This is on a 89 Formula 350 well yesterday I fired it up first time after putting on new intake, runner, injectors. so i started it up yesterday minus the aitintake tubes evac canister tube and serpentine belt just to see if it would start. It did so i tunred it off and was all happy and said tomorrow i'll put the remaing stuff on and it'll be good. so today i put the hoses on and evac hose and belt and it'll start then spuddle about 300 rpms and when i give it gas it backfires throught the intake and out the TB. so i said hmm timing may be off so i loosen distributer and start it up moving the idle screw up a littel and its sputtering and i move the distributer untill it ran good (the cap looked weird cause the 8 and 1 cylinder was parellel to the driver side door 8 and 1 for me is usually facing the front of the car ) so it ran and then as the rpms came down a little it started sputtering again and i put my hand on the cap again to move it and i got shocked and the car died and now it refuses to start whatso ever i checked all fuses disconnected MSD to put back to factory and i have a new coil what went wrong?
BTW when i put the cap on is the lip suppose to go over the mogule comp[letely or sit in the groove on the module? Thanks

[This message has been edited by Mkos1980 (edited February 01, 2001).]

 

I would bet a donut that you put the distributor back in either a tooth or two off or 180 degrees out. I would pull the distributor again, realign the crank to TDC compression stroke (not TDC exhaust stroke) and reinstall the distributor very carefully.
When the gears seat the rotor should point right to your #1 plug terminal in the cap.
Also with the driverside valvecover off, if the crank is at TDC-compression, then both the intake and exhaust valve should be closed.. if the exhaust-valve rocker is moving any at all near TDC then you are on the exhaust stroke and 180 degrees off, so just spin the crank around one more time.
No offense and sorry if this is wrong, but that's just what it sounded like to me.. a very common mistake that everyone including me makes. good luck.




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White 1986 Irocz, 305/383 with Edlebrock Performer-RPM intake and Performer #1407 carburetor, +110hp shot of crack, 700R-4 tranny, 3.25:1 rear, Mcreary Road-Stars, single 3" Borla exhaust, Linginfelter-TPI camshaft pulls 17" vacuum solid. N/A runs 10.9 @124, Crack-runs 10.3 @135... haven't run at track since Oct-99

 

btt

 

If your car ran at all, I doubt you are 180* out. As far as the one tooth off bit .. I still don't get it ... w/ distributor wise ... that's been an ongoing battle for me to understand how in the hell the distributor can be off 1 tooth. if it doesn't go in straight, compensate by turning it a little more .. bam!

Anyway, I'd look into some of your readin materials and measure out the pickup coil and see if maybe that coincidentally went out on you. These things get flakey after time. Also, your module may have went could be a reason why it won't start. If you're getting zapped by turning the cap, I'd check those wires and make sure you're not crossfiring. That'll make an engine run fairly bad.

Good luck.


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IROC-Zone - Coming Soon!
The Camaro Shrine
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'88 Camaro IROC-Z 350 TPI
'98 Grand Prix GTP 3.8L SC

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of rice,
I shall fear no Turbo; for Torque art with me."
- Cullan Hooley

 

I'm in for finding TDC on #1, and alinging the plug wires in the cap so when #1 is at TDC, the rotor is pointing just shy of the #1 plugwire on the cap, then reverify the firing order.

May also want to pull the plug wires off the cap for inspection to make sure none were pulled back, and all are showing the terminal. She shock has to have been from a plug wire arcing.

 

I'm going to check that stuff next week when it gets warm again. The ignition module is brand new same with coil not pick one So i'll check later. Whats backfireing though the intake mean?

 

if it is backfiring through the intake i would say that it is firing when the intake valves are still open a litle bit. or it has a vacuum leak.

 

Getting shocked by the distributor is a big clue to what's wrong.

I think your cap is toast. Furthermore, if the cap isn't on the dst right, then the rotor is whacked too. I'd start there, the simple obvious stuff, first.

No-start is either no fuel, no spark, or no compression. Break it down: does the car have compression? You should be able to tell by what the starter sounds like. If it seems like it does, on all cylinders all the time, then move on. Hoever, if it sems like the engine spind effortlessly for a while, then seems like it starts to have normal compression, then begins to try to run, then starts running terrible, then dies, then as the starater spins it some more the compresion sems to go away, then as you continue to try to start it it belches fire out the intake, etc., then you have a stripped timing gear.

If it;s not doing that and always seems to have vompression, squirt some starting fluid in it and try to start it. If it starts, you have a fuel problem.

If it still doesn't start, then all that's left is spark. Look very carefully at eveything you touched as you did the job; look for mistakes, oversights, etc.

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"So many Mustangs, so little time..."
ICON Motorsports

 

I got Air I got compression I got fuel 42 PSI havent checked spark. Even though FP is 42 PSI could something else be wrong. Injectors are all brand new MSD ones.