95 s14 rebuilt. WONT START!!!

[huntington19]

ok i have a 95 s14. i rebuilt my ka. oversized pistons, new valves, balanced the crank. the whole deal.
when we turn the key,however, it doesn't sound like it has enough power. instead of making the fast sound like it's about to turn over it's slow like they'res not enough power or something. but we tried a different battery and still the same sound.

we're guessing it's electrical cuz the spark plugs and starter and everything worked with the previous engine we had in it.

any suggestions?

im 2500 dollars in the whole. i don't wanna give up now.

THANKS

[240cracker]

does it make kind of a clicking sound?

i had this problem in my first s14 a long ass time ago.. it would leave me stranded for hours!

if it makes that noise it could be the ignition switch/pigtail on the igntion

took me forever to figure that one out

[weissguy]

Did the crank turn pretty easily with a wrench?

[huntington19]

there's no clicking. just slow sound of the crank turning... i don't know how to spell out the sound lol. when we turned the crank we had to use a breaker bar. but it wasn't impossible.

[huntington19]

my brother said that maybe it's not grounded correctly, which makes sense cuz one of the ground bolts broke off and we haven't tapped it out yet. but could one bolt stop it from having enough power to turn the crank fast enough??

[importdude]

it could be a number of things

Engine timing off
Cam timing Off
Distrubator off *****check***** sometimes it would not stab in stright- make sure u align the notch with the hole near the gear so when u stab it in it aligns with the mark to the left




all these can make u crank and not start thus making your battery drain the more you crank

i like to always have a batterypack hooked up or jumpercables hooked to a running car just to make sure its enought juice to start the car

try trying that bolt real fast to see if it would start


Please also try a new set of sparkplugs. When u remove them and let them sit sometimes they can foul out making them useless

[huntington19]

thanks i'll definitely try those. but the we took the spartplugs directly out of the previous motor. even if they were sitting in an engine they could get messed up??
we tried jumping the car and connecting the wires directly. still the same sound.
the timing isn't the issue we triple checked. pistons are in the right compression stroke. valves are set to tdc. and everything checks out. i'm tempted to just take the car to a shop and get it diagnosed.

[weissguy]

dude if its not grounded correctly that is your problem. No doubt.

[huntington19]

ok thanks. i'll work on the grounds tomorrow.

[joeapple8]

did you try clutch starting your car?
check your vacuum lines?
check distributor?
hook up intake right?

sorry if im not much help, I've only done these things to my SOHC

[clark]

nope....

you torqued one of the following (or all of the following) down too tight:

cam caps
rod caps
crank caps

i did the same thing when i was re-tourqing my cams down. engine cranked but it cranked stupid slow.

did you use plastigauge or an equivalent to check your clearances?

and it's HOLE not WHOLE

[huntington19]

iknow we went by the book with the cam capts. but with the rod and crank caps i wasn't there when they were done. so that might be it.
i don't think we used plastiguage either.

[importdude]

that might be a problem

You need to plasti guage to see the specs
cranks can get out of round, Bent ect

i had a bent crank that would lock up on 2 pistons/rods installed

i doubt its your problem tho
could be

[Nibras]

maybe it's the timing?

[clark]

maybe it's the timing?

^---go back to your hole

[huntington19]

it's not the timing. i triple checked. i took the battery in to get charged just in case. and i looked again today and it turns out that the grounding bolt that snapped is on the back of the starter. so i'll drill that out and see if that does the trick.

[Veracity84]

Did the crank turn pretty easily with a wrench?


You should listen to this guy. Crank it over by HAND! with a 1/2 ratchet and 27mm before you ever crank it with starter. If you have a really hard time cranking it by hand, then there's your problem! You can crank over a KA crank using one hand, and a regular 1/2 Craftsman ratchet, if you need to use two hands and lots of muscle, there's your problem.

Common mistake, you can break valves, and bent rods and more, if something is out of place.
Crank it by hand first to see it everything is in the clear.

You guys are way off:
1. How can it be timing? when the starter is slow to crank over?

Solution:
1. Mechanical friction! Bearings/cylinder walls/etc.
2. Electrical resistence! Not enough cranking amps/volts/ Just take out the Starter, hook it up to a good 12v batter and it should pop out and spin.

If the starter is good and your engine is slow to crank over, you need lubrication or geometric tolerance on the "oversized" pistons is too tight.

Secondly:

Crank the engine with the 15amp Fuel Pump Fuse out. and with spark plugs out and spark wires out.

This way there isn't fuel flooding into the cylinders, secondly, if something is wrong, you won't create pressure to compress and damage the rods, rings, bearings, etc. Any residual fuel will shoot out. Once, it seems like it cranks FAST without these items removed, in theory, giving it less resistence, then put these items in again then try igniting it.

If it is still turning over slowly, then it is surely mechanical friction.

[93nismo]

You should listen to this guy. Crank it over by HAND! with a 1/2 ratchet and 27mm before you ever crank it with starter. If you have a really hard time cranking it by hand, then there's your problem! You can crank over a KA crank using one hand, and a regular 1/2 Craftsman ratchet, if you need to use two hands and lots of muscle, there's your problem.

Common mistake, you can break valves, and bent rods and more, if something is out of place.
Crank it by hand first to see it everything is in the clear.

You guys are way off:
1. How can it be timing? when the starter is slow to crank over?

Solution:
1. Mechanical friction! Bearings/cylinder walls/etc.
2. Electrical resistence! Not enough cranking amps/volts/ Just take out the Starter, hook it up to a good 12v batter and it should pop out and spin.

If the starter is good and your engine is slow to crank over, you need lubrication or geometric tolerance on the "oversized" pistons is too tight.

Secondly:

Crank the engine with the 15amp Fuel Pump Fuse out. and with spark plugs out and spark wires out.

This way there isn't fuel flooding into the cylinders, secondly, if something is wrong, you won't create pressure to compress and damage the rods, rings, bearings, etc. Any residual fuel will shoot out. Once, it seems like it cranks FAST without these items removed, in theory, giving it less resistence, then put these items in again then try igniting it.

If it is still turning over slowly, then it is surely mechanical friction.


basicly...

[huntington19]

awesome. thank you.

[huntington19]

anybody know of any good quality and afforadable shops that rebuild ka's. id rather have it get done professional this time.

[steve shadows]

ok i have a 95 s14. i rebuilt my ka. oversized pistons, new valves, balanced the crank. the whole deal.
when we turn the key,however, it doesn't sound like it has enough power. instead of making the fast sound like it's about to turn over it's slow like they'res not enough power or something. but we tried a different battery and still the same sound.

we're guessing it's electrical cuz the spark plugs and starter and everything worked with the previous engine we had in it.

any suggestions?

im 2500 dollars in the whole. i don't wanna give up now.

THANKS

Just because you used a "different" battery doesnt mean anything

Come on use some common sense.

Get some cables and link them up to car taht you know has a great charging system.

Then try starting the car with this as a power source.

If it still doesnt work then your starter is jammed or dying, you need a new starter.

[huntington19]

hmm i DID use my common sense and i did that with an 09 subaru wrx.. thanks though.