new headgasket and Giles pump, wont start (now with video)

[theman53]

no you can just take off the 12mm nut *19mm socket* off the IP gear and look where the key way is when it is at TDC.

[somedumbjerk]

got it to TDC and the little grove on the IP matches up with the bracket. i'm at a loss here.

[theman53]

Just to be sure TDC with the cam at TDC? If you cannot tell then you have to take the VC off it will make a difference.

[somedumbjerk]

Just to be sure TDC with the cam at TDC? If you cannot tell then you have to take the VC off it will make a difference.

definite TDC. i aligned the flywheel using the bigger white mark aligned to the arrow in the port in the transmission, and put in the cam lock and the pump lock.

[somedumbjerk]

said exactly the opposite of what i wanted to say, i'm going to play with the timing after the battery charges and see if i can get her to fire up.

[8v-of-fury]

The pump timing needs to be verified.. But to me it sounds like a fueling issue. Also have you verified that the idle is set high enough to allow the engine to sustain combustion. With the idle set too low the engine will never fire off because there is not enough fuel being injected.

[somedumbjerk]

The pump timing needs to be verified.. But to me it sounds like a fueling issue. Also have you verified that the idle is set high enough to allow the engine to sustain combustion. With the idle set too low the engine will never fire off because there is not enough fuel being injected.

no i never thought of it, i'll go try that now. that actually makes sense because it will kick over as i crank it but then stops

[damac]

Your video reminds me of my car with a run down starting system, trying to get it to fire up the first time after priming the system.  Weak turnover delays everything.  It might just need that extra nudge to catch, run and purge all the air out since it sounds like its trying to catch.  What about with the pedal down 1/3

I recently found out just how bad my system was slipping.  I got my battery checked and it was bad after a year, it would drain down after charge.  Then I upgraded to bigger power/ground wires with extra grounds to starter and alternator.  Then I got a tdi gear reduction starter from a nice guy here on the forum just in case and its like a whole different car.  I actually started my car a couple times by accident cold with no glowplugs!

I was working on it last week without running it much because I am having pump running issues and was able to crank it a ton over the course of the day and the batter read 65%, and it was still spinning the motor over constantly without being able to count the revolutions like that.  So awesome upgrade in my opinion, it can make the difference in cold weather starting.

On another note is your timing belt tensioned right?

[somedumbjerk]

Your video reminds me of my car with a run down starting system, trying to get it to fire up the first time after priming the system.  Weak turnover delays everything.  It might just need that extra nudge to catch, run and purge all the air out since it sounds like its trying to catch.  What about with the pedal down 1/3

I recently found out just how bad my system was slipping.  I got my battery checked and it was bad after a year, it would drain down after charge.  Then I upgraded to bigger power/ground wires with extra grounds to starter and alternator.  Then I got a tdi gear reduction starter from a nice guy here on the forum just in case and its like a whole different car.  I actually started my car a couple times by accident cold with no glowplugs!

I was working on it last week without running it much because I am having pump running issues and was able to crank it a ton over the course of the day and the batter read 65%, and it was still spinning the motor over constantly without being able to count the revolutions like that.  So awesome upgrade in my opinion, it can make the difference in cold weather starting.

On another note is your timing belt tensioned right?

the timing belt is my first one. i hope it's tensioned right... i looked up how to do it as i don't have the proper tool to test deflection and i read a couple places about how much twist it should have so i did it by that method. i can't find the actual write up at the moment, which is making me nervous. does it look bad?

i just got it running by messing with the idle, and that worked. thanks 8v! it was running rough and i pissed off a few cars on the street with smoke but i kind of blipped the throttle a few times and it coughed out white then black smoke and then ran fine. test drove it to get the engine up to operating temps and adjusted the idle a bit more. running okayish, but a little high on the idle, and i haven't taken it about 35mph yet (kept it in the neighborhood in case something went wrong. bay area freeways don't like when cars die on the road!)

i'm going to let it cool down and try it again. it's way quicker off the line. i don't have a tach so i didn't want to do anything crazy but it felt loads more powerful. it's kind of buzzing though.. it's hard to describe. i'll take my camera for the second test run. the mic on that is pretty good.

[rabbitman]

Whenever I have to refill the injector lines/injectors I always floor it until it fires up, if it won't idle then you gotta adjust the idle screw of course.....

BTW I never bleed the injectors by cracking the lines anymore. I used to crack 2 lines, floor it and crank away but then I noticed that right as I saw fuel at the cracked lines it also would fire on the cylinders with the tight lines. I've done it with all line tight probably 5 times now and it's just as fast as cracking 'em only less messy.

[regcheeseman]

Are you 100% sure that the flywheel mark is actually TDC? Seen a couple of engines now where the mark was 30 degrees off.
This of course only applies if you removed the flywheel during the build.

[somedumbjerk]

so my buddy and i worked on the car this afternoon. turns out we didn't torque the head bolts enough... apparently when i said "90 ft lbs" my buddy heard 60. i figured this out when i looked at the endgine a little closer this morning and realized it was leaking coolant from the head gasket. no oil got into the coolant that i can see and the dipstick wasn't foamy after running it today. the timing is still a bit retarded but she fires up and runs fine. i apparently over thought this problem and didn't make the sane assumption that i did something stupid.

Thanks for the help guys!
30 PSI is a lot of fun in these little cars!