Replaced the head gasket and engine wont fire! HELP!

[chadley593]

1998 Volvo S70 Base Manual Trans 156,000 mi

So, I followed the steps exactly as this link shows... Volvo 5-cylinder: How to Replace the Head Gasket which was posted by another member. Everything came off exactly as this shows and everything went back on just as shown. However, when I went to start her up, it sounds as if the starter is trying to start but the engine doesnt fire. So, I checked to make sure the engine was getting a spark to the spark plugs and it is. I am completely confused as to why it wont start. Any help or suggestions would be MUCH appreciated as this was my first head gasket job.

[burnout8488]

If you've got spark, that leaves fuel.

Does it stutter or fire at ALL while cranking, even if out of time? Or no sputtering whatsoever?

[erikv11]

Check fuel supply yes (is there pressure at the rail?) but actually, you need 3 things to get it running: spark, fuel and compression.

If the timing is set right then you should have compression, but not if the piston rings aren't sealing. Try just a teaspoon of oil in each cylinder. They may be dry from being cleaned out during the head swap. Then crank it a loonnnng time like almost a minute, with the throttle wide open.

[Sam-s_Volvo]

Make sure the fuel pcv (attached to fuel rail) is connected up also to intake hose. Is fuel pump working aok? I know after my engine rebuilt the fuel pump failed (not sure why); also check fuse.

Another thing to try is fault codes using your diagnosis unit (if the car has one). Just recently, this site added its own list of fault codes and a "how to" on the diagnostic unit. Good luck

[chadley593]

@ burnout8488: It does not sputter at all. There is a small little thud sound as it tries to turn over but nothing happens.
@ erikv11: I havent tried the oil in the cylinder and i've read that elsewhere too. I will try that. I know I have spark, Im pretty sure that I have compression. The last thing I did was to put spark plugs in, oil and coolant. Before I had the spark plugs in, I just put the wires in and hooked the battery up and the spark plug wires popped out as the car tried to start.
@Sam-s_Volvo: I believe the fuel rail is working. I smelled gas on the spark plugs and they are new.

Im an amatuer and this is my first head gasket replacement. If i dont have all of the vacuum hoses on right could that be part of the problem? I may be missing a couple things.... underneath the intake manifold there are 2 hoses. One hose went to the back of the air intake by the flame trap and the other looks like a vacuum hose and I couldnt find where it goes. Also, by the starter there is a little solenoid with a male end that looks like it goes to a vacuum hose that im missing. Last thing i see is that there is a long electrical connector behind the passenger side headlight that stretches all the way to the radiator fan and I cant find where it plugs in at.

Thanks for everyones help! Its MUCH appreciated

[charlyW]

Have you made sure the headgasket kit was the correct one for your car?
Did you check that the timing marks were still lined up and the cams didn't rotate ?
Have you connected the Cam Position sensor and RPM Sensor ?
Assuming the gaskets were correct and the timing is correct that only leaves fuel/air and spark. The car will run without the PCV being plugged in it will leak oil everywhere so not a good thing to forget.

[chadley593]

@charlyW: yes, it was the correct head gasket kit. I ordered it from rockauto.com The timing marks were correctly lined up when i finished the job. I did accidentally move the cam sprockets when removing the cover. Could it just be out of time so bad that it wont fire? The cam position sensor is plugged in and also the PCV valve.

[Ozark Lee]

One other thought. Did you remove the plug wires from the distributor cap? If so, what method did you use to hook them back up?

If you used the Haynes Manual it is dead wrong.

...Lee

[chadley593]

@ Ozark Lee: No, I left the wires on the distributer when I removed it.