Hello everyone, I recently changed out my lifters and timing belt on my 96 850 wagon. Lifters were load. It wasn't a terrible job but not easy either. I followed some detailed instructions so I wasn't making stuff up in there. Got it all done, felt good about it and won't start. Turns over fine but nothing happens. I popped the timing belt back off and made sure the timing was set for the crank and cams. Still just turns over. Any ideas what I missed or can look? or, possibly messed up?

I'm out of ideas and not sure what else to check. Since I touched so many areas of the car I'm not sure where to look now.

New parts:

plugs, cap, rotor, cam sensor, lifters, belts, seals, o-rings, etc. some misc. hoses here or there that I found while repairing.

Thanks for your help.

Brian

 

Hi Brian, welcome to the forum.

Which instructions did you use?

As you may know, there are 5 things a car needs to start:
1. Fuel
2. Spark
3. Compression
4. Timing
5. Air

Have you gone down the list?

 

 

When you first put the belt on did you crank if over by hand a couple times to make sure everything cleared ??

Have you tried to do a compression test to see if possibly you are a tooth or two off even though you've rechecked the marks ??

Do you have spark ??

Pull the coil wire at the cap and set it close to something metal and crank the engine. See if you get a spark.

Do you have fuel ?? Can you hear the fuel pump cycle on for a few seconds when you first turn the key to the "Run" position ??

If you have spark have you tried spraying a little starting fluid in to see if it will pop ??

Visually look it over to see if you left something unplugged.

 

Thanks for the quick response guys. I followed these instructions to replace the lifters, Lifter Replacement, Volvo 850 / S70 Turbo and pieced a couple others for the timing belt replacement.

- I did turn it over by hand a couple of times before I started it. No issues.
- I can hear the fuel pump when I turn the key on

So, I will do the compression test and check the spark tomorrow to see what that turns up. I've looked it over many, many times hoping I would see something unplugged but nothing yet.

I'm fairly handy but new to doing a big job like this one so I anticipated some problems but was hopeful it would at least start up for me.

I'll let you know what I find out. Thanks.

 

Those are my printed instructions, hopefully they did not cause you any grief.

Do check for spark and compression. If compression is low across the board you may have to wet the cylinders to get it to fire.

 

Ok, I have spark and everything else looks good. I went to to watch the video on how to do a compression test but it didn't play. How do I go about doing that? If I was to use some starting fluid try and get it to fire, where do I spray it? Down under the plugs? That's probably a dumb question I know but I'm used to having a carburator. Sorry guys.

 

Compression test from Robert = Rspi.


Find a vacuum hose and spray some in the nipple. Or pull the tube infront of the throttle body and spray it in like a carb !!

 

Ok, finally had time to go into the garage and mess with the volvo. We had a vacation and a holiday in there. I did a compression test and got these #'s.

1-100
2-115
3-100
4-110
5-100

These are obviously cold readings but I have no idea what they are supposed to be. I pulled the 1 and 2 plugs and left them in the wires while turning it over as well. It actually arced down into the cylinder and flamed up. Which I thought was good. When they are all installed nothing happens though. Just turns over. I poured a little gas into the cylinders as well but nothing happened. I've pretty much ran out of things I can look at.

Are those compression #'s horrible? Any other ideas I can check? Thanks guys.

 

Even though yours was cold it seems pretty low. At least they are all fairly close so it's not a valve or head gasket problem. If it sparked and flared with the plugs laying out it really seems like it's off in time. That would also explain the low compression numbers.

This is from 95 turbo.

MECHANICAL INSPECTION
Compression
Check engine mechanical condition using a compression gauge,
vacuum gauge or engine analyzer. See engine analyzer manual for
specific instructions.
WARNING: Do not use ignition switch during compression tests on fuel
injected vehicles. Use a remote starter to crank engine. Fuel
injectors on many models are triggered by ignition switch
during cranking mode, which can create a fire hazard or
contaminate engine oiling system.
COMPRESSION SPECIFICATIONS TABLE
�������������������������������������������������� ����������������������
Application Specification (Minimum)
Compression Pressure ....... 189-219 psi (13.2-15.3 kg/cm )

 

My guess would be that your compression is fine. Cranking with NO STARTING usually dumps fuel in the cylinders which can cause them to wash the walls of the pistons down, which lowers the compression.

Check this video out and see if anything else is going wrong. Compression numbers should be around 156+. So, there is a small chance that the lower numbers are causing the car not to fire. I doubt it though. Also, if the car blew a flame, it was because the spark ignited the fuel.

Do this, let the cylinders air out. Then wet them with oil, not fuel. (If the car is flooded it will not start. To much fuel.) When you add a little oil in each cylinder, it will build compression to 180+, which will help it fire if it has fuel and spark. You may have to crank it a little. And once it starts, it will smoke for a minute or so.

 

Did you pull the cam sprockets off the cams when you pulled the cover off?

 

Two more things are very important for it to start: camshaft position sensor and the rpm sensor. Without them no spark is generated as the ECU has no clue when it should generate the spark...
Have you read the errors?

 

I'm going to check the timing one more time just so I know for absolute sure that it's lined up. If it's correct I'll try the oil in the cylinders to see if I can get something going. I did put a new cam sensor on it when I did the job so it is possible that it is defective.

Won't have time until Saturday to check it out but will post as soon as I get some more info. Thanks again for all the help everyone.

 

Took it apart again and lined up the timing marks one more time. They were right but now I know again for the third time. I did drop some oil in the cylinders and had no change. It did some what putter once but when that's exciting you know your struggling.

How do I check the cam sensor to see if its working correctly if that's possible? Since I replaced it could be faulty. I'm about to the point where I guess I need to hire someone to look at this thing other than me. Way to frustrating at this point.

 

If you are getting fuel and spark it's not the cam sensor or crank sensor. Timing is on so it's not timing (you'd have bent valves and low compression). So you are left with air or fuel mix. Double check that the intake manifold is on properly, nothing stuck in there. Check the fuel pressure regulator and the ECT. When you turn the key to "run", where does the temp gauge go?

 

Ok, when the key is on the temp gauge moves a little to the cold line which I believe us normal. Been so long since I've actually drove it now I forget. Still no progress. How do check the fuel pressure regulator and ECT? I'm also interested in finding another set of eyes to look at this thing. Does anyone know anybody in the Kansas City metro area who is honest and reasonable or just wanting to earn some cash? It can't be KC Motorsports either. That's how I got into this situation, long story. I'd love to figure this out on my own for pride but also want this out of my garage before winter. Thanks guys.