the cps only goes 1 way, but if it's not seated properly you could pinch a wire when puttng the cap on. I thought I read that there was a gear off the cam that had to be set right in order to get the distributor setup. what did you do when you installed the distributor? is there a gear down there that could be out of alignment?

I know with older distributors, the gear was at the bottom of the dist. shaft and you had to line it up when installing the distributor. cam had to be @ TDC for the #1 clinder and you pointed the dist to the #1 spot on the rotor.

here's what i'd do at this point (maybe you already did it). pop out the #1 plug and rotate the crank until you have TDC on the crank lined up with the mark AND both valves are closed (may have to pop off the valve cover on that side). once you know you have TDC on the compression stroke pop off the dist cap and look at where the rotor is pointing. should be @ the #1 cylinder spot on the cap. if not, you found a problem.

another thing too, probably checked this already, did you make sure the crank sensor is plugged in good?

 

I did align the drive gear with #1 as described in the Magnum Engine rebuild manual I bought. I also bolted the top portion of the distributor in place and double-checked that the rotor pointed to #1 on the distributor. I am positive that the CKP is bolted in properly and the pigtail is connected. Looks like I will double check both that and if all of the players are in the right spot when #1 is at TDC.

 

once you installed the gears and dist. did you rotate the motor 360 to verify everything still lined up?

 

Yes.

 

ok, lets simplify this... what do you neet to make a motor run, fuel, air, spark & compression.

you know the fuel is there but are not 100% sure its being dumped at the right time, this is controlled by the pcm thru the cam position sensor. what is the fuel pressure at the rail?

air... probably are trying to start it w/o the filter so that shouldnt be an issue...
did you verify the lifters are pumping up?
did you prime the motor with oil before cranking it? (to put oil in the lifters)

spark?
where do you sit with the spark?
did you verify it at the plug?
did you double check the spark plug routing?

the last thing is compression, did you check it at all since the rebuild?

if you have spark, fuel, air & compression, the only thing you need to make it work is timing.


I suggest also squirting a shot of motor oil in the cylinders for added peace of mind. all this dry cranking cant be good for the new cylinders & rings.


I'm sure you've covered this on your other threads but short of re-reading all the posts, this is the quickest way to get all the info in 1 post from you... sorry for any repeat questions, it helps me think to solve problems like this...

 

P.S. it's gotta be something stupid...

 

Don't know. My rail doesn't have a Schrader valve

Unsure. I've primed the engine, but it may not have been primed enough. A couple of the lifters may be collapsed.

Unsure. I will pull each plug and check. I spent about an hour (properly) routing the plug wires.

No, but it *feels* strong as hell.

Agreed. I have some Marvel Mystery in the garage. I'll give each cylinder a shot tonight.

No problems on the repeat questions. A second set of eyes is always helpful.

It usually is [8D]

 

what about the cam timing? <still thinking> did you double check that before putting the cover on?

 

What do you mean?

 

when you put the timing chain on (or the shop did) did you make sure the marks line up right? cam should be at 6 oclock & the crank @ 12 oclock. when you have it set and spin the crank 360, the cam will now be at 12 oclock, one more time around on the crank and it (cam) would go to the 6 position again. that way you know the valves are closed when the crank is @ TDC for the #1 cylinder.

you can verify it w/o yanking the cover off by poping the DS valve cover off and put the crank in the #1 tdc position, then verify the valves are closed. if 1 valve is open, spin the crank 180 and then look, once you know the crank is @ tdc and the valves are closed, then you can confirm the ignition timing. the rotor should be pointed to the #1 cylinder. if it's not, now you have to adjust it so that it is. the only potential issue here is that the lifters are not pumped up so they will not move a hole lot, but they should move.

hope this makes sense (and i said it right... it is lunch time & I need to eat).