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So testing it on the 20k ohms scale on the meter 3 of them test too zero while the bad one is at 40. So I'm going to buy a new one today and cross my fingers.

Still trying to find a place to get a leak down done. In the meantime found out that one of the injectors isn’t firing. I'm getting a pulse but no gas. When I pull the connector on the other 3 injectors the idle drops but not on this one. I was able to confirm spark here as well. I checked it with the Ohm meter and it has a little resistance where the others that work do not. I assume this means it bad. Anyone know what the proper test is?

Ok so I pulled the cam covers and confirmed that timming is still good. Also that a shot of either into the throttle body when it's cold and this engine snaps right to life. Revves high then low almost stalling then recovers. I'm lookinag around localy for someone to do a leak down or a place to purcahse the device tomorrow.

Did the compression test on a warm engine this evening and here’s what I found. Cylinder #1 150lbs Cylinder #2 205lbs Cylinder #3 160lbs Cylinder #4 203lbs So the right side of the engine is between 40 and 50 lbs stronger than the left. I checked #2 twice because I couldn’t believe it. When #4 came up with a similar reading I was just at a loss. I’m flipping through the Haynes manual and can’t seem to find what standard compression should be. Does anyone know what it should be in a standard engine? I don’t think mine will be standard as I believe the heads where shaved as part of adding the cams. So I guess it’s onto the leak down test to determine if #1 and #3 are leaking or just not as tight? I guess I’m hoping for poorly adjusted valves… I don’t have the tools for a leak down anyone have an idea of what I should expect to pay for something like this?

So from what I have read it sounds like I could have set the timming using the notches and still be off either way?

I have not done the compression test but I can. I just assumed that if it starts once it’s warm that compression isn’t in issue. I'm also under the impression that compression tests should be done one warm engines.

Problem recap and troubleshooting summery to date: Just a quick refresh on the problems I seem to be having with this newly rebuild EJ22: Low power below 3k RPM. Hard to start when the engine is cold. QAT can be 70 and it takes at least 4 tries and fiddling with the peddle. After its warm the engine starts respectably. Something I tuned into today while troubleshooting slow to return to idle. When the engine is revved up it slowly comes down to 2k then 1500 and then back to idle at 900 over a 10 second period maybe longer. Troubleshooting began with cam timing as I was initially only looking for the low end power. Found that the right cam was off by one tooth and was told that this could be cause if I mistakenly rotated the engine backwards. Fixed that and there was a slight increase in power at the top end. Thought I had a bad CHT sensor feeding the ECU bad data so I replaced that with no improvement anywhere including cold start as we had hoped. Today I retested the new CHT with the Ohm meter it’s fine and was able to confirm 5v at the connector from the ECU. With a warm engine I pulled the connector and started it and it idles at 2500 rpm, I guess that it is doing something. I may try this when it’s cold as well just to see what symptom it produces. Fuel pressure was confirmed at 32lbs while running at idle. If I have time tomorrow I may test again and pull the vacuum line from the pressure regulator to see if that is working and how much pressure the pump really will make. Next on the list of possible culprits for cold start was the IAC(idle air controller). I received 2 used in the mail tried them both no change. I'm however able to replace one in about 30 minutes now down from my original time of an hour. Today I tested engine vacuum and confirmed that it’s nice and steady at 21 inches. A quick snap of the throttle and it drops to 13-15 inches and when the throttle is released it shoots up to 25 inches. So I feel pretty good that it’s not sucking or leaking air where it shouldn’t be. While I was at it I checked the ignition timing and found it to be about on speck. I say about because the manual says it should be 18-22 degrees BTDC at 700 RPM. My engine was idling around 900 per the tach and I had 20 degrees BTDC. As you increase engine speed the degrees increase BTDC so I assume if I had lowered the idle it would have been at 18. At this point I’m fresh out of ideas of what to test so I think I’m going to order a cable that will allow me to connect to the ECU and see what’s going on with that Select Monitor software. I don’t know if this will be of any use but I don’t know what else to try. The last piece of information I can offer on this engine is that I asked for a set of Delta cams to be installed so that should modify engine behavior as well. If anyone has any experience with this I would love to hear about it.

Thats what I thought originaly but I replaced the sensor and still the problem persists. I'm expecting a new idler tomorrow, hopefuly that will fix the cold start problem and maybe more.

The engine is in a replica of a Porsche 356. No VW frame it's a custom steel frame purpose built for this application. Before I got the engine in this is how the car got around. Engine in it's new home. Since this photo I have moved the overflow and haved it mounted properly. I'm curently waiting on a replacment Idle air controler as it's tough starting when the engine is cold. But I dont know if this will have any effect on my low end power issue.

The codes have not returned after a reset. One would think that they should be a regualr problem since I dont have a VSS conencted.

