Head Service

Looks awesome man, did you gap the rings?

Looks awesome man, did you gap the rings?
OK..... well... I completely forgot about that. I do thank you for that.

However..... I messed up badly. Was working too late and was too tired and frustrated and broke a ring when trying to install. I know they come in a set. So..... My question: Is there any chance I might be able to find a ring set for ONE Piston? Or am I screwed and need to buy an entire new set?

Got to be careful man, you should be able to find a set somewhere. Maybe call the dealership.

http://perfected-insanity.blogspot.com/2009/01/two-steps-back-and-one-step-forward.html

Making some sort of progress. CI Motorsports might be able to hook me up with 1 ring set. We'll see.

http://perfected-insanity.blogspot.com/2009/01/two-steps-back-and-one-step-forward.html

Making some sort of progress. CI Motorsports might be able to hook me up with 1 ring set. We'll see.

Looking good.
CI is a good company so they should have some spares laying around.

Unfortunately I had to order a whole new set. BUT, they finally came in and progress has resumed. See post for details:

http://perfected-insanity.blogspot.com/2009/02/wheres-your-head-at.html

OK, tools cleaned up, garage cleaned, and progress made. Oil pan on now, as well as the hydraulic tensioner and the rollers for the timing belt, plastic guard, and exhaust headers. I finally found the 24mm deepwell socket needed for the oil filter screw as well. Looks like it's time to start mounting the alternator and mounts. I also have one more sensor that needs some work as he does not want to go in properly.

Stuck on one item however, and the manuals call for a special mitsu tool. I'm trying to put the crankshaft gear back on, which just slides back on (slide being a VERY subjective term, as it's going to take some major leverage). Anyone know a cheap alternative, trick, or something i can pick up at the hardware or auto parts store? I've tried a few ideas with the screw type gear puller i took it off with, but no luck there..

Also I ended up changing the oil in my jeep, and wow did I pick the wrong night. it has to be about 7 degrees out there... unfortunately there's only a heater in the garage with the eclipse. :(

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Well, I finally got the crankshaft gear back on, which allowed me to throw everything back together quickly in the past week or so. A good old propane torch allowed me to throw it right back on the crank by hand. Nothing close to breaking anything.

Last night I got th engine dropped back in the car, everything hooked up and the car fired up on the first crank :)
http://www.perfected-insanity.blogspot.com/
After a few issues with some of the accessory cables being routed against the EGR pipe (and subsequent melting of the shrouds) Everything appears to be in good order except that the engine runs very rough after heating up for a while. I was able to pull out of the garage, and at higher RPMs it seems to run fine, I ran up the street a bit, turned around and pulled back in. Running even rougher. Doesn't seem like anything is having trouble with getting seized, but rather it is not firing correctly. What are my best bets to start troubleshooting? I'm guessing
1. test compression (Seems like it's got plenty of power though...)
2. Test Spark on all 4 cyl.
3. Parhaps bad fuel? It's had only 1/8th a tank since it died late last summer.
But not really sure on how to test all these. I've got a compression tester, but i've never used one before.

Thanks for any help. I'll hopefully be able to get a video online soon. It's on my camera and I normally do them on my work computer, but I'm switching jobs and moving 4 hours away this weekend so any time not spent on the car is spent on getting ready to move.

Congrats on getting the car running again. Nothing better than hearing a motor you built yourself come to life. The gas should be fine, to check compression warm the car up and pull all the plugs out, disconnect the coil pack and the fuel pump relay. Test the compression in each cylinder at WOT. Im think you have the timing belt 1 tooth off. I had the same problem when I change the belt. Ran good above idle.

Im think you have the timing belt 1 tooth off. I had the same problem when I change the belt. Ran good above idle.

Thats not what I wanted to hear :( Although i guess it could be worse. I'll double check it all tonight. I swear I triple checked everything before I threw the cover back on, but we'll see.

It could be worse. These damn motors are a PITA to time. On my new motor I timed it on a stand and still got it off by one tooth. It was on the intake and the car ran awesome just had low compression in every cylinder. Drove it over 1k miles before I figured it out. It was an easy fix for me since I have adjustable cam gears. I think thats why I have such a problem getting everything right. I would check compression first though. If every cylinder is low thats got to be the problem.

