I Need Help! Car wont start!
 

Ok so i did a head swap on my 01 civic and everything hooked up just fine. After putting everything back together we realized the alternator was bad so we replaced that and lined up the timing belt and everything but my car still wont start. I dont have the extra money to get a tow truck to take it to a shop and im stuck 80 miles from my house. Is there anybody who can tell me what i need to do. please.

Re: I Need Help! Car wont start!
 

What does it do?
fast clicks when you turn the key? Nothing at all? The engine turns over but doesn't start? Does it sound like it's trying to start but just can't get there? Is the battery fully charged? Describe the problem in more detail.

Re: I Need Help! Car wont start!
 

Ok it turns over and everything does a couple of clicks. Can definitely smell the gas going in it and everything. The battery is fine also. When we crank it up and hold in the gas for a sec or two it will back fire but not out of the exhaust instead its out of the intake tube

Re: I Need Help! Car wont start!
 

recheck the timing, i bet it is out, probably retarded 1 tooth, which would put too much air on the intake side, causing backfire, i bet u have to pull the timing belt back off and reset the timing

Re: I Need Help! Car wont start!
 

Engines only need 3 things to run, oxygen, gas, and spark. Since you smell fuel I would check to make sure your getting spark next. Remove one of your spark plugs, then (with the plug wire connected) touch the tip of the plug to the block and have an assistant turn the key. Look for a spark. If you do have a spark then it's almost certainly the timing.

Re: I Need Help! Car wont start!
 

ok we do have a spark and we've turned the timing belt 180 degrees 3 times now and still nothing and still getting the back fire out of the intake

Re: I Need Help! Car wont start!
 

A shot in the dark here: did you disconnect the plug wires while doing the work? Are you 110% sure they are hooked up correctly?

Re: I Need Help! Car wont start!
 

Yea I did all that and still nothing its getting kind of ridiculous too.

Re: I Need Help! Car wont start!
 

ok so now instead of it back firing its just shooting out black smoke out of the intake tube so any ideas now?

Re: I Need Help! Car wont start!
 

r u sure its not 1 tooth out, not 180 out, im still guessing time, at this point, i might even try friggin starting fluid

Re: I Need Help! Car wont start!
 

Well just to give a little update I tried and tried and tried for two days straight and still cant get it to start. My friend who is a mechanic just straight up gave up on me and left me out to dry not knowin much how to fix it and i did my best for 6 hours straight before i finally gave up and so i had my car towed back to my town and now i'm gettin ready to have it towed to a professional shop where the guy is gonna line the timing belt up for me for like $100 which i might like to add is a lot better than honda trying to charge me $420 just to line the damn thing up so I didn't want to have to come to this to have to pay to get it done, but I dont really have much more of an option and I definitely dont have the experience enough to know if im doing something wrong. But thanks for trying to help me ill post after this one once i get the car running again and let yall know.