After Head Gasket Replacement won't Start

[Doctormario777]

I replaced the head gasket on my ranger yesterday and got it all back together today (as best as I can tell) but now it won't start. I can get it to turn over, but no ignition. I don't think I'm getting spark, but I'm not positive. I took a spark plug wire off and put it on another spark plug then put the metal bit on the exhaust and I didn't get any sparks. (Is the exhaust grounded?) So that's what leads me to believe there's something with the distributor or something like that. There's a huge mess of wires in my engine compartment... is there someway to just forgo the stupid computer in this damn truck?

 

[wildbill23c]

To answer your wiring mess, the only way to get around all that is to do the Duraspark conversion, do a search for it, and it is also in the tech section. Its pretty simple to do on the 2.8L engines. This will completely do away with the computer crap.

Now as far as your not starting issue, first double check and make sure all of your plug wires are installed in the right order 1-4-2-5-3-6. Next check and make sure the coil wire is connected securely to the coil...ask me how I know LOL, many times I've had that thing come unhooked due to different reasons, the steering linkage loves to grab that wire and pull it off the coil.

 

[Doctormario777]

To answer your wiring mess, the only way to get around all that is to do the Duraspark conversion, do a search for it, and it is also in the tech section. Its pretty simple to do on the 2.8L engines. This will completely do away with the computer crap.

Now as far as your not starting issue, first double check and make sure all of your plug wires are installed in the right order 1-4-2-5-3-6. Next check and make sure the coil wire is connected securely to the coil...ask me how I know LOL, many times I've had that thing come unhooked due to different reasons, the steering linkage loves to grab that wire and pull it off the coil.

As I was taking it all apart I kept the wires on the distributor cap and tried to keep everything together as best as I could. I'll go double check tomorrow to make sure I replaced the coil wire. I'm just concerned that maybe I put the dizzy in wrong. I made marks on it and it all appears to line up, but who knows...

 

[Doctormario777]

Coil wire is firmly attached... still no luck starting. Motor turns, but nothing after that.

 

[Doctormario777]

Bumping. Anyone got any ideas where I should start?

 

[RonD]

Check coil for 12vDC with key on.

On a 4 stroke engine(pretty much all car/truck engines) there are TWO Top Dead Centers(TDC), the crank rotates twice for every one turn of the Cam and Distributor.
There is a compression TDC and an exhaust TDC

So it is possible to install distributor 180deg out of time when using the TDC mark.
This can cause back fires but not always on a cold engine.
If you want to check for this then remove all the spark plugs and rotate engine with a compression gauge(or your finger) on the #1 spark plug hole, when compression starts the TDC mark coming up is the "firing" TDC so distributor rotor should be coming up on #1 spark plug wire tower.

 

[Doctormario777]

I'm terrible with electrical work. So I'd need to measure voltage with one probe in the wire into the starter solenoid and the other to ground?

 

[wildbill23c]

Do you know if you are getting spark at all? If you are getting spark, but its not starting, make sure you are getting fuel to the carburetor, if you are getting fuel, it may sound dumb, but pull your spark plugs out crank the engine over a few revolutions, then put the plugs back in put the wires on, and make sure the plug wires are all on in the right order (ask me how I know this LOL), cranking the engine over without the plugs may blow out some residual coolant that may have got into the cylinders when you were doing the head gasket replacements, I had coolant in the engine oil after I had mine replaced and I thought the replacements had failed but turned out it was just coolant left from the replacement and just hadn't got it all out of the engine yet.

 

[kimcrwbr1]

Did you put the rotor on the distributor? Been there done that, to check for spark at the coil put a spark plug in the coil wire and lay it on a good ground then turn the key on and take a jumper wire and with quick touches jump the coil neg to ground the plug should fire every time you touch ground. If the plug fires then have someone crank on the starter as you watch the plug and see if it sparks no spark it is in the module or wires, if it sparks then the cap,rotor plug wires and timing need to be checked. To check the timing pull number one plug and stick your finger in the hole as you turn the crank clockwise until you feel compression. Line the timing mark on TDC with the pointer not the round thing then look at the rotor, it should be pointed at around 11:00 oclock at the #1 tower on the cap.