So if i get low compression in all 4 cyl, it's 99% timing off 1 tooth? I also installed the timing belt while the engine was on a stand, so It seems funny that would be the issue. Also, what kind of numbers am I looking for in 'good' compression in this engine? If I get good compression in 3 cyl, but one is way below, does this point to issues with the head gasket or (eek) rings?

I've only ran the car for a total of around 5-10 minutes accumulative. Could it be that the ECU has not dialed itself in quite yet? I have no CEL (which I had issues with it coming on before for an O2 sensor alarm. New pre-cat sensor was installed with the rebuild), but i understand it might take a while for it to trigger the CEL?

Again, thanks for all your help. I'm far from a mechanic, but am more than willing to put in the time working on it if I only know which direction to go forward and not break things.

I would try and break the motor in some more just to get a few more miles on it unless it doesn't runs that bad. The ECU shouldn't run the car that bad ever unless there is a problem. My compression was almost 40psi low in each cylinder when my timing was off. Go ahead and check it next time you warm the motor up. If your on stock compression ratio should be over 200psi. If it was the head gasket it would be leaking oil or water or they would be mixing.

Took it for a little longer of a spin tonight (5 miles or so), I can't really go very far off this old country road until I get the tail lights back on. Even after it warmed up plenty it ran like a turd when at low RPM. At cruising speed and anything over 2k RPM it behaves very well. I'll have time to do a compression check this weekend, luckily i have the tool already, I just need to get the process down.

OK, I was just browsing the site here and thought of this: If the timing IS off, will I be able to tell by taking the cover off of the larger plastic shroud and seeing if the timing marks are misaligned like so?
http://redirectingat.com/?id=252X400&test=off&url=http%3A//i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh84/abigweaney/carshow.jpg
Could the crank gear be off 1 tooth while these 2 are ok, or would that be very unlikely?

Also, very loud squealing belts, not like anything is seized but loud enough to be VERY annoying. The PS and AC belt is new, the Alternator belt is about a year old, but no evidence of damage. Any tips? Could I have them too tight, or loose?

OK, I was just browsing the site here and thought of this: If the timing IS off, will I be able to tell by taking the cover off of the larger plastic shroud and seeing if the timing marks are misaligned like so?
http://redirectingat.com/?id=252X400&test=off&url=http%3A//i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh84/abigweaney/carshow.jpg
Could the crank gear be off 1 tooth while these 2 are ok, or would that be very unlikely?

Also, very loud squealing belts, not like anything is seized but loud enough to be VERY annoying. The PS and AC belt is new, the Alternator belt is about a year old, but no evidence of damage. Any tips? Could I have them too tight, or loose?

Could be too loose or too tight. However, I would check to make sure that the under drive pulley is on straight.

For the 1st question, I believe the crank gear only fits on the crank one way. So it would be the cams that would be off. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think the crank itself is possible to be out of time.

Well good news mostly. After one more drive with a few more miles (I put the taillights back in) the idle issues went away. I dont know what was up before but it felt great to get out and drive it again. It's just a little more responsive on the corners than my new Jeep Grand Cherokee.

The pulley is what's making the squeaking, as it's not on straight. :( Any tips on getting it on straight? I'm hoping I'm not going to have to drop the engine off the mount again to do it...

I've actually moved 3 hours away from the car, so I will not be able to work on it for at least a couple of weeks.

The pulley is what's making the squeaking, as it's not on straight. :( Any tips on getting it on straight? I'm hoping I'm not going to have to drop the engine off the mount again to do it...
.
Bump... any ideas? Any tips whatsoever would be of great help. :)

Bump... any ideas? Any tips whatsoever would be of great help. :)

Only thing really is to pull the pulley off and try again. You will have to drop the motor a couple inches to do it. Sucks, I know.

Well, long time with no update. I moved int he meantime. Got car in a a running state (minus accessory belt(= no power steering)) and took on a 3 hour drive down to my house where it is now in the garage.

HOWEVER, still issues. #2 cylinder is burning oil pretty good. Something must not be right with the rings, but all the others appear to be fine. I'll post pics once I get them off of my camera. So right now it's back on jackstands with the motor unmounted and ready to be dropped to I can remove the head again. The good news is that everything is coming apart much easier this time around (no broken bolts :-D ) and I have a much better idea of what order to take things apart and of all the hidden bolts.

Once I get this taken care of the only engine issue is the accessory belt keeps getting shredded or popping off whenever i get over 3k RPM. I had it on there pretty tight... Any ideas?

