Me again - really need some help...

I have spent another day on this car and felt like it was all going swimmingly.. no bits left over, everything seemed to fit...

but it wont start... HELLLLLLLLLLPPPPPP

for them wot don't know I have just changed the head gaskets on my V8 discovery '98 auto

or does anyone know anyone in the area (Trowbridge, Wiltshire) that can come and help me.... for beer or beer tokens.. supposed to be going on holiday in 5 days and utterly fed up...

what have you tried, is there foowel and sparks!!


i would assume there is something not connected.

does it turn over, is the timing set up correctly?

have you alredy posted on this? i seem to remember a bit about the timing.

youve not put the injector plugs on the wrong way or something like that have you?

:bump:

come on guys - a SLUT needs a helping hand.......

right nothing more I can do tonight.. and too dark for picies.. besides I'm fed up and need a bath..

I'm pretty certain the injectors are connected correctly .. without taking the plenum off I can't check... don't wanna do that really but if I have to then I have to...

there is a single female spade connection not connected to anything.. can't see where it goes.. it is near the intake manifold and comes off the loom near the alternator but is long enough to probably reach anywhere on the intake manifold or that general area..

can't get the plugs out to check there's spark.. need to pop to halfords in the morn for a diff size plug wrench.. I have checked and triple checked the location of the leads.. and the coil works..

when I turn it over it turns over fine, never heard the disco turn over before as it has always started on the turn of the key but there is a noticable thrumb thrumb thrumb .. no idea if that is nomal - and a smell of petrol.. no petrol leak I can find so I suspect it is flooding itself...

when I take the key out the engine bay makes an odd electrical / pump type noise that I have never heard before..

reet tigger
1) - pm eightinavee
2) get yoself a couple of those pluglights.
3) start afresh tomoz

Maybe the loose wire goes tae yer fuel cut off switch?

The Mad Hat Man said:

reet tigger
1) - pm eightinavee

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done

The Mad Hat Man said:

reet tigger
1) - pm eightinavee
2) get yoself a couple of those pluglights.

Click to expand...

ordered.. unlikely to get here in time to save my holiday but the sort of thing it's useful to have about.. thanks

The Mad Hat Man said:

reet tigger
3) start afresh tomoz

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yep off for a bath .. did just see someone else's post about petrol on the plugs.. now I washed the inlet manifold in petrol (like I washed everything else in petrol) so the plugs will have a had a good soak.. let's hope it's that simple and they will dry out overnight..

thanks MHM..

that wire sounds like it came of the starter moter to me. hope u get it sorted mate bloody maddining tho

bustersbus said:

Maybe the loose wire goes tae yer fuel cut off switch?

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sounds about right.. smells of petrol but plugs are dry.. perhaps the injectors are not firing.. only problem is I can't find it in the RAVE .. any ideas where it's gonna be??

it still might be that wire matey! mine didnt start a few month back and it was the wires to the starter lose and one was hangin off .mine smelt diesal we had a stacker truck towing it the lot .thort it was worse than them wires. shure ther is a spade connecter on that starter. worth a look before you get on the big stuff.

think the starter is at the back.. time to look in the rave.. but engine turns over and there is a spark at the plugs.. stink of fuel etc been chatting to Ratty on phone and seems I might have flooded it.. so gone for new plugs which I am currently gapping and turning engine over occasionally to try and vent the fuel out.. stink of petrol is phenomenal now.. with fuel pump fuse removed..

mjltigger said:

think the starter is at the back.. time to look in the rave.. but engine turns over and there is a spark at the plugs.. stink of fuel etc been chatting to Ratty on phone and seems I might have flooded it.. so gone for new plugs which I am currently gapping and turning engine over occasionally to try and vent the fuel out.. stink of petrol is phenomenal now.. with fuel pump fuse removed..

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Take a plug lead off and stick a screwdriver in it, lay it close to metal and the spark will jump.

Take the air filter out and give it some fresh air, even if you got the plugs on the injectors wrong it would have spluttered a bit with all that fuel going in at the wrong time.

I had a car once that wudent go and it was the hydraulic lifters that pumped up taking all the compression away, had to tow it to get them to go back to normal, vw had a similar prob and you had to put em in a press, and I think the v8 has a similar fault the fuf fuf sounds like puffing past the valves. With the air filter out you will hear better if thats the case.

Ratty has been helping me again - very greatful for that.. other than finding the place where that spare wire goes I have got new plugs.. already had new leads.. except the main lead from the coil to the dizzy.. and I am getting a good spark on the plugs.. have removed plugs again - very smelly of petrol.. and left it to vent overnight.. will see if any change sometime tomorrow..

david451 said:

Take a plug lead off and stick a screwdriver in it, lay it close to metal and the spark will jump.

Take the air filter out and give it some fresh air, even if you got the plugs on the injectors wrong it would have spluttered a bit with all that fuel going in at the wrong time.

