulled the motor mount and let the engine hang, you have yanked on the wire harness and did damage to it. (Drivers strut tower to engine, right over the alternator). The tach, ignition/ECM, and alt wiring runs in that harness.

 
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I don't understand how it would damage anything with it not on. I thought it was standard procedure to test before reassembling everything? When I first pulled off the pully, I did notice a small bit of shearing in the keyway, but not enough to make it slip.

I had it supported, but had trouble with the nuts at first, only the mount side came off. So I tried jacking up to make it clear the bolt. The jack sounded like it was about to pop a spring so I stopped. Finally got them to budge with a long cheater. So I guess that could be an issue.

Had like 1 cylinder fire earlier trying to start. I can smell pretty heavy gas after all the cranking, so I pulled the plugs and am going to let it air out overnight.

 
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Regardless of the key and gear configuration: The 1/4" keyway is not designed to withstand the vibration and abuse that the timing gear has to endure. It is designed to ONLY be a guide during assembly. The clamping force of the harmonic balancer pulley and its bolt is what keeps the timing gear in place while the engine is running.


If there is no spark, and the injectors are still squirting fuel, it will end up flooded.
I was looking for a common denominator that explains all the complaints, and the harness I mentioned is it. When I do a timing belt on one of those, I let the engine hang way down as far as it will drop on its own after removing the mounts. If I forget to unclip that harness before letting the engine drop and dangle, it gets a lot of stress put on it. It can break the wires.

 
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darn, ezone, how long have yeh been working on cars?!?

 
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I've been making a living at it since 1985.

I've been putting wrenches on everything since I was 3.
Fixing small engines, lawnmowers, go-carts, bicycles, etc., for other kids at age 10.
First timing chain and cam in a SBC with dad at 13.
First full time wrenching job at 19.
First dealer job at 20.
Top honors from a major car line at 30.
Downhill ever since.

Sooooo maybe a whole lotta years. I've already forgotten more than most will ever know. LOL. Seriously.

 
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after the "screw engine" driver rescue on the other thread, i am inclined to believe

 
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Oh Lawdy Lawdy, which thread was that? Link?
Did my 3 second filter break again and I ran my mouth or something? LOL.

 
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To my knowledge, only real mechanics wwould go straight to the source like this
great!
https://www.civicforums.com/forums/n...eply&p=4583714

 
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Oh THAT thread.....I've posted in so many now, it's hard to tell...

I thought applying logic, reason, and rational thinking to the situation was prudent. LOL

If you drop a screwdriver into a blender, now it makes some godawful noise, wouldn't most people think the screwdriver was causing it? I guess not.

 
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yup, but most thinks that the blender does not have the bottom open It seems right now that i deleted all the other what-if's from the OP

 
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Yea, ezone is a true asset to the site. I have learned alot from him in the short time hes been here.

 
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Funny about the screwdriver. I found a 13mm socket nestled away in a crevice while inspecting everything. Not mine - it's probably been in there since I got the car 2 and half years ago.

It does have spark and I put in all new plugs but nothing.

I had a mechanic acquaintance take a look and he couldn't tell me anything. Wanted to do a compression test but didn't have his tester with him.

He verified the timing belt was "right", but if it's off from running without the crankshaft pully, how do you fix? Pull the whole crankshaft?

I'm almost tempted to try the belt "wrong" just to try and get it going, but I suppose I should just wait for that comp test and see if any valves are bent already...

 
Rep Power: 517

Was it cold out when it last ran for 5 seconds?
Could it just be flooded?
Are the sparkplugs wet after cranking it?


The way *I* verify TDC marks on the crank pulley is to stick a feeler in the #1 sparkplug hole (long screwdriver) when the mark says it should be at TDC. Then roll the crank slightly back and forth to make sure the piston is really at the very top when the timing mark is lined up.

Staring at the keyway would be obvious too, but it would have to be disassembled.

 
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I don't remember for sure, I think it was a bit chilly but not too cold.
I've tried letting it air out overnight to no avail.
Spark plugs do get wetish / smelly.

Totally forgot, we did this also, so it must be where it should be, or dang close.

 
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The wetness is fuel?
So it has a lack of spark, lack of compression, or too much fuel.

Letting the holes "air out" might not do much. You would have to crank it to push out liquid fuel and circulate air.

If it were flooded, that can lower the compression due to washing the oil film off of the cylinder walls.... A squirt of oil or two in each cylinder can help. Spin the engine over before sticking the plugs in, you don't want to hydrolock it.

 
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this is a long shot, but worth it---

Does it start if you hold down the gas just a little? I have a post right now with a very similar sounding issue (help identifying a part/ no start issue) where the no start is caused by something wrong with the vacuum system, I think.

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whoops, I'm the newbie bringing back zombie threads...
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