New head cylinder swapped and now not running: Please help!
 

So i got a 1998 318ti 5speed 1.9L and head cracked on me.
Replaced it with a new head and now it's not cranking. I have attempted to taken it off and put it again to make sure my timing was even correct.

I placed a metal stick into cylinder 1 to make sure it sits at TDC along with the cam shaft locking tool.

What I installed that were new:

new 284/283 cat cams
new crank position sensor
new camshaft position sensor
new spark plugs
new starter
new head gasket set (victor reinz)
new mls head gasket (.070)
new arp head studs and bolts
new battery from 4-5 months ago

Lights, windows, wipers are all functioning but when i turn the key, it is not cranking.

Am i right with the installation of my starter? The smallest wire goes on top, medium one goes at the bottom, while the two other wires go to battery and to alternator? I'm sure it was like that? Please help! It seems to be getting fuel too... : (

Please help....

Check your starter and make sure it is getting power.

BLK/YEL = starter solenoid. This wire is only positive when key is in the start position.

Red = There are two. 1 from battery positive and the other to alternator. Both wires are on the center pole.

BLK/GRN = positive when key in run position. This wire feeds power to body electrical control module, wiper/washer module.

Reasons for no power to BLK/YEL:

EWS is messed up or Automatic trans could have bad selector switch and manual trans could have bad clutch pedal switch.


You should check the forms, their are plenty of topics about the starter, ews, camshaft sensor, ect causing issues with starting. Best of luck

http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthrea...hlight=starter

Hello,

well bad news. I just did a compression test today and all cylinders were at ZERO!:eek: Was it the MLS head gasket i got. It was a 070 thick....Or did i warp the block from the overheated issue?

Before I was blowing white smoke after i got the car fixed due from overheating. Then when i changed my headgasket realized head was cracked. Got a new head cylinder and all these started happening...hate life.

Please help!

Hoping for better, are you certain the test is valid? Were you turning by hand or didja get your starter working? I'd think you would have some compression, even if low. Is your gauge accurate?

I feel ya. Good luck... :cool:

Yeah the tests were accurate. I loaned a compression tool from Autozone and tested it by inserting my key into my ignition and trying to fire her.

I haven't hand cranked it yet, which i plan to do that tomorrow after work.

And to make sure, i tested the other car with the same compression test and it worked fine. I think the first time when i started the car with the new head cylinder, i probably damaged the block? And now my crank is at TDC and camshafts locked to TDC...it's not working... :confused:

So i had the time today and took my valve cover off.

Lined up my locking tools after #1cylinder at TDC. I heard something about the lobes need to be facing each other but how when they are being locked?

Got ZERO compression on all of the cylinders from this setup.. please help me.

Attachment 15134

Sprockets are at TDC too right? Tell me what yall think i'm doing wrong for getting ZERO compressions...thanks

Attachment 15135

Dumb question: the lobes look off at TDC. Were they calibrated / timed correctly? Speaking from doing M62s not M44s.

My thoughts. Remove valve cover remove all spark plugs. Turn over motor clockwise until balancer is on top dead center. Incert wooden dowel or something that will fit through the #1 spark plug hole (Front hole is 1). You want the dowel or whatever you put in the spark plug hole to be on top of the piston. Now rotate the motor a little clockwise and counter clockwise to ensure the #1 piston is actually at TDC. After you confirm that the piston is top dead center ensure the balancer (balancer behind crankshaft pulleys) is on TDC. Now turn over the motor clockwise two full revolutions back to TDC (this removes any chain slack) with the motor at TDC on the balancer and TDC on piston 1 now install the camshaft locks and tighten the camshaft pulleys)

Do another compression test and if you have no compression you bent all your intake or exhaust valves by trying to start the motor with incorrect valve timing.

Hope this helps, John S

When your cams are locked with the tool and you look at the cylinder one cam lobes, they should look like this: / \ That's about what your look like.
If you didn't hear anything ticking when you turned it over, I'm sure it isn't all bent valves unless the timing was dramatically off.
One thing, being that I run a machine shop, we see a lot is customers putting heads together and not giving the lifters time to bleed down which causes the valves to stay open slightly. That'll cause you to have no compression, with that said, the time it takes to install the head going at a slow pace usually would be enough time to help them bleed down and seal the valves.
Perhaps having left it for a few hours, the valves might have sealed now. If it still isn't sealing (assuming it was lifters originally), then those valves might be the culprit now.

Man I just typed a complete book for like 45 minutes then I went back and reviewed the posts and all my typing had nothing to do with where the project is at now. Doh :redface:

No in the picture they are not correct. The sprocket arrow needs to point up but at the angle of the head. The sprocket arrow should be aligned with the cam rear locking squares so you are a few teeth off on the sprocket on both cams. Also your exhaust sprocket should have the bolts around the middle of the sprocket adjustment.

Another issue I think is the intake cam timing wheel is not installed correctly, it looks like the metal tang for aligning that wheel trigger is not in it's hole.

Another issue will be posted in a few concerning the cam lobe picture

In this picture the cam lobes on #1 are almost pointing straight up, which is how mine are on my M4x, on a M50 or 52 the lobes are turned in much more I will post a picture of my cams which I installed with a dial indicator using valve off seat measurements which is more accurate then the holding block.

Can you post a link for these cams? Just from the picture it looks like they have a ton of duration like what would be used on a high rpm race motor.

Please post a link, Thanks

After you install the sprockets correctly maybe the cams will be in time with the motor. Bad news is with both lobes pointing straight up your #1 cylinder should show compression. Maybe the cams are not a correct fit for your valve stem lengths so the valves are never closed.

I would install the old cams and do another compression test, but that is just me.

That all I got right now using the pictures you supplied

Cam sprocket picture, correct install. The intake arrow is exactly the same as the exhaust arrow you can see.

My sprockets are different only because I run a single row timing chain

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...ssembly204.jpg