I had a car once that wudent go and it was the hydraulic lifters that pumped up taking all the compression away, had to tow it to get them to go back to normal, vw had a similar prob and you had to put em in a press, and I think the v8 has a similar fault the fuf fuf sounds like puffing past the valves. With the air filter out you will hear better if thats the case.

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hydraulic lifters? I took what I thought to be hydraulic tappets out and gave them a clean (at the bottom of the push rods under the inlet manifold) bacause I had problems keeping the muck out while dismantling (when I removed the intake the mud on top of the manifold was an inch thick.. not to mention all the mud over the wiring and tubing etc.. did jetwash it before I started but didn't help all the nooks and crannies) and so gave the entire area a damn good clean before I reassembled... so could I have messed them up??? don't really want to take the intake manifold off again if it is just flooded but I will keep it in mind.. being an auto I can't tow it anyway..

thanks everyone for their help.. any more ideas recieved with thanks..

mjltigger said:

Ratty has been helping me again - very greatful for that.. other than finding the place where that spare wire goes I have got new plugs.. already had new leads.. except the main lead from the coil to the dizzy.. and I am getting a good spark on the plugs.. have removed plugs again - very smelly of petrol.. and left it to vent overnight.. will see if any change sometime tomorrow..



hydraulic lifters? I took what I thought to be hydraulic tappets out and gave them a clean (at the bottom of the push rods under the inlet manifold) bacause I had problems keeping the muck out while dismantling (when I removed the intake the mud on top of the manifold was an inch thick.. not to mention all the mud over the wiring and tubing etc.. did jetwash it before I started but didn't help all the nooks and crannies) and so gave the entire area a damn good clean before I reassembled... so could I have messed them up??? don't really want to take the intake manifold off again if it is just flooded but I will keep it in mind.. being an auto I can't tow it anyway..

thanks everyone for their help.. any more ideas recieved with thanks..

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Its normal to keep them in the same order as you take them out, and refit em the same way, exhausts valves are opening a bit differently than inlets and the inlet valves all have been primed a bit differently aswel. You can also kill the camshaft fitting them back on different cam lobes

Take all your plugs out and spin the bastid, with no throttle and watch for oil coming up to the rockers, once you get the oil flowing up there odds on the lifters will have primed aswel. But it aint hard to check that they are working is it with the rocker covers off, and that there is clearance, and not pumped up solid.

Best to pull the fuse for the fuel aswel and take the plug off the ignition side whilst your doing that. sparky,sparky, and flames everywhere.

thanks ..

do you mean turn it over with the starter motor while the rocker covers are off..

they did go back in exactly the same place they came out.. I was very very careful about it.. push rods didn't.. they got mixed up but I figured as they were all the same length that would be OK..

mjltigger said:

thanks ..

do you mean turn it over with the starter motor while the rocker covers are off..

they did go back in exactly the same place they came out.. I was very very careful about it.. push rods didn't.. they got mixed up but I figured as they were all the same length that would be OK..

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Yes turn it over until you see loads of oil coming up to the rockers.

However I want you to check that the valves are operating properly at the same time, as in they are opening what would appear normal and that they are not pumped up and holding the valves shut. If you had a compression guage you could stick it in each of the cylinders to make sure all is well.

Basics, compression, spark and fuel, sounds like you are getting fuel but is it getting sooked into the engine, the plugs should be soaked by now.

Is it sparking, a lead off and the screwdriver should tell you that, but dont get a shock, just lay it near the metal bit and watch for it sparking.

Then compression, if there is nothing then it's never gona go.

Once all thats done you need to check its injecting properly, thats brake cleaner, or wd40 down the intake as its turning over and see if it fires on that, but you could do that just now if you want.

Also make sure you aint filled any bits on the ignition side with water, distributors are notorious for holding water and once they get a bit hot it evaporates and mists up the cap inside. Pressure washing engines is a bad move.

Start with some **** down the air intakes and lets see if it fires.

mjltigger said:

sounds about right.. smells of petrol but plugs are dry.. perhaps the injectors are not firing.. only problem is I can't find it in the RAVE .. any ideas where it's gonna be??

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If it's the same idea as the diesel then it should be on yer IP. Here's a piccy of mine ( the blue thing is the switch)....

Don't wish to stte the bleedin obvious but I had similar trouble with a bike engine I rebuilt. Thought about it and realised I'd put the cam in 180° out. Everything looked right but wouldn't fire and had the thump, thump you mention.

Keep at it, you'll get there.

there's no timing to set up so not worried about that.. the thing with the tapets pumping up might be there or there abouts.. but a pain to get to the rockers on the v8

I do however have a compressions guage so if no joy today after it's dried out and vented (plugs have been out all night and not gonna get round to it until after lunch at the earliest today) then will compression test...

cheers again guys

there aint one of them cut off things.. the ECU controls the fuel cut off by cutting earth to the injectors.. according to the RAVE.. still no idea what that wire is but perhaps it's a spare on the loom..