[mwwebmstr]

First I would like to thank everyone for the wealth of knowledge on these boards. I would be lost without it!

MY 84 Eldo 4.1 died the other day without warning while backing out of the driveway. I have ruled out fuel supply and I am currently diagnosing spark. Everything appeared to be correct with the HEI system, I used a timing light to verify that I was getting a signal at the plug and I did a visual spark with an old plug. In reading another post I saw the recommendation to take off the dist. cap and actually check to see if the rotor is spinning correctly. I have done this and it appears that the rotor DOES NOT spin evenly with the engine cranking. The acessory belts seem to be turning faster. I believe it could be the nylon timing gear but I am not familiar with this part. I am about to dig into the Helm factory service manual now. Any suggestions would be helpful!

 

[mwwebmstr]

Well, I pulled the distributor to check the gear and everything looks fine. I suppose I was mistaken that the rotor was not turning with the engine. Pickup coil tests OK according to the FSM . I am at a loss. I could just throw parts into the thing until it works but I would really like to diagnose the problem first. According to the FSM the only thing I haven't tested is the "Module." The FSM steps that are listed for testing the module include removing the module and "check the module with an approved module tester." Real helpful.....
To recap, it's getting enough gas and I have verified that both injectors are not stuck open or closed.
It is getting what appears to be spark verified with the timing light and a grounded plug on the end of the wire.
It is also throwing a code 53 (distributor reference signal interrupt) but not on every start attempt.
If I reset the ECM and try starting for 5 seconds like the manual states I do not get the code every time. The FSM is very vague on the code 53 and HEI system
I have replaced the Ignition coil, Cap, Rotor, Plugs, Wires.
It sounds like it wants to start but just doesn't go.....Again any help would be greatly appreciated.
EDIT - Going to have the module tested at napa tomorrow. I'm starting to think maybe I threw a timing gear/chain. Is it possible to have the rotor/cam turn with the motor but not correctly if a timing gear is chewed?

 

[mwwebmstr]

Module tested good with napa's tester....I replaced it anyway. Still no luck....I am about to give up on this dam thing and let someone else deal with it

 

[mwwebmstr]

UPDATE! Using the information I found in previous posts I was able to discern that my timing set is toast. I was getting rotor spin but when I removed the valve cover to inspect further I found the cam was not turning properly with the cranking motor. I further tested the timing set by cranking the engine by hand, no movement whatsoever in the rotor or valves.

Diagnosis Complete? I wouldn't want to tear down the front of this thing if I don't have to!

Thanks for any input.

 

[mwwebmstr]

About to pull of the rest of the acc. drive, water pump, and timing cover. Wish me luck! (I'm assuming someone can see this....)

 

[mwwebmstr]

Well, the sprocket on the camshaft had virtually no teeth left and the timing chain just slipped right off over it. 4 hours of knuckle busting with hand tools in my Maine driveway and I'm offically on to cleaning gasket faces and reinstalling everything! :cool2:

 

[adalla]

:cookoo:

Well, the sprocket on the camshaft had virtually no teeth left and the timing chain just slipped right off over it. 4 hours of knuckle busting with hand tools in my Maine driveway and I'm offically on to cleaning gasket faces and reinstalling everything! :cool2:

That was fast!

 

[mwwebmstr]

Bad News. The new timing set is installed and it still will not start.....I am about ready to junk it....this is rediculous.

 

[peteski]

Junking it after all this work?!
Give it another chance... you're so close!

Peteski

 

[mwwebmstr]

Stupid mistake! I took a day off and thought about the possibilities. I ended up figuring out that when I removed the distributor back in the beginning I may have installed it incorrectly. I was getting backfiring through the carb and even a small fire once. SO, I turned the crank so the timing mark was lined up at 0 deg. TDC. I then pulled the #1 spark plug to verify that the cylinder actually WAS at TDC. That looked fine so I pulled the cap and sure enough the rotor was pointing at #4 or something. After some trial and error I was able to get the distributor installed correctly and it fired right up!

Thanks for all the great info on these forums. I hope I can give back a portion of what I've taken!

 

[peteski]

I'm glad that you were able to figure it out!

Peteski