Romped on new engine..... trouble!

Desnudo01

Founding Member
Dec 16, 2001
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Springfield, MO
I wanted to see what the new 01 GT Engine had in it since I just got through installing it.

The motor has 10K miles already on it, so there was no need for a break in period. I drove it around for 50 trouble free miles around town and decided to see what it had in 3rd gear.

I mashed the pedal to the metal, and broke the tires lose sliding sideways going into 4th (pavement was damp)

When I went to shift to 4th the car fell on its face, and would not go above 2K RPMs in any gear???

I made it home, and parked the car. I went on vacation for a week and when I got back home I tried to start the car up to figure the problem out.

It won't even start, it sounds like the car is just gurgling when its turning over, but it wont fire up? It also smells like fuel? Could the timing somehow got all screwed up by this?

The car was driving perfectly before this happened, and I even got on it a few times before this instance that caused all the problems. PLEASE Help.. I put 2 mos into putting this motor in and I hope I'm not screwed again!
:(
 
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trublustallion said:
ok, i tried this when my car didnt start and smelled like gas, kinda like yours.... put your foot on the gas pedal, floor it, leave it that way, then turn key until car starts. hey, anything can help :shrug::)
by the way, i didnt use my car for a few days as well, when i tried to turn it on-it didnt, my dad told me to try that and it worked :)
 
It definitely turned pig rich for some reason. That's the reason for the fuel smell.

Go back under the hood and check any and ALL connections. Something sounds to have come lose and giving you a rich condition. So rich it will barely run.
 
Thanks for the comments, keep them coming

I've also been told to check fuel pressure in case the pump went out, or it could be a MAF related problem.

Hopefully this is something minor and not a snapped timing chain or something worth burning the car over :D
 
Found the culprit

My Steeda Timing Adjuster cracked where the "key" on the TA is supposed to lock into place on the crank pulley. I purged fuel from the fuel rail so I knew I had fuel, Also poured some gas in the tank in case it was low.

Also a tale-tale sign of timing being off is air being pushed backwards through the intake which I noticed today. Anyways I'm calling Steeda and seeing if they warranty their Timing Adjusters

Luckily it wasn't a major problem like a chain! SHEEEW!
 
trublustallion said:
ok, i tried this when my car didnt start and smelled like gas, kinda like yours.... put your foot on the gas pedal, floor it, leave it that way, then turn key until car starts. hey, anything can help :shrug::)

That normally only works with a carburetor when it is flooded, but it probably won't hurt... :shrug:
 
Sam98 said:
That normally only works with a carburetor when it is flooded, but it probably won't hurt... :shrug:

That trick also works on fuel injected engines too ... holding the pedal to the floor opens the TB all the way to let more air in to help clear-out excess fuel. Although a properly running engine with fuel injection rarely ever gets flooded.
 
Desnudo01 said:
Found the culprit

My Steeda Timing Adjuster cracked where the "key" on the TA is supposed to lock into place on the crank pulley. I purged fuel from the fuel rail so I knew I had fuel, Also poured some gas in the tank in case it was low.

Also a tale-tale sign of timing being off is air being pushed backwards through the intake which I noticed today. Anyways I'm calling Steeda and seeing if they warranty their Timing Adjusters

Luckily it wasn't a major problem like a chain! SHEEEW!

Glad you found the problem, but I doubt Steeda will cover it ... I've never heard of that happening before. I bet they're going to say it was either installed improperly or you're not the original owner of the T/A ... warranties usually don't carry over to one person to the next anyway. It's worth a shot to call them though and good luck, but I think you'll have to buy a new one.
 
Doh, I'll probably not buy one and just set my timing through a tune or via a tweecer or SCT chip.

I'm just happy it was only the TA, hell I won't mind running stock timing again with gas prices the way they are right now :rlaugh: 87 here I come!