Followed a few threads closely. During breakdown, I did attempt to loosen harmonic balancer bolt manually (I did turn the crank counter-clockwise). Ended up using an impact wrench, came right off. Had some play in the timing chain, but otherwise looked good. Reinstalled everything, new gaskets, thermostat. Now it turns over but won't run, at all. Getting fuel. All disconnected wiring harnesses reconnected (I'll double check, was pretty whooped last night). Could've turning the crank throw off the timing that much to the point it won't even start? It seems like it should be something simple. Ran great prior, just had a failed gasket on the timing chain cover. Parked it immediately, so never overheated. Is there a particular spot the alternator has to be grounded?
Very frustrated in Denver! Thanks for any help!

 

If the dots were lined up when you put the new gears on, that should be ok. There are a couple ground wires by the power steering pump, are those still in place?

Are you getting spark? Did you plug the electrical connector for the coil back in? (I have seen that happen in the past..... )

Welcome to DF.

 

Thanks. I was pretty tired at the end of the day, I'm checking all wires, leads, etc. Never touched the chain or replaced the sprockets, so, in theory, the cam to crank relationship was never disturbed. In my little brain, timing shouldn't be off unless chain jumped??? Just did gaskets. Also, is there a specific spot the alternator should be grounded to? I coupled it to a bolt on the bracket that holds the alternator and ac compressor. Thanks again for any insight.

 

If you didn't pull the chain/gears, then that more'n likely ain't the problem.

Alt should ground thru its mounts... not sure what you are talkin' about there. Can you post a pic?

 

I'll post a pic in a sec. The black line coming out of the alt harness on the back, I bolted it (as it was, 95% sure) onto the mounting bracket. I'm just going through the mental check list. I'll be checking everything in a bit. Kids are off school, doing a single daddy juggling act today. Even if the timing was thrown off a little, it would most likely start, just rough (at least in my past experience). It seems to be something electrical in nature.

 

On mine, the harness for the alt only goes on one way, and the fat ground bolts to a stud, that also holds the A/C lines in place...... I wouldn't be overly surprised to learn that dodge changed that several times of the course of second gen production......

 

Identical to mine, that's where I bolted it. I'll recheck all leads, especially since both the compressor and alt were unbolted and set back on the intake. Thanks for your time. If some 'duh' thing comes to mind, please pass along, I've been know to fix the big stuff and overlook the really obivous.

 

A simple thing to check, are the ign coil 12v supply wires are plugged into the ign coil, ez to miss.

 

Thanks Merc. I quadruple checked all the connections, harnesses, etc. Checked the crankcase sensor (even though it's on the bell housing), cam sensor (which is in the dist). No spark at all when I pulled a plug. Going to bring in the ignition to test it. Cranks fine, getting gas. Just baffled. Checked all the fuses, relays, all tested fine.

 

On mine the 2 gauge ground from the alt connected to a stud on the accessory bracket that also contained a ground from the wiring harness near the PS pump. There's a second 2 gauge ground from the starter.

Did you remove a relay for some reason? was the coil unplugged? a sensor from the TB unplugged? just flooded maybe?