Hi guys, I just picked up an 89 GL wagon 1.8 Turbo 4WD Auto. Got it cheap with a blown headgasket. Pulled the motor, trued the heads and gave it a general once-over. Everything seemed in order until I put the motor back in and tried to start it. Runs Great... on two cyl's. #1 & 3 fire just fine, but #2 & 4 don't even try. Sounds like I might be getting some back pressure on one of the valves on that side- not sure which. I'm getting spark (a little weak) but didn't smell any gas on the plugs to speak of. I'm a carb girl, not much exp. with fuel injection. Could that be the source of my frustrations? Not sure I got the vacuum hoses back quite right, either. Neither the manuals (Haynes and Chilton both) nor the under hood diagram are very informative on v-hoses. Any ideas? Thanks for any input!

Jilly

My first guess is that the timing belt is off by 180 degrees. If they're installed correctly, one timing mark will be up and the other down with the crank at TDC.

Truely?! It'd be nice if they'd mention that in either book! I set the belts with the flywheel on the middle of the three marks, lining up the gearmarks with the casing marks (both up). Then set the distributor with the "0" timing mark. 180 out on 2 & 4 would certainly explain the back pressure! Thanks, I'll give it a try.

yep, drivers side cam straight up, put belt on.

 

crank engine over once

 

passenger side cam straight up, put on belt.

 

cams are now 180* from each other.

 

 

To put the disty in:

rotate engine so passenger side cam dot is pointing north-west (10:30 o'clock). Put disty in pointing to #1 plug. That should get it close enough to be able to time it. However, since it was already running, it *should* be in the right spot already.

Much appreciated. I did *finally* see it in the manual, btw. Not readily apparent for quick reference, but there nonetheless. With luck, and help from you guys, I'll get to take it on it's maiden voyage tomorrow!

Glad to help. Good luck and enjoy your Soob.