Once I get this taken care of the only engine issue is the accessory belt keeps getting shredded or popping off whenever i get over 3k RPM. I had it on there pretty tight... Any ideas?

Somethings still not aligned. That's the only reason why it would shred up like that. Had the same problem years back when I installed the UDP. The alt belt kept getting eaten up along the side. Something is not sitting right.

Somethings still not aligned. That's the only reason why it would shred up like that. Had the same problem years back when I installed the UDP. The alt belt kept getting eaten up along the side. Something is not sitting right.

Well, we will see what happens once everything goes back together. Until then I'll concentrate on the block.

Oh and I think I forgot to mention. It has a brand new harmonic balancer (which I thought might fix it (the old one got chipped onthe side when removing originally).

Well, we will see what happens once everything goes back together. Until then I'll concentrate on the block.

Oh and I think I forgot to mention. It has a brand new harmonic balancer (which I thought might fix it (the old one got chipped onthe side when removing originally).

Are both belts being eaten up or just the PS/AC belt?

Are both belts being eaten up or just the PS/AC belt?
Only the PS/AC belt. One time it knocked off the Alternator belt, but I think that just because the other belt had gotten bound up on the crank pulley and was flapping everywhere.

Ya. It could be another of the pulleys then. Somethings not straight on there. When it shreds was it on one edge or both edges?

Ya. It could be another of the pulleys then. Somethings not straight on there. When it shreds was it on one edge or both edges?

To be honest I never could tell. It's normally ripped to pieces or lost on the road somewhere. We'll see how it does once I put it back on. Now I get to pull the timing again ...oh yay :-(

Photos:
http://perfected-insanity.blogspot.com/2009/06/slick-move.html

Ya that plug doesn't look good at all. Good luck on fixing the rings. Do you think you cut them too short? Or just no idea?

Ya that plug doesn't look good at all. Good luck on fixing the rings. Do you think you cut them too short? Or just no idea?

Maybe. I was kinda rushed on the tail end to get things back together and get the car down here when I moved. Probably made a stupid mistake somewhere along the line. Shoulda measured a few more times probably. I also had issues with getting one of the pistons stuck (pushed it down too far and rings expanded... Apparently you CANNOT push them through the bottom of the block, lol). Only good thing is that I already have extra sets of rings for 3 pistons because I broke one initially :-P

Is it necessary to buy new head bolts seeing I have only 200 miles on these? I'll be ordering a new Head gasket for sure. I just remember the bolts were not cheap but that they stretch when they are installed?

Maybe. I was kinda rushed on the tail end to get things back together and get the car down here when I moved. Probably made a stupid mistake somewhere along the line. Shoulda measured a few more times probably. I also had issues with getting one of the pistons stuck (pushed it down too far and rings expanded... Apparently you CANNOT push them through the bottom of the block, lol). Only good thing is that I already have extra sets of rings for 3 pistons because I broke one initially :-P

Is it necessary to buy new head bolts seeing I have only 200 miles on these? I'll be ordering a new Head gasket for sure. I just remember the bolts were not cheap but that they stretch when they are installed?

Head bolts cannot be reused unless they're ARPs. Regular headbolts are TTY (torque to yield) which means they stretch out when torque them. New ones should only be like $40 tops. That's all I paid for mine.

I would just go with ARP studs. Yea they are $100 but you wont ever have to buy more. Have you done a compression test yet?

I would just go with ARP studs. Yea they are $100 but you wont ever have to buy more. Have you done a compression test yet?

I would hope I dont have to take the head off AGAIN after this ;-)

Update:

If anyone can see any evidence that it is the rings please let me know so I have not wasted a ton more time. :-)
http://perfected-insanity.blogspot.com/2009/07/lost-my-head-again.html

Update:

If anyone can see any evidence that it is the rings please let me know so I have not wasted a ton more time. :-)
http://perfected-insanity.blogspot.com/2009/07/lost-my-head-again.html

bump?

You really should have done a leak down test before you pulled the head. That would have told you if it was the valves or the rings. Im thinkin it the rings since it was burning oil. Make sure to hone out that cylinder when you replace the rings.

Out of curiosity, how would the leak test proved it was the rings? Doesn't it just fit in the spark plug hole, which would test the compression for both the valves and rings at the same time??

