Vs ss turns over but wont start

[daveiath]

I’ve got a vs ss I took the intake manifold off because it had a coolant leak, I’d never taken one off before so I didn’t know the coil and whatnot was on the back and when taking it off it snagged the distributor which was loose because my dad left it loose when he put the cam in, I got it all back together last weekend and it wouldn’t start. My Dad said the distributor timing is real touchy because of the cam and it took him 2.5 weeks to get the timing right. It’s got spark and fuel. When you turn it over you can barely hear it trying to start regardless of where you set the distributor, it gets minimally better. I replaced the distributor, coil, leads and ignition module. Starting to think it might be wiring related as the loom is 27 years old some of it is old and cracked. I've checked distributor timing at tdc compression and the rotor is pointing to lead 1, it seems as though sometimes it will just constantly turn over not sounding like it's trying to fire and sometimes it sounds like it's trying to fire but it just won't start. Not sure if I'm just chasing my tail here. Checked codes and only get 12 so I don't know if it would pick up a faulty coolant temp sensor/plug or anything of that nature. It's incredibly annoying because it was running before I took the intake manifold off and now pretty much nothing. I also noticed that you can hear what I assume is the valves opening and closing through the intake which I've been told means it's 180 degrees out which makes no sense becauseof the above. I also figured I'd let everyone know it's running straight cut timing gears and a big cam (Unknown size)
When I initially tried to start it not knowing the timing was out it let out a massive backfire from the exhaust.
If anyone has any advice please share because it's doing my head in

 

[BlackVXGTS]

Make sure you have the leads connected correctly. Refer to the attached diagram. The clips that hold the distributor cap on should be between the 1/2 and 4/5 cylinder leads.

 

[gtrboyy]

Timing changes are done in memcal tune.

TDC drop dissy in with rotor pointing to slot mark on dissy body...nip up bolt but loose enough to turn just in case.

Fire engine up...put in diagnostics mode then with timing light adjust to 10 degrees.

Turn it off & tighten up bolt for dissy.

Also could check if there was any spark through lead or also for signal at injectors with noid light to narrow down issues if no fault codes pop up.

 

[Deuce]

Straight cut gears is more a 202 type thing.
These run a timing chain.

I would recheck timing and leads, and also that the vac hose to map is in.

If at TDC #1 on compression stroke, there is actually a little knotch in the distributor base it lines up with so you know it's really right on #1 and not 20° out or something.
Timing light it once it's going a bit.
Faulty coolant temp sensor or similar will not cause your no start issue.

 

[daveiath]

Make sure you have the leads connected correctly. Refer to the attached diagram. The clips that hold the distributor cap on should be between the 1/2 and 4/5 cylinder leads.

View attachment 239096

There definitely setup like this I triple checked them just now

 

[daveiath]

Timing changes are done in memcal tune.

TDC drop dissy in with rotor pointing to slot mark on dissy body...nip up bolt but loose enough to turn just in case.

Fire engine up...put in diagnostics mode then with timing light adjust to 10 degrees.

Turn it off & tighten up bolt for dissy.

Also could check if there was any spark through lead or also for signal at injectors with noid light to narrow down issues if no fault codes pop up.

When I put the distributor in I did this up to starting it, it won't start at all..

Also just realised it's not running the appropriate memcal for the cam..

 

[daveiath]

Straight cut gears is more a 202 type thing.
These run a timing chain.

I would recheck timing and leads, and also that the vac hose to map is in.

If at TDC #1 on compression stroke, there is actually a little knotch in the distributor base it lines up with so you know it's really right on #1 and not 20° out or something.
Timing light it once it's going a bit.
Faulty coolant temp sensor or similar will not cause your no start issue.

It was running a chain but my old man put straight cut timing gears in it.

I can quadriple check it but I'm 99% certain it's good.

Are you referring to the one near the cut out for the cap locator? I just installed it according to the Holden guidelines being the roll pin on the helical gear lined up with the oil port and having cylinder 1 tdc compression. I thought the coolant temp sensor might be it because I read on another thread a guy was having issues with starting and it ended up being the cts plug was faulty causing it to not plug in properly so it had incorrect injector pulse and it was overfuelling

 

[EYY]

Sounds like he’s not familiar with these engines - it may pay to double check that the cam timing is correct. It’s not just a case of lining the dots up, like some other engines.

If you do happen to remove the timing cover to check, remove the gears and replace with a chain setup for reliability and performance.

A faulty ignition module will cause those issues, assuming everything else is okay.

 

[daveiath]

Sounds like he’s not familiar with these engines - it may pay to double check that the cam timing is correct. It’s not just a case of lining the dots up, like some other engines.

If you do happen to remove the timing cover to check, remove the gears and replace with a chain setup for reliability and performance.

A faulty ignition module will cause those issues, assuming everything else is okay.

He's worked on a few but they were all carby..

I really don't want to go that fat but it may be inevitable.. I feel like I'm going to fall deeper down the rabbit hole than I wanted to right now.

I replaced it with a spare I had so I figured it would be OK buy the could both be shagged I guess?

 

[gtrboyy]

Start at basics or you'll keep going in circles.

Does it have spark?
Does it have fuel?
Is there an injector pulse? (Check with noid light or rig up test light)

If yes to all above then should be mechanical & check from start...if none of the above check for broken wires or anything obvious then report back.

Turn it over double check #1 on TDC & drop dissy in like diagram etc then double check has spark everything up above again.

If it has spark,fuel,injector pulse & dissy adjusted to 10deg should fire but won't be happy on stock memcal with a cam.

If it pops n bangs cam timing will need to be rechecked properly....assuming it has adjustable cam gears & used dial gauge + cam degree wheel.

Could probably get mail order tune that will be near enough if have all correct specs to send to a tuner