car won't start

i had a blown valve seal so i pulled off the head and got it rebuilt. i put the head back on and set the timing to tdc and it won't start now. the starter tries to start the motor and i can hear some combustion but it won't turn on. anyone know what it could be? i tighened the cam retainers to 12 lbs of torq. in the book it says it should be 9lbs. could that be preventing the cam from spinning?

Do you mean that the motor will not turn over or that the motor will not start?

it will turn over but won't start. do i need a valve adjustment? i took it to a mechanic and he said that the timing was good, and he said if the valves arn't adjusted the car won't start. and my friend told me that theres some fluid that should have been bled when i got the head rebuilt he said that could affect it too.

well it is either not getting fuel or ignition. Is all the wires connected back right? How about fuses? Did you disconnect the battery while doing the work?

i took the battery off, and we pulled off the spark plugs to check if they were sparking. there is spark.

Then maybe it is not getting fuel. Try letting the thing sit for about 2 hrs and then try it again,but htis time keep the gas pedal on the floor while tring to start it. If it starts let iff the pedal. ;)

did you by any chance check timing ? distributor lineup after head install ? Maybe something overlooked.

i finally got the car to start, i did a valve adjustment, and then pushed the gas while starting and it struggled a little but then started right up, it idles at 1000 when cold im guessing casue theres no back pressure since i didnt put my exhaust on yet. i found out what was leaking oil, it was the oil pan gasket, and i took apart the head caues i thougth the seals wehre blown. all that work and it was only the oil pan gasket.

oh, one more question, how do i know if the timing is right, it might be retarded or advanced a degree, i dont know how to tell. but the white line on the crank matches with the pointer, but the cam sprokets don't line up , theres a little slack in the belt, so when i move the crank back a little the cam will line up with the crank, but when the belt tightens up its a degree off. is that ok or will that cause some damage?

When you were installing the belt did you start wit the crankshaft gear 1st and then go to the tensioner pulley then the waterpump the n the intake cam then lastly the exhaust cam? Also did you turn the crankshaft 4-6 turns counter clockwise, then set the #1 piston to TDc and then turn the crankshaft 3 teeth on the cam gear counter clockwise then tighten the tensioner bolt?

yea i did that, i set everything to tdc, and tighten down the tension bolt, and turn the crank 2 revoloutions, and set the crank back to tdc, and the cam sprokets are all off. on certain points of the belt is looser then other points. how do i fix that?

yea i did that, i set everything to tdc, and tighten down the tension bolt, and turn the crank 2 revoloutions, and set the crank back to tdc, and the cam sprokets are all off. on certain points of the belt is looser then other points. how do i fix that?

If you did it like you just described then you did it wrong, re-read what I said in the above post. You have to do it in that order exactly, you cannot tighten the tensioner bolt until you are done with all the other steps.

ok, i finally got the timing belt tight. the oil pan started to leak, and then the car started to idle like crap, and sometimes it would die. will the leaking oil pan do that?

No the oil pan leaking will not cause that.