The head was just rebuilt by a professional shop(which unless they screwed up, I'm much more apt to believe I messed up...), and there certainly is some oil in there... so I'll do the rings and hone. Earlier in this thread I had some issues with one of the rings, so I should've checked better before throwing everything back together (I was in a bit of a rush to get the car out, but have time again now). Eh, that's how life goes.

A leak down test pressurizes the cylinder and where ever you have a 'leak' will leak this air out. If its the rings you can listen at the oil cap or dipstick and hear air coming out. If its the valves you will hear air in the intake or exhaust.

A leak down test pressurizes the cylinder and where ever you have a 'leak' will leak this air out. If its the rings you can listen at the oil cap or dipstick and hear air coming out. If its the valves you will hear air in the intake or exhaust.

Justa question: Is there a special tool for this? Or is this something you would have done at a shop?


As an update. I pulled the piston, was much more careful when gapping the rings and installing again. Connecting rod is back on crank, oil pan installed (including fixing the bolt i accidentally broke off for it), and head and cams are back in. After this it should just be the timing then exhaust and all the hoses and wiring. :)

OK, well everything is finally back together and I seem t have an issue now.


First let me give you a little background. I have been having issues with the starter for going on a year now. It would cut out when I was trying to turn it over. Normally I could pull the key out, and try again and on the 2nd or 3rd time it would normally turn over enough to get it to start. So after I got everything back together (just the head was pulled to fix the rings on the one piston) I tried starting it up and it was still doing the starter issue. So I went ahead and shelled out the cash for a new one. An easy install, and didnt have to take anything back off. so now the engine turns over fine, perhaps a bit slow, but it never seems like it's getting fuel to ignite. It never even stutters or acts like it's trying to start, just keeps cranking until the battery gives out.

The other strange thing is that when i put the key into 'on' there is a seemingly randomly timed clicking coming from all four injectors. I can feel this as well if I put my finger on top of the injector. I'm guessing this has to be an electrical issue of some sort? EDIT: Also i can hear the fuel pump (or what i can only assume to be the fuel pump whirring when this ticking is happening. It's coming from the fuel tank. )

Also I'm not sure if this was just from a low battery or what, but the tach goes all the way around to the pin that holds it at rest occasionally.


Any help will be much much appreciated. I'm a bit giddy to get this on the road.

Yes you would need a special adapter to do a leak down test, but im sure you could have picked one up at a parts store.

Have you check out the wiring on the injectors? It deffinately sounds like an electrical issue. Unfortunaltely these are the hardest problems to track down.

Yeah I've checked the wiring on the injectors. Funny thing is when I pulled the head I never took them off the intake manifold.

As an update: It now will not turn over at all. When I try to turn it over there are a lot of rapid fire clicks and all lights/radio flicker while this is happening. It has been on a battery charger since this afternoon.

Check your battery connections

Check your battery connections
They are good.

Apparently the injectors only make the clicking sound when the tach goes either up to 4k or above. Which doesn't always occur for some reason. Other times one of the relays above the brake reservoir clicks about every 1/2 to 3/4 seconds until I turn it back to accessory. Other times the tach seems to jump around from 0 to around 4k.

I've never paid attention before, but what i thought was the fuel pump is pretty loud (a whirring sound. I can hear it towards the rear of the car), and if it were this loud before I think I would of noticed. Could something be wrong there? I cant think of anything that could of gone wrong but could I of installed the fuel line to the fuel rail wrong? There's two bolts and that about it. Not sure what could go wrong...

Well, Any ideas anyone? I'm stumped... I really do not know where to go from here. Maybe get a code scanner?

I charged the battery very well and still get nothing.

Well, did a little more (albeit slow)troubleshooting last night (gimped hands and all). I think I have an idea of what could be causing this.

I started pulling stuff off to see what was not working. Pulled fuel line to make sure I was getting fuel pressure - OK. I pulled the starter off (remember this is a brand new one) and had someone start to make sure it was working - OK. triple checked all electrical connectors to make sure they were properly seated and nothing looked damaged - OK. Checked all fuses. I did notice that the cooling fan one was burned out, but other than that - OK.

I put everything back together, and it then started turning over. Great, but still no ignition. I pulled the spark plugs and could smell gas on them, so I'm assuming the injectors are working.

