Meeky Moose Posted March 6, 2004 Share Posted March 6, 2004 well it started.. is running on 2 or 3 cylinders though.. deffinitely not all 4.. i tore down the timi ng, redid it all with the help of my FSM.. Jules double checked it.. so its right.. we brought it to TDC and set the disty.. still runs on 2 or 3.. i pulled the fuel injectors and watched them pulse.. they work fine.. plugs are new, and every plug is gettin fire.. (verified this) but the damn thing won't run right.. ecu is not spitting anything out at all.. only thing i saw during this hole ordeal is a long and 2 shorts.. thats it.. then it went away... another thought i am goin g to try tomorrow.. maybe the cats are hosed due to all the water that blew through them with the old engine? is this a possibility that they are dead causing too much backpressure which then causes the car to not run on all 4? it did blow the gasket out thats between the DP and centerpipe.. centerpipe and cat there only have a few thousand on it.. any other ideas? i've pretty much given up on it at this point.. if i can't get it running right its gonna get towed 2 miles to the junkyard behind my house.. am really tired of screwin with it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushbasher Posted March 6, 2004 Share Posted March 6, 2004 just cause you see a spark when you pull a plug doesn't necessarily mean it's a great spark under compression. Sparks should be bright blue at the plug at least. Old plug wires will arc across to other points if they are old enough. I would throw a set of wires and disty cap that are known to work perfectly on another car, or get new ones. When you have the engine running, pull a plug wire then replace it, listening for a change in the idle of the engine. If there is no change then that cylinder is not working. It helps to know exactly what cylinders are causing the problem. If you get a shock then you know your wires are bad or you could use insulated pliers It could also be that the cam on one side or both sides are a tooth off or something like that, I would check that too if you haven't already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junkyardgabe Posted March 6, 2004 Share Posted March 6, 2004 ya you did the head gasket but did you check the compression? just a thought Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WJM Posted March 7, 2004 Share Posted March 7, 2004 Do a compression test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meeky Moose Posted March 7, 2004 Author Share Posted March 7, 2004 well i didn't do the headgaskets.. didn't go that far into it.. and the engine came from one of the most respected members on this board, so i don't have a reason to believe the engine is a dud.. when checking the spark i also used a screwdriver in the end of the plug wires. the spark jumped an inch+ across from the screwdriver to a strut bolt.. i was thinking maybe a weak coil.. but its only really missing on cylinders 3 and 4.. 1 and 2 are hittin fine.. tomorrow i am going to go get a new coil, and give it a whirl.... also going to pull the exhaust at the turbo and see if that has anything to do with it.. this was the original coil on the rx, and was swapped to the hatch, but is now back on the rx.. the hatch has been runnin fine, so i'd figure ther coil is fine? plug wires are also known good, no arching anywhere.. its just odd that it won't run even though everything is set right, and done step by step from my fsm.. been through the hole book and can't figure it out.. i even double checked the fuel injector wires to make sure they were on the right injector.. and yes it does matter according to the FSM.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLCraig Posted March 7, 2004 Share Posted March 7, 2004 by chance could you have put the #3 and #4 wires on backwords or maybe you don't have the cams 180degrees apart? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WJM Posted March 7, 2004 Share Posted March 7, 2004 yeah, having those plus wires messed up will do the trick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meeky Moose Posted March 7, 2004 Author Share Posted March 7, 2004 nope, wires are on right, and cams were rotated.. double checked by Jules here in town too.. i did have a thought tho.. when you do the timing the fsm just says line up the flywheel marks, and slap it together really.. does it also have to be TDC? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WJM Posted March 7, 2004 Share Posted March 7, 2004 One cam up, one cam down. doesnt matter which is up or down, as long as they are 180 of each other, and as long as the engine is at the center of the 3 timing lines on the flywheel/flexplate. No TDC. I only use TDC, #1, to re-time the disty. In that case, the cams are nowhere near up or down. Ive just done that job on the DL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asavage Posted March 7, 2004 Share Posted March 7, 2004 Here's a good one-page PDF summary on how to time the belts: http://www.smpcorp.com/download/view/Tt3Q98.PDF Same link in HTML, but without the pics: http://216.239.57.104/search?q=cache:xTpzYGmFKJQJ:www.smpcorp.com/download/view/Tt3Q98.PDF+subaru+timing+belt+mark+&hl=en&ie=UTF-8 I print it out and keep it handy when I'm doing a belt. Keeps me on my toes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WJM Posted March 7, 2004 Share Posted March 7, 2004 Yep, thats it. Right on. Although i dont think that since they came out the prcedure has been sketchy....the first time i read it in the haynes manual, and looked at it on the engine, it made sense. Ive never had to read it again to figure out what to do. Its simple to remember time and time again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted March 7, 2004 Share Posted March 7, 2004 how are the throttle pos sensor, the MAF, and the ecu thermo sensor? the RX has a dead spot in the throttle, we swapped ina nother TPS and it ran way worse, so we put the old one back on. make sure all your components are in good working order. dont junk it right off, i wouldn tmind having a look at i t sometime. steve wants to plan an april meet, see you then! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meeky Moose Posted March 7, 2004 Author Share Posted March 7, 2004 well, i've quadruple checked the t-belts.. one up one down.. in line with the center mark of the 3.. i unbolted the exhaust right after the DP and the RX idles now but its still running on 2 cylinders.. i changed the plugs, bought a new accell coil, new cap, yadda yadda.. no difference.. while its idleing i can pull the #3 and 4 fuel injector wires and it makes no difference.. if i pull the #1 and 2 it'll die.. so i'm certain #3 and 4 are the ones missing.. I can pull the injector out of the manifold and hold it open to the air and watch #3 and 4 pulse just like the should.. nice fine spray of fuel comes out as it should. and those plugs are fireing as well.. i did a compression check and got this #1 = 128 #2 = 130 #3 = 130 #4 = 127 so its got good compression as well.. all the sensors, disty, etc all came off my turbo wagon that ran great until i junked it due to rust.. i've come to the point where if i can't figure this out and no one else can the car is going to desapear outa my driveway.. i need 2 cars that run and drive reliably and this thing ain't cuttin it.. i might just get a wild hair up my arse to strip the stupid thing and sell it off for parts and stick the dr and lsd in my wagon along with the suspension.. haven't decided yet.. any other ideas on what to check to see whats wrong.. the engine came from Skip, so i'm pretty certain its not an internal engine issue.. we all know he knows his stuff.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rossta86 Posted March 7, 2004 Share Posted March 7, 2004 I would definetly check out the cats. When i did the headgaskets on my brat i started it without the exhaust on it after i got the motor back in and it ran like a champ. Put my y pipe on and it would run at all. Cat turned out to be clogged. One interesting thing though is when i put the exhaust back on and it wouldn't run i pulled the number 1 cylinder plug to check for spark and with the plug out it ran because the exhaust was able to go out the plug hole. Scared the hell out of me but it told me what my problem was definelty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meeky Moose Posted March 7, 2004 Author Share Posted March 7, 2004 with the DP off just the turbo venting to the air it still only runs on 2 cylinders.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carfreak85 Posted March 7, 2004 Share Posted March 7, 2004 If you have one or can borrow one, use a FSM and follow the trouble shooting trees to figure out the problem. Might try a different ECU. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meeky Moose Posted March 7, 2004 Author Share Posted March 7, 2004 been through the fsm 50 times.. the car gives me a long and 2 short blinks with the key on, and when its running it doesn't give anything... hmm wonder how hard it'll be to find another ecu for an 85' rx sedan.. haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carfreak85 Posted March 7, 2004 Share Posted March 7, 2004 Any turbo ECU from 85 should work. The RX's engine was no different than any other EA82T. You're not supposed to get trouble codes with the engine running. what is code 12 (Thats what you're getting) for EA82T in the FSM? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meeky Moose Posted March 7, 2004 Author Share Posted March 7, 2004 ignition pulse.. only when engine is off.. so that one is normal... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WJM Posted March 8, 2004 Share Posted March 8, 2004 the disty is 180 deg out. put the engine on TDC #1, and pull the cap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meeky Moose Posted March 8, 2004 Author Share Posted March 8, 2004 alright.. will try that again.. done it several times already.. i also thoguht maybe my disty is hosed, so i grabbed the original one that came with the car when i bought it.. also snagged my original maf as well.. gonna try that stuff tomorrow after work.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hondasucks Posted March 8, 2004 Share Posted March 8, 2004 check for vacuum leaks, my 84 had a vacuum leak on the passenger side head (I forgot to plug the port where my vacuum gauge was) and you could swap the plug wires around, with no change in idle. It didn't miss under load though. Poke around looking for vacuum leaks, use a "smoke machine" if you have access to one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meeky Moose Posted March 8, 2004 Author Share Posted March 8, 2004 ahh, no vacuum leaks.. been on top of, under, and all around it several times.. can't swap plug wires.. but i can pull plug wires and/or fuel injector wires off #3 and 4 and it makes no difference.. so its running on 1 and 2 right now.. idles at 1k no prob. revs up.. just not on all 4... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbone Posted March 8, 2004 Share Posted March 8, 2004 What do the plugs look like for 3 and 4? All you changed was the timing belts originally? I think we're missing something here, and cant pin it down. The key is its the 2 back cylinders. You did put a new cap on, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedbump Posted March 8, 2004 Share Posted March 8, 2004 verify knock sensor operation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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