Alright guys Im having some startup issues with my 00VI, here's everything we know:

What we eliminated:
TPS
IACV
Vacuum lines/gaskets
LIM & UIM Gasket/seals

What is might be:
Modified 4th gen rear valve cover
EVAP system

Questions:
1. Can a bad or failing EVAP system cause you not to start?

2. Can a bad seal/gasket on the rear valve cover cause a loss in compression/not starting?



Here is a picture of my brand new spark plugs after about 10 attempts at starting:



Here is a vid of trying to start:



Thanks in advance for the help!

 

I think what we should do is maybe throw the old IM back on and see if you start, I mean it will take 15 minutes to throw it back on, this will eliminate everything on the upper end.

and it can't be a timing issue, we didn't mess with it.

Also when he does try to start there is a smell of burnt fuel in the air, like when you cold start a car, but stronger and from the intake.

 

I don't think that a leak in you VC would affect compression, It would have to be a piston ring, headgasket, or an improperly torqued sparkplug. I've seen major leaks in the VC and the car runs fine just oil seepage. Looking at your sparkplug I would say that your gap is incorrect, The core of the sparkplug should stick out a bit ( not sit flush with the ceramic end below the hook end of the contact). Might just be the angle of the pic but that gap looks too big, I would check for a +/-.042 gap this maybe you problem. Good luck

 

Also looking at the color of the plug looks like the improper setting of your gap is affecting fuel combustion.
sam

 

No on the valve cover, but yes, a failing EVAP can cause a massive vacuum leak, and since it's; sort of; internal it's hard to detect. Block off the massive port by the purge valve and try again.

Other things that come to mind:

No codes?

Did you reground the grounds that previously went to the 4th gen upper?

Did you connect the return line to the feed line, and vice versa? Follow the one that comes from underneath the car but doesn't go through the filter, this one is the return line, and it should be attached to the regulator end of the rail. The metal hard lines switch places with eachother underneath the TB where it is hard to see, so you have to be very 'careful' to follow them correctly. Judging by your plug, my instincts tell me this is the cause, easy mistake to make because of how they cross over eachother.

 

Woot! Some help Thanks guys.

Will check plug gapping, I got them from advanced and told them what car it was for...so they shouldave given me the right ones.

I have 2 codes:

EVAP canister purge volume control valve
Line Pressure Solenoid Valve(auto tranny)

Grounds are ok, they are regrounded solidly.

When you say return line/feed line, are we refering to the EVAP still?

 

I believe he is referring to the rubber fuel line connections.

The one that does not come from the filter should be connected to the fuel rail end with the pressure regulator, assuming you have one.

 

His plugs are gapped to 0.040.

We are checking EVAP now, we will let you know how it goes.

 

Good news today! We got it to start a lot smoother!

Turns out the plugs were gapped to 0.038 instead of 0.042. So we re gapped them and it starts a LOT better. However, its still really rough at idle and running quite rich. Silmax said it sounds like when he changed his AFC on his car. Should we gap them more to say, 0.045?

CODES:
1205
1008

Here is a startup vid:

[uploading now]

 

I would check for a Vaccum leak AFTER the MAF. Seems like its leaking alot of Metered air and thats probably causing it to run rich and shut off. If you have to, un-install the manifold and re-do everything again, making sure you get a good seal at the Upper and Lower Manifold. It might take a bit of time but you have to get it perfect.

That little bit of difference in the gap wont make that much of a difference on startup. I would worry LEAST about the Gap and focus on an vaccum leak somewhere.

Also depending on what else you changed, it could be a leaking injector O-ring but that would cause a wet plug.

-matt

 

Well changing the gap from 0.038 to 0.042 made a huge difference. Its almost like the spark was not big enough to combust all of the gas in the chamber.

Its running rich, not lean, so wouldnt that mean its not getting enough air?

 

it sounds like something is wrong with the vacuum make sure all your vacuum is connected correctly if you take a closer pic i can see if i see anything in the wrong place

 

I'll state again that the evap can cause a vacuum leak, take care of that code first.

 

If the code was not present prior to the swap, I would check for an improperly installed hose, Maybe try erasing all codes, glad it's running better.

Also in ur prior thread u said you blocked off the Egr, did u use rtv?

EDIT: (.039 - .043) is spec, .045 too big of a gap<-neg(-) effect, Also check for a bent rubber tube to the map/baro....etc.

 

A mechanic told me it sounds like my timing is off, and by looking at the FSM diagram, he is leaning towards the Crankshaft Position Sensor. Does this make any sense?

I am running horrible, horrible rich.

 

No, we never disconnected them. They are ok.

Will do tomorrow. Ill check over everthing and recheck it, get a pic and see if we see anything. Also, we dont hear any whistling, hissing or woosh sounds.

Also, is this EVAP setup correct?



And here is more recent startup video. Still trying to figure this out guys:

 

Was that popping noise coming from your intake near the end?

 

yes it was. I was the one who recorded it

 

Me and another guy had the exact same noises and it turned out to be a massive leak on our intake. So I would definatly look for some vacuum leaks.