92 Camry I4 - did timing belt, now it doesn't start

[JPaganel]

So, after much reading I dived in and went ahead and replaced the water pump and the timing belt. Got it all back together, and now it won't start, just cranks.

I keep going back and thinking I unplugged something, but I can't figure out what.

Any ideas?

[Digger1]

Originally Posted by JPaganel

So, after much reading I dived in and went ahead and replaced the water pump and the timing belt. Got it all back together, and now it won't start, just cranks.

I keep going back and thinking I unplugged something, but I can't figure out what.

Any ideas?

J,

Check for a disconnected wire on the crank position sensor. If still no luck, recheck the cam timing.

Good luck!

[profuse007]

OBD nor pre-OBD have crank position sensor. check for timing again. 2 revolution of cam sprocket to 1 rev of rank sprocket.

[JPaganel]

I'm pretty sure I didn't rotate the crank a full revolution and I know the camshaft hasn't moved. If I was off a tooth, wouldn't it run but not well?

[renmike]

Here's what I'd do:

I'd take the top timing cover off, make sure that the notch in the cam is @ 12 o'clock, then, I'd look at the crank pulley and see where the timing mark was. It should be @ zero degrees. If all that is matching up, take out #1 spark plug and run a piece of wire down and feel the location at the top of the piston, it should be all the way up. That will confirm if you're in time or not.

If not, remove the belt, rotate the crank until #1 is TDC then reattach the belt like before. To get the tension correctly, I would put it at about 5 degrees, attach the belt, turn the crank to zero, then tighten the adjuster, that should take any slack out of it.

If all that is checking out, make sure all the nearby sensors and connectors are plugged in and clean. Also make sure you check the connectors on the distributor as well.

[profuse007]

i wouldnt knwo about cause i get it everytime. anyways, check if you acidentally discon the two plugs of distributor. rotate the distributor while cranking. coolant sensor discon?

thats all i can think of.

Originally Posted by JPaganel

I'm pretty sure I didn't rotate the crank a full revolution and I know the camshaft hasn't moved. If I was off a tooth, wouldn't it run but not well?

[toyomoho]

Check the ignition system for spark. Then after cranking pull out a spark plug and see if you are getting fuel. If so, the problem could be a disconnected wire, or the cam/crank timing is off. If you assembled everything correctly, the timing should be close enough for the engine to start. When installing the belt and releasing the belt tensioner, the cam/crank timing can shift one tooth.

You can do a gross crank/cam timing check by using renmikes’ method. Use the position of the distributor rotor to check cam location.

[ghettosled]

A. check your timing belt to make sure youre not off a tooth. i did this accidentally when i did my timing job, but caught it before i tried starting it. it may not run if off a tooth.

B. how did you prevent the car from starting when you were working on it? if you disconnected the spark plug wires, are they on all of the way?

[JPaganel]

While I was working on it I both had the battery out and the wires disconnected.

I'll recheck the timing. If I'm looking at the distributor and the timing mark is at 0, where should the rotor point?


Thanks, guys.

[88 LE]

Originally Posted by JPaganel

I'll recheck the timing. If I'm looking at the distributor and the timing mark is at 0, where should the rotor point?

With the crank at 0 and cylinder #1 at TDC on compression stroke, the rotor should point to #1 (left most cylinder, the one closest to the belts).

You may have to rotate the crank more then 1 turn. 720 degrees (2 revolutions) of crank rotation = 360 degrees (1 revolution) of cam rotation.

[JPaganel]

Holy thread resurrection, Batman!

I finally got back to working on this. I did get the car to run, finally. Looks like what I was doing wrong was not backing the crank off to 5 degrees to tighten the belt, so the slack made it be out of time.

Now, the problem I have is that it runs, but at much lower RPM than it used to.

What's the normal idle RPM?

[ghettosled]

my idle is anywhere between 1000 - 600, depending on temperature and whats running in the car.