Starting Probs After Changing the Head Gasket

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robcrox

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I have just bought a Freelander with a blown head gasket as a project. I drove the car home but after skimming the head she refuses to start. I have been experimenting and get a good spark direct from the coil but despite a new rotor arm and cap no combination of old and new produces a good spark after the distributor.
Checking back over my work I have set the cambelt up by the book at the 90' position. The drivebelt wheels are located on the respective dowels for the inlet and exhaust but they do not sit at the described 4 and 8 o’clock position when all the timing marks are aligned.
At TDC the rotor arm sits at No2 Cyl in the distributor cap and checking the cam lobes they are clear of the valves but I am not convinced that they are in the right position. 360' later and I am stil not convinced. My compression is low but equal across all cylinders and the fluids are all staying in the right place.
Any Ideas on what I am missing?
RC
 
have you got the cams in correctly? did you set them up with a DTI? did you use the poxy spacer supplied in the head gasket kit? are you using new headbolts? have you seated the valves correctly? do you have fuel at the injectors? are they firing?
 
as this is a techie thread, can the tratta boys go back to the barn.

The timing or locating dowels need to be checked.
With the crank mark at 12 oclock position the cam sprockets should read, left to right:

(Exhaust-in).......(exhaust-in)

The inlet sprocket should have the locating dowel at 4oclock, exhaust cam sprocket dowel at 8oclock.

With the belt off, valve springs will rotate the sprockets to their lowest resting potential by about 30degrees.

What compression is showing? 9bar when cold is good.

As for spark, check the resistance of the old and new rotor arm.
 
I have about 0.25mm left to skim before I loose the witness marks
I used an all singing and dancing elastomer gasket set complete with shim with the elastomer against the head in acordance with MF instructions.
New set of bolts 20NM then 180 &180 in sequence
Valves all lapped in and cleaned everything including the sump
The plugs are coming out wet with fuel
I have just finished checking valve timing against piston position and it works out right although the mark is 180' out on the crank asumeng no1 is the cambelt end.
Compression is only 5 bar fuel off throttle wide open but it is a cheap guage. I would have said valves not seatng but all cylinders are about the same pressure and they only needed a touch as it had been running.
 
Timing was set by the book.
90' BTTC on the crank case two dots either side of mark
cam dowls positioned towards each other
cam wheels marked on strip down for position of dowel and wheel to cam
I made a rule up so that all four marks on the cam wheels could be proved to be in a straight line
Rotated the engine a couple of times and all marks came back and have removed enough now and checked again.
 
The nutral position for all four cylinder to protect the valves works out to 90 degrees before top dead centre.
I have dopped a little oil in each bore for a second compession check but only had a 10 psi improvement.
I think my next step is an air pressure test on each cylinder which would at least prove if the valves are seating properly.
If anyone has tried this before have yoh any idea on how long a good engine will hold pressure?
 
Just to make sure - are you set up like this? All pistons should be half way. Only you mentioned earlier that rollpins were facing each other????? - not 4 and 8 o'clock as shown here.
 

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Northern Irelander said:
as this is a techie thread, can the tratta boys go back to the barn.

The timing or locating dowels need to be checked.
With the crank mark at 12 oclock position the cam sprockets should read, left to right:

(Exhaust-in).......(exhaust-in)

The inlet sprocket should have the locating dowel at 4oclock, exhaust cam sprocket dowel at 8oclock.

With the belt off, valve springs will rotate the sprockets to their lowest resting potential by about 30degrees.

What compression is showing? 9bar when cold is good.

As for spark, check the resistance of the old and new rotor arm.
Click to expand...

Wot time is it now cus the bugger still wont start. U on GMT, daylight saving, winter, summer over there in Northern Ireland?
 
robcrox said:
I have just finished checking valve timing against piston position and it works out right although the mark is 180' out on the crank asumeng no1 is the cambelt end.
Click to expand...

Not familiar with this engine but if the ignition system uses a crank position sensor if your crank marks are 180' out then you're on the wrong stroke.
 
Also looking at rockets thumbnail your valve timing is at 90' after tdc not btdc
 
good point, Trewy - I make it 2.

compression up
down power
up exhaust
down induction
up compression agin - is that 2 or 3?
 
Last edited:
THink u will find that the crank is connected to the pistons which are in the cylinders etc.
BUT, was talking outta my jacksie cus it only goes round twice for every cycle - Sorry.
Suck, squeeze, bang, blow
 
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