ok since i havnt posted in awhile a little background. b16b swap into a 98 civic hatch cx. msd distributor, blaster coil, wires and such. skunk2 intake manifold and tb. aem fuel rail , filter, and pressure reg set to 42 psi. stock b16b injectors.

ok so my car will not start anymore. for the first few weeks after the swap it ran...kinda. very hard to get to start, but once it started it was usually ok. now...it wont start at all.

here is what i have checked....

1.ignition system works great, can put plugs in the wires, crank it, and they fire in the correct order and the spark is strong.

2.pulled plugs and cranked, each cylinder gets spray from the injectors at the correct time.

3.timing is dead on. checked multiple multiple times.

4.cylinder 1,2, and 3 test to 120 psi, cylinder 4 tests to about 92 ( yes i realize this is a bad thing and have already figured out what the problem is but this alone shouldnt keep it from starting, should it?)

has new starter so its a good fast crank. fuel pressure guage reads right at 42 psi. new 93 octane fuel. has ran 230 miles since swap. sounds like a good crank and sounds like it wants to start. the only thing that seems out of the ordinary is that every now and then while cranking, the speed of the crank speeds up for about a stroke then comes back down. im so confused.

everything just seems like it should all fit. im so confused. anything else i should test? i have some money finally from selling the b16b stock head and stuff on ebay so i want to get this taken care of. any help would be seriously appreciated. im kinda alone in this stuff up here living in montana and all. there isnt a single shop in the state that has been able to help me. thanks a ton guys!!!

 

Have you looked for a possible intake air leak?

What's causing the low compression in cylinder 4? What rules this out as a possible cause of the starting problem?

 

its a very small leak out of the head gasket due to i havnt retorqued it yet. but it ran fine with it before. ive smoked the intake and nothing leaked.

 

Headbolts are torque to yeild you know. You can't reuse them.

 

Perhaps the small leak from the head gasket has worsened over time? This seems like where you should focus your attention.

 

im gonna tear the head off tonight and see what it looks like. luckly my other head sold for enough on ebay that i can get a really nice new one. ill let ya guys know. would a leak in just 1 cylinder really keep a car from starting?