Ok, so I got the Fuel pressure gauge and tested last night it's right on at 32lbs. I assume that even thought the pump is capable of over 60 lbs that the pressure regulator on the fuel rail is releasing the excess hence the results of the test.

Pulled the vacuum line for the pressure regulator it's dry inside. Confirmed with the fuel pump suppler that it should push north of 60lbs. I will be buying a pressure gauge tomorrow to test what I actually have. Thanks for all the help so far. Please keep those suggestions coming.

Ok so getting the car out for that ride took a little longer than expected but here is my update. I reset the belt(off on the right cam) and do feel a bit of a difference but still not great on the low end torque. For a smooth start in first I need to bring the rpm’s up to 1500. Power really doesn’t develop until 3k and then it starts to pull strong(relatively speaking). At the beginning of this thread I failed to mention an additional symptom(hard starting cold) that started after about 150-180 miles of driving the new engine. This hard starting when cold appeared right about the time I filled the tank and I told myself that it might be bad gas. Since that time I ran it just about fry and have filled the tank again and the problem persists. Doing a little research here on the site I see that a common problem is the CHT sensor for the ECU. I swapped that out on Saturday hopeful that providing the ECU with proper data would help out all around but it is still hard to start when it’s cold. Once I start the car for the day I can leave it in 70 degree outside air temp for two or three hours come back and it starts good. Tonight I hope to have some time to look for a vacuum leak using a can of carb cleaner in hopes that a leak might be related to my lack of power issue. If anyone has other thoughts around either issue of troubleshooting ideas I would greatly appreciate the input. I’m also looking for a place that I can order the serial or USB(serial) cable used with software like select monitor on the OBD in hopes that I might be able to research my problem with some additional data from the ECU.

Did it myself last night. I thought the toughest part was going to be removing the harmonic balancer but it wasn’t that bad. I friend turned me on to the fact that there is a hole on the back left-hand side of the engine were it meets the bell housing. Sliding a tapered punch in there holds the fly wheel very well. The hardest part I had was the juggling act I made out of reinstalling the belt. Keeping the timing mark aligned on the right cam while installing the belt and making sure the marks were all in place was a bit of a fiasco for me. In the end I reinstalled the compressed tensioner and associated idler and removed the lower idler to gain the required slack. After all was said and done it started right up so I might have gotten it right. I will know more tonight when I get the other little bits back on and take her for a ride.

Thanks for the confirmation!

Ok so I have pulled the covers from both cam gears and when I bring one of them up to 12 O’clock and line it up with the notch the other is off by the slightest little bit. I can’t seem to find a mark on the harmonic balancer so I'm unable to verify which side it off at this time. I have removed all the little pieces blocking the center cover but I'm unable to remove the Harmonic balancer at this time. Can someone please confirm for me that the bolt holding the harmonic balancer is a standard thread and loosens counter clockwise before I proceed any further. Also does anyone know if the parts stores rent a tool to hold the balancer?

Wow! Thank you so much for posting the links to the Motor Magazine series. I had already read the end wrench articles and between the diagrams and descriptions I had scared myself off from even looking at the belt on my own. But after reading the articles from Motor Magazine I will at a minimum be pulling the cam gear covers and checking to see what I can find. Also love that Dan’s description in his first article seem to match my engines symptoms. Now that I have read the articles I have a new question. Assuming I do find that the timing is off, I don’t own any of the special wrenches used to hold the various gears etc. Should I try holding the crank by jamming the flywheel? Second question (again assuming the timing is off) if I do decide to take it to someone to make the adjustment, what should I expect to pay for the work, I live in Beverly MA. Thank you all for the help and the tip on using the notches not the arrows. I will post again once I have pulled the covers and know what’s going on.

Thank you both for the replies. I will take a look at what’s involved with confirming the correct timing. Sounds like it will take a little time but if the engine can run without throwing a code I guess I better check that for sure. Anyone have opinions of diag software or were to get a cable for the laptop. Again thank you for the responses.

I just installed a freshly rebuilt EJ22(from a 92 Legacy) in a kit car that weighs 2100lbs and while the engine starts, idles and drives the car it seems to be lacking some power. There is no bogging down between shifts, revs smoothly. The only slight anomaly I notice is a slight pop(not sure if it's on the intake or exhaust) when shifting. Checking my engine codes I see that I have 12,33,51,52 all of which are only shown when I set the car up in Mem check mode and drive it. In D check mode I get a steady blinking of the check engine light which I'm told means no codes. Can someone please confirm that this is correct. That said I'm looking for some advice on what I might start looking at to troubleshoot this. Is there a recommendation for software to get detailed data from the ECU? I have seen Select Monitor and from what I have read it seems like it would work on my OBDI ECU if I can source a cable. Or is there another recommendation? Anyone have an opinion on how big a role that code 33 vehicle speed sensor plays in the ECU's ability to self tune.