subaru gurus step inside! help me unberk this football.

car: 2006 baja turbo automatic. 206xxx miles on odometer, ran ok before work started despite vacuum and boost leaks galore. 

work (all done at once, whether related or not just for being thorough): rear subframe and suspension and brake lines. interior pulled, cleaned, reinstalled. aftermarket stereo head unit and powered sub installed. subframe spacers removed. steering column replaced reusing all original baja parts. spark plugs, valve cover gaskets, belts, all vacuum and coolant hoses, all pcv and breather hoses, all boost and maf hoses. all electrical connectors cleaned with QD contact cleaner and dielectric grease put in sockets. grounds cleaned and greased. fresh fluids in radiator, trans, differentials, brakes, and power steering. 

issue: will not start. spins over strong. light banging from open downpipe and cats (exhaust not built yet) but not enough to call it a backfire. will not start on ether. on live data on my obd2 reader, shows rpm, tps, maf and map readings changing. no codes, no data jumping out at me. 

my only thoughts are i screwed up cam timing somehow despite following everything to the letter between the factory service manual and online guides, or its a coincidental failure of something. 

i ask for other thoughts or diagnostic ideas before i start tearing it all back down. probably should have test fired before i out it back together, but I've never screwed the pooch on a timing belt before. 

thanks in advance y'all

Sounds exactly like what happened to my truck when I had the cam timing berked.

If cam timing is messed up, you should get weird compression and/or leakdown numbers?

In reply to Mr_Asa :

It also sounds like what happened when I had the cam magnet 180 out on my Neon engine swap. Getting leaked down and compression numbers on this thing would be like an act of God though. It actually be easier to redo the timing belt

In reply to Dusterbd13-michael :

That's rough.

Just remember that you're gonna have fuel washing the cylinders every time you try and start it.  I think that's what buggered up my last engine.  I just kept poking at it and not being methodical about the troubleshooting and wiped the rings

Fuel washing the cylinders is not something I had thought about. Thank you.

Check cam timing, that is easy.  It can also be off by a notch or 2 and still run but badly.  Then basics, fuel pressure and spark.  The computer on these sometimes gets stupid when unhooked too.  Turn the ignition on and leave it that way for a minute or two then try starting.  They have a weird learn cycle or something and can run like crap after the battery is off for a while.

In reply to porschenut :

When I did the forester engine swap that keeps getting bumped by people using my instructions here it ran so bad for the first minute I thought the junkyard sold me a dead engine. Subaru computers definitely forget everything they learned if left without power for a long time. That it's not even really coughing though is screaming check the timing to me

If its not starting on ether the problem is either spark or timing.

Do you have spark?  If yes, its timing (either spark timing or cam timing).  Pretty simple-forward.

In reply to Patrick :

They have to be really off for that, like valves hitting heads.  My car had one intake off my 2 notches and the other by 1 and it still ran.  Didn't make much boost but it ran.  I drove it for 2-3 tanks of gas before the CEL even came on.  Bought it that way, not my booboo.

I'll echo the weirdness about the ECU getting confused.  Mine will crank but not start anytime I reset engine codes or disconnect the battery.  Second or third start fires up fine.

One question that pops to mind:  Does it know it's in park, or have a neutral safety switch?  I assume it wouldn't crank if it didn't get that signal, but might be worth checking or trying in neutral.

rallyxPOS13 said:

I'll echo the weirdness about the ECU getting confused.  Mine will crank but not start anytime I reset engine codes or disconnect the battery.  Second or third start fires up fine.

oh snap, i forgot about that.  every time i cleared DTCs on our POS 2010 Forester (non turbo), the engine would crank but not start on the next attempt.  berkeley Subaru in the pie hole.

Ive tried neutral and park.

So, steps are: 

1. Hook up battery for  a while. 

1. Confirm spark. 

2. Check cam timing. 

3. Report back.

Right?

In reply to Dusterbd13-michael :

Yep

So, tue three pins for the coilpack: one constant hot with key on. One constant ground key on, one pulse to ground while cranking. Means i should have spark, right? Or do i need to disassemble enough to remove the coil packs and retest at the oitput side of each coil pack?

The battery has been hooked up since 5pm. Multiple attempts to start since.

Almost to the timing belt to see my alignment marks. 

I'd agree that you should be seeing spark with the pulse.  Small chance one coil died while you were banging around, but all four?

Timing, methinks.

Drivers cams

crank

passengers cams

pulled the pass rear plug and coil pack. Put the plug in the coil pack, grounded against frame. Have spark. Nice and blue and fat. 

however, with as much cranking as ive done with this, id have expected the plugs to be fouled or at least smell of gas. Nothing. 

so, i cant feel the injectors click whe. My daughter cranks it over either. Im guessing i lost injector signal somehow and need to figure out why. But it still should have fired on starting fluid. 

Agreed that it should have fired on starting fluid, possible it was still in that weird subaru-state where it wasn't acting right?  Try the ether one last time?

Worth checking to make sure there's fuel pressure in the rails?  Shouldn't have any effect on whether the injector clicks, but could have two issues going.

I know you had the tank out for the subframe work. Did you put the tank back in?

i mean, did you put the tank back in correctly?

Do you hear fuel pump prime at key on?

is there fuel in the tank?

Everything I've seen says dielectric grease is an insulator to put on the outside of connections. I'd clean that out too

In reply to superfund :

Never had an issue with it being on connectors, provided they make actual connections.

In reply to Mr_Asa :

Yeah I use dielectric grease or some other insulating grease to keep connectors from corroding, it's never caused a problem.

In reply to Mr_Asa :

I had it cause problems with a wheel sensor so I figured it was something easy to check

Where did you spray the ether?

In reply to superfund :

Fair enough. I specifically use it on plug wires to help against water intrusion, which is why I know it shouldn't be an issue.