I just finished installing my engine and all it does is crank. We are kind of thinking it is a timing problem, but I installed the distributor with the engine at TDC which is where I think it was supposed to be. Do I need to turn it a little and which way.

Otherwise what could be causing this

 

The rotor is lined up with the #1 terminal on the cap, when the #1 cylinder (front PASSENGER side) is at TDC?

If so, then yeah, you need to put some advance into it. Turn the cap a bit counter-clockwise.

This will change it so the #1 cyl will be at TDC, but the rotor will have "passed" the #1 cap terminal already... which means the actual spark happened before TDC #1.

Let us know how it goes!!

Oh and DON'T do this while you crank the engine. See this message, under "Monday", for more info: https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...threadid=61277

 

I'll keep that in mind. I've tried rotating the distributor, and to quote you "no dice". All I get is a huge backfire and some smoke sometimes. Could I just not have it in the right spot, or is there something different wrong.

I did put in the powermax 2030 cam, I set it at 0 degrees advance and the timing marks on the sprockets were almost perfectly aligned.
I also put in roller rockers, but when I tested them out with the valve covers they looked fine.
I know I have gas to the injectors since I had a leak to begin with and I know my injectors are good since I just got them back from cruzin performance.

 

Hey, thanks Tom. Turns out my plug wires were off by one terminal, and my distributor was off by 180 degrees. Thanks, and she sounds so mean now with the rockers and cam.

 

distributor out 180*s, been there, done that. just gotta see what the motor idles at w/exhaust on.

 

Cool, glad it was something simple!! I remember after rebuilding my front of my car when the motor didn't start; my stomach sank, I thought I was going to have to re-check the wiring harness again (I had pulled it completely out, and put it all back in).

Is it a brand new crate engine, or did you get it rebuilt, or is it "new" to the car (from a junkyard)?

 

Its got about 30k on it after a rebuild and its new the car. Got any estimates about the power of the car now with the cam, rockers, and the cloyes timing chain?

Do you think I'm going to need any high performance parts to handle the added hp? My balancer seems to have come apart between last night and this morning ( when it was running) because when we were timing it last night, the balancer wasn't wobbleing and this morning when we timed it again to double check we noticed the balancer wobbleing. Did the added power mess the balancer up or was it just that the rubber dry rotted, and will a new oem balancer be fine.

 

Well, now the balancer is fixed, but the pulley bolts would only go half way into the balancer. The Pulley isn't moving at all, but the bolts just aren't in all the way. There also seems to be a ticking sound, but when I probe around with a screwdriver and my ear, the sound seems to be the loudest when I touch the fuel rail. Also the car doesn't seem to have a whole lot of power (I haven't gotten on it yet but just the feeling I get). And what kind of power should I be feeling if its running exactly how it should be?