timing belt/no start issue

[jc4jax]

I am attempting to replace my timing belt and water pump and and v-belts. I got the water pump installed and I was having a tough time with the timing belt. The first time it had a rough start so I knew it was not set right. I re-did it and thought I had it right, I even stuck a dowel in the 1st cylinder to find the highest point of the valve while cranking the crankshaft to index it. The car simply will not start.
It has 3/4 tank of gas, all the hoses/wires are connected.
I have the camshafts lined up and the crankshaft TDC (I beleive).
Took the battery to Autozone for a testing and it has an 89% charge.
The engine turns but will not start, I replaced the old spark plugs with new Bosch platinums (no gapping required). Here are some pics, can you tell me if they are aligned correctly? I really appreciate it, been without my car for 4 days now.

 

[joka1]

Crankshaft is correct, Can't tell with the cam gears from the pic. As long as the line on the intake gear lines up with the line on the ex gear they should be correct. Check the Crank position sensor, bottom right of the motor by the pulley and the cam position sensor on the valve cover. Make sure both of them are installed correctly since you removed them to swap out the timing belt.

Rob

 

[jc4jax]

Cps

I reinstalled the top cam position sensors as seen in these pics. However I did not remove the bottom position sensor, I was just very careful removing the pulley. I am open to suggestions as what to check next. Of note, the starter does sound tired when I try to start the engine. It seem to be more sluggish after the 3rd try.

 

[joka1]

I will look when I get home, I took my timing belt off last night and reinstalled it, so the whole pass side is still disassembled. That is the onnly 2 things I can think of though since the timing marks seem to be lined up correctly.

 

[jc4jax]

Thank you, I really appreciate the help.

 

[joka1]

I looked at mine, Cant see anything else that could have been messed up........ More help is needed but I can't give it. Cam gears and crank look good........ If it started b4 I dont know why it doesn't start right now.

Rob

 

[cougar10agREDUX]

use the notch on the inside edge of the timing gear on the crank not the key to line up with the V. for the cam gears, the mark next to the E on the exhaust cam should point at the mark next to the I on the intake cam.. to install the belt, start at the crank, run the belt to the idler pulley, then over the exhaust cam, over the intake cam, and then to the tensioner, ensuring the belt is TIGHT the entire time. turn the crank two revolutions clockwise and recheck the timing marks. if they line up it's something else, if not redo it until it's right.

check the crank sensor wire for any shorts, the wire has no slack in it when installed, so make sure it didn't get yanked and damaged.

did you reconnect the ground cable to the pass side engine mount?

double check that the crank pulley is seated fully on the crank so the teeth pass right over the little silver nub on the crank sensor.

is your CEL on? if so pull the codes

 

[joka1]

Thanks for some more help, but the ground on the pass motor mount will not matter..... I ran my car w/o that for 2 weeks since I forgot about it

Rob

 

[joka1]

Any luck getting it to start?

 

[jc4jax]

Okay I lined up the u-shaped mark on the back plate of the crankshaft to the engine block mark


I aligned the cams again and re-installed the timing belt

I tried to start the engine but no go. Thing is when I turned the key now it sounds like it is really struggling. The odometer blinks out when I turn the key and the dashlight dims in and out. The battery tested 89% charge at Autozone over the weekend but could it not have enough cranking power? I live in northeast Florida and it was in the twenties last night, its now in the mid-50s so its not freezing cold now. I attached a small clip I recorded with my camera, its a .mov file so you will have to play it with Quicktime or have the codec to play it in VLC or Mediaplayer.
View attachment P1010331.MOV

 

[cougar10agREDUX]

the battery may have a charge, but if it's old and worn out it will not have enough amps to crank the motor. did they do a load test on the battery?

how old is the battery? you should replace the battery every 3-5 years.

EDIT* I dunno if its the angle of that pic, but both cams look like they are one tooth off.

I just watched the vid, looks like your battery is toast man. try jumping your car with another vehicle, jump pack, or a battery charger.

 

[jc4jax]

I got the battery replaced since it was still under warranty. The crank is much stronger and you can feel the engine jump a little in the mounts but no start. The angle of the camera was downward as I couldn't get the camera to take a clear picture if it was too close to the lens and the body side is higher than middle of the cams. I am pretty much exhausted and unsure now how to proceed.

Here is a better pic of the cams, I used my phone camera as it was thinner than my regular camera.

This is the point at which both the marks meet up, any other turn or tweak and they are not lined up with each other. I did not loosen or take off the cams, so I am unsure how they could be off a tooth if that is possible.

 

[cougar10agREDUX]

the cam gears look right in that pic...

don't give up just yet. start with the basics. does the engine spin freely now?

check that you are getting spark and fuel.

 

[00protege1.8]

i had the same exact issue. turned out to be a bad cam sensor

 

[jc4jax]

Okay I got the cams to be aligned, but the crankshaft was slightly to the right of the mark. I reinstalled the spark plugs, valve cover, and connections. The engine started! Now I am wondering if I am off the mark how rough of an idle would the idle be to indicate it was off? The car is on jack stands and I only let the engine run for about 10 seconds (I don't have the v-belts on yet). It seems relatively quiet, no sputtering and the engine was not like jumping in the mounts or anything. Anyways I will report back once I have everything back in.

Is the 2.0L engine an interfence or non-interference engine? Just wanted to know going forward.

 

[jc4jax]

Things worked out, thanks all for the help and guidance. One thing did occur, after driving around the block everything seemed to work fine, but pulling into the driveway when I let the car decelerate the engine starting to sputter and the dashboard lights went out and it the CEL came on. I restarted the engine with no issue and pulled in. I am not sure what the issue is since starting the engine everything sounded fine and there was no stutter or rough idle at the beginning nor during the drive and stops in between.