my 1994 5sfe engine dilemma

[danohdan]

My mechanic has replaced my 5sfe 1994 Camry engine and now can't get it to start. Any suggestions as to what suggestions I could give him?

It is a direct fit replacement engine, it does have spark, & is getting fuel. Now he says he's not getting compression, 25psi in #1 (he didn’t say anything about 2,3, & 4) & says maybe the rings haven't been seated yet (he's going to try and put oil in the top of the cylinders to see if that helps…?). I ask if the timing belt was set properly & he says he thinks so, that he put it on before setting the engine in the car.

My questions are……

Could the timing belt be far enough off to cause little compression and therefore no start...........?

If this is the reason why engine won’t start, would it cause any damage to try and crank it to start it or would everything be OK & one would just reset the belt?

Any suggestions…………… I want my sweet car back……….. a list for him to check, some kind words, anything….

Thanks,
Dan

[JustinC25]

Originally Posted by danohdan

My mechanic has replaced my 5sfe 1994 Camry engine and now can't get it to start. Any suggestions as to what suggestions I could give him?

It is a direct fit replacement engine, it does have spark, & is getting fuel. Now he says he's not getting compression, 25psi in #1 (he didn’t say anything about 2,3, & 4) & says maybe the rings haven't been seated yet (he's going to try and put oil in the top of the cylinders to see if that helps…?). I ask if the timing belt was set properly & he says he thinks so, that he put it on before setting the engine in the car.

My questions are……

Could the timing belt be far enough off to cause little compression and therefore no start...........?

If this is the reason why engine won’t start, would it cause any damage to try and crank it to start it or would everything be OK & one would just reset the belt?

Any suggestions…………… I want my sweet car back……….. a list for him to check, some kind words, anything….

Thanks,
Dan

If the belt was not timed correctly the valves could not be fully closed at TDC.

Is this a used engine, or a reman ?

Either way you have something mechanically wrong. I would have him start off by checking the timing marks on the crank, and the cam, also the valve clearence. If one of the shims is too thick, there won't be enough clearence there by not allowing the valve to close completely. Hence little to no compression.

There may also be a problem with a burned valve, rings or a bad head gasket. (if a used motor)
25 Psi is EXTREMELY LOW compression. My '91 corolla that had 289k on the original motor
had 100 psi across all 4 cylinders was very low, but it still ran.

One other possibility is if it is a reman, maybe the ring gap is not spaced evenly across the piston. (Maybe two gaps are close to each other and it is loosing compression)

Either way if it is not the timing belt, then it will probably need a tear down. If this is a reman it could be defective and should be covered under warranty.

Justin

[danohdan]

Thanks for the input, it is a reman engine & has a 12/12 warranty but does not cover mechanic work......... I'll give my mechanic your info & see what he has to say

Dan

[JustinC25]

Originally Posted by danohdan

Thanks for the input, it is a reman engine & has a 12/12 warranty but does not cover mechanic work......... I'll give my mechanic your info & see what he has to say

Dan

Any news from you mechanic ?
Just curious to see how it paned out.

[danohdan]

Yea thanks for asking, he had the timing belt off several degrees. everything seems to run ok now, but he bent the dipstick tube so I had to order and now I waiting for him to replace it.

Also I was looking around at his work & noticed that there seems to be a short piece of gasket missing on the upper timing belt cover & with a flashlight I can see the belt slightly thru a little gap ............ isn't this area supposed to be sealed up? He got pretty frustrated with the changeout, you think maybe he just wanted it gone & didn't take time or effort to seal it all the way up?

[JustinC25]

Originally Posted by danohdan

Yea thanks for asking, he had the timing belt off several degrees. everything seems to run ok now, but he bent the dipstick tube so I had to order and now I waiting for him to replace it.

Also I was looking around at his work & noticed that there seems to be a short piece of gasket missing on the upper timing belt cover & with a flashlight I can see the belt slightly thru a little gap ............ isn't this area supposed to be sealed up? He got pretty frustrated with the changeout, you think maybe he just wanted it gone & didn't take time or effort to seal it all the way up?

Great to hear that it is running ok.

As far as the rubbers on the timing cover, They comonly fall off with age, you can replace it if you want.
It is a good idea, but it should be ok if the gap is not too big.
You can order a new seal from your dealer, but it will probably need to be ordered.

Justin