How can I test to make sure I'm getting spark? I looked through the chilton manual and it did not mention. On my bikes I've been able to pull the plug out, hookup to the ignition wire and hit the starter to see the spark. (although I've gotten a few good shocks from this... don't touch any metal while doing this.) When I pull them out of the car and try I don't see any spark at all. Will this not work or is this my issue right here.

Guys? Anyone able to provide any advice whatsoever? I'm pulling my hair out with dead ends.

Ignition Coil - tested
connector and wires to ignition coil - OK
Connector and wires to Cam angle sensor - OK
Spark plugs - Tested
Ignition wires - Brand new
All Fuses - one replaced for radiator fan, all others OK'
Compression - OK in all 4 cyl.


All I can tell is that sometime when I turn the car to the on position it makes a pretty loud humming sound from what seems to be the fuel pump(but if it were this loud I would of noticed before), and a relay above the brake fluid reservoir starts clicking. When it does this it seems like the starter does not have enough power to crank the engine very fast. Occasionally the Tech will go all the way around when it is doing this. If I do get a second without this, after trying to start it, this sounds starts back up and the crank decreases to about 1/2 or less the speed. If I pull the plugs out I do not get spark in any of them?!?!?

Please, any idea's on what to test or inspect. This is just about the most frustrating thing...

One of those relay is for the fuel pump. You may have a problem with that system. If the pump and relay are acting weird something must be wrong with it.

Well, went ahead and dropped the cash to have a shop scan it since things were going strange electrically. They ended up finding the cam position sensor was all out of whack which was causing the tach to go all the way around back to 0. They also seem to think the timing is still off somehow. From what I'm guessing the ECU will not make spark if it detects the camshaft and cranks timing's off to attempt to prevent damage?

So my next task. Pull off all belts and damper pulley to recheck the timing... Right now my motorcycle is getting some new parts including fork seals and is occupying the garage.

OK, finally an update. I got the motorcycle done and vacation out of the way (Riding the moto on Tail of the Dragon in NC/TN (See http://perfected-insanity.blogspot.com/2009/09/draggin-on-dragon.html and http://perfected-insanity.blogspot.com/2009/09/dragon-slaying.html for details, one of the best roads in the states)).


Engine unmounted again and timing inspected. I don't know what I was smoking when I put it back together, but I got the Camshaft's Exactly backwards. Instead of the timing marks being towards each other when the Crank was TDC, they were the farthest apart from each other. I was rushing to get things back together, maybe I turned the crank 180 from TDC accidentally before throwing the belt on. I'm hoping to have some time this weekend to get things back together properly. All in all I was able to get all that done in 3 hours by myself. I'm getting pretty good at taking this car apart compared to the first time :-P

I went through the Dragons Tail on the way to South Carolina. That was fun! Some good ole driving. I hit it at about 7 or 8am going, and then around 9 or 10pm coming home. Both time, had some real fun. Scary not knowing where the cops ever were though.

Hope the timing fixes all your problems. You never know with timing. My boy has an IS300 and got cams installed and his mechanic swore that it was perfect, but he was losing so much power. Turns out it was off by 3 teeth.

Oh indeed that was a great road, especially on 2 wheels. I had the most fun I've ever had on the bike out there.

As for the car, Ive got all timing back together now, and all the crankshaft damper pulley and all belts and all back on. Also water in the radiator and all that good stuff. I had a dead battery, so I just got a replacement(after autozone screwed around and let it sit there for 6 hours sitting on a cart, not charging to test it). I have not mounted the engine back on the mounts yet however.

Does anyone know of any issues of trying to start it while like this? It is well supported underneath by several jacks and boards. I'm made sure that none of the belts or spinning parts on the passengers side are going to get caught on anything. I just would like to save some time *incase* I have to tear things back apart again.

I have started mine with only the side mounts in, I would not start the motor with no mounts on it, it may vibrate off the jack or something.

OK, Everything back together and I'm back at square one. Cranks just fine. Compression is fine. No CEL. Has Fuel pressure. I've triple checked the timing to both the Haynes and Chilton manuals before I installed the timing belt.

Doesn't try to start at all..... From what I can tell it has no spark. If I pull the plugs out and hook them onto the ignition wires I should see spark right? Do I have to wire them to something metal for them to spark?

