i have been working on this car for about three years now it used to have a v6 the car is kind of a mutt heres what it has

the body is an 89 camaro manual transmission
the dash is from a 91 firebird and so are the wires from an auto
the engine harness is from a 91 camaro automatic
the engine internals are from an 87 carborated h.o. iroc everything from the harmonic dampener to the flywheel to the heads
the externals are from a 91 camaro this includes the fuel injection system the belt accessorys and the exhaust

right now it is turning over getting fuel to the rail and fire shoots out the exhaust (only the headers are attached) so it has some spark but i cant get it to run

also when i connect the a and b terminals in the diagnostic link the iac valve starts making noise aren't my fans supposed to come on instead any help would really help thanks.

 

I'm wondering if your not 180 degrees off when you installed distributor, my friend did that once, it would try to start sputter and backfire.

 

sounds like a vats problem or it could be icm, or pickup coil or a distributor install 180* off lik the previous poster said.

i would be more inclinded to thinking vats since this is such a hybrid though.

 

The icm has been tested the distibutor and coil are new and iv tested it in both positions when i turn the key the security light comes on and goes off could it still be vats

 

When u say both postions r u talking about compression & exhaust stroke at DTC?
.
Is it a short/long block?, or did you assemble the engine
If the latter did you align the timing gears at cam 12 & crank 6 o'clock, or cam6 & crank 12 O'clock?

 

Yea, this sounds an awful lot like spark plug wires on the wrong cylinders or distributor being off issues. Start with the distributor and make sure it is pointing at number one when number one cylinder is at TDC. Tree your way down from there to the plugs and make sure they are on the right ones. Then I guess dig in and see if maybe you crossed up the crank/timing marks or something as stated above...as it is obviously the harder of everything to check. I am thinking it is most likely the distributor being off though.

 

sounds like your off 180 or just wires like everyone else has said so far. the fans shouldnt come on till you reach operating temp. Hope its not your timing gears that would be a pain.

 

i had this happen to me before....i had my distributor 180* off and my valve timing set to that...ii pulled the shaft and turned it re-set the valve timing and the set my distributor....started up fine after that .

 

If it was 180 * off, it would backfire out of his intake. I had this experience a few months ageo when I switched out my cam.

 

when i say both positions i mean i hook the wires up then try to start the engine then i rotate the crank 360 degrees and hook the wire up to the new cylinder #1

on my other camaro when i jumper wire the diagnostic link my fans come on and on this car the iac valve makes noise is that normal

i rebuilt this engine and did align the marks on the timing gears.

 

I believe you when you say that you lined up the timing marks on the timing gears, BUT,,,,, is the #1 piston at TDC compression stroke, or TDC exaust stroke? Many do make this mistake, especially if you new at rebuilding engines. As for the IAC, what is happening is that the motor is turning and its bottoming out (closing the port). I dont know if its normal but mine was doing that too. Is it normal anybody?

 

vats wont allow car to even crank.

 

i lined up the mark on the dampener and to make sure that it wasnt off by 180 i took out the spark plug and put a straw in there to see if i could feel the piston and i could and the rocker arms also apeared to both be up like the valves were closed

 

What you have to do is have someone help you out here. Either you turn the crank at the front of the engine, or you have someone turn the flywheel with a fly wheel wrench. You have to watch when the rockers open and close, mainly the intake valve on number 1 cylinder. When you see the intake valve drop, and then close, check the timing mark and keep turning until it it lines up at 0*, most prefer 6*. Now you should be at piston #1 power stroke or compression stroke. Now pull off the dizzy cap and note the position of the rotor. If the rotor is pointing at the spark plug wire that leads to the #1 piston, then you are now at #1 compression stroke. Youre timing should be right on the money here. Im not sure if you have a wire that has a connector inline with the ECU (computer). I think its called the EST (Electronic Spark Timing). On my IROC, I have to disconnect it so that I can make proper timing without the ECU trying make adjustments. So I dont know if your RS has one. If it does, disconnect it before you make your timing corrections with a timing light.

 

BUMP

 

I say its a timing issue but as far as the IAC, yes, its supposed to make a humming/buzzing noise. I had to reset my IAc and I had my fans disconnected (during engine swap) and I never knew it buzzed since the noise of the fans drowned it out...

 

my iac is quite. No buzzing at all.

 

when you changed the dash did you replace the bulkhead connector on the firewall with the one from the 91? the pins on the 89 connector won't match up right.

 

It has a dash from a 91 firebird an engine harness from a 91 camaro