I feel like I'm loosing it. It was running fine (sans burning oil in one cylinder) before I pulled the head. >:-(

Well, after more troubleshooting and research. I ran across these gemms. I tried adding them as attachments, but it failed. So I put them on my server for now. If someone wants to add them as as attachment that would be cool

Credits go to Sean485 on DSMtalk.com forums.

http://entropy.ghostnation.org:8080/Eclipse/Page1.jpg
http://entropy.ghostnation.org:8080/Eclipse/Page2.jpg
http://entropy.ghostnation.org:8080/Eclipse/Page3.jpg
http://entropy.ghostnation.org:8080/Eclipse/Page4.jpg

I'm stuck at Step #4. I can crank, have fuel, have good compression, but no spark. I guess I can check the Primary and secondary coils again...

There is no CEL light on when I turn on, but could it still be throwing something? Would a code scanner be of any help?

Well, last night I remounted the engine and got everything sans intake filter hose back on. And (little surprise) no spark. I'm absolutely positive I have the timing on correctly this time. So...


How about a little incentive for your troubles? If someone is able to correspond with me via email and help me figure out how to get this thing starting (I think all I need is spark), I'm offering a reward of $100(Saves me from dragging it to the shop again). I know this is the internet and all, but I am honest to my word, and can speak via telephone if you would like.



Just a recap of what has gone on so far:
1. Water pump failed fall of 2008 , trashing valves.
2. Engine had 197k miles on it, so i decided to do a full rebuild
3. New Valves, valve seals, rings, all new seals and gaskets. Head, crank, and block sent to shop. New starter motor, oil pump, water pump, head gasket, head bolts, ignition wires, spark plugs, etc
4. Put it all back together, started on first try. Drove it ~120 miles. Ran well, but was burning oil in Cyl#2. Looks like Rings were not gapped well enough.
5. Decided to replace the rings in Cyl#2. Pulled head and Cylinder#2, replaced rings on it. New Head gasket and head bolts.
6. Put everything back together again, but timing was 180 deg off (timing marks were on the outside rather than inwards towards each other). And was getting no spark... I had hand rotated the crank before hand, and nothing was binding, so no valves should of been damaged. During this the Camshaft angle sensor was replaced with a new one.
7. Unmounted engine and pulled timing and found out my errors. Timed correctly and mounted engine. Tested Compression in all cylinders to verify no damage was done with 180deg off timing before, and it's good on all cylinders. Tested resistance in all coils

8. -Now... Can crank all day long(ok well, until the battery wears down), but no spark. There is fuel present at the rail w/pressure. Looked for quite a while for something unplugged, but nothing I can see.


I'm grasping at straws now... I don't know what else to check for??? If I do not get any response from this I'm going to try towing it to the shop yet again, but it's such a pain and it'll prob cost $100 anyway, so I'd figure I'd try my luck here with people that know these inside and out.

OK, well no response on that. I'm down to trying random things now. I'm looking at grabbing the ECU out of a 96 auto RS. Anyone know if any issues with this?

Will the auto ECU's work with Manuals? It should just be the two big plugs on the side of the ECU and then the mounting brackets right?

Sorry man I didnt see your post. Yea an auto ECU should work but you may get a CEL for not having some of the auto tranny stuff hooked up and your rev limiter is set at 6500rpms. Check all of your plugs going to sensors, I had the same problem after pulling the motor once and I turned out to be a bad connection on the crank sensor. Had to just unplug it and plug it back in. It could be something that simple. Good luck find the problem. I know how frustrating it is when it wont fire up

Check all of your plugs going to sensors, I had the same problem after pulling the motor once and I turned out to be a bad connection on the crank sensor. Had to just unplug it and plug it back in. It could be something that simple. Good luck find the problem. I know how frustrating it is when it wont fire up

I'll look well again... Unplug and replug everything. engine might be coming off of the mounts again if nothing is found in an effort to find anything wrong. If the timing IS off somehow again I'm checking myself into a mental institution...because I've obviously lost it! :-/

would getting code scanner help at all. I don't get any CEL's when I'm trying to start but....

Won't help if there's no CEL on.

Ya this is a tough one. Check the crank and cam sensors. Also, there is a little capacitor that bolts into the valve cover, right after the cam sensor. Is that there and plugged in?

Won't help if there's no CEL on.

Ya this is a tough one. Check the crank and cam sensors. Also, there is a little capacitor that bolts into the valve cover, right after the cam sensor. Is that there and plugged in?

Not really sure what you're referring to. Have a pic? Is it actually an electrical capacitor? On the drivers side behind the CAS?