Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Major problems after UIM/LIM cleaning

Well, I cleaned my UIM/LIM on my 96 SE and replaced all the gaskets and injector seals. While I was at it I put in some new spark plugs. I also soaked the injectors in injector cleaner while I had them out.

It was a long process. It's my winter car so I took a couple weeks to do the job after I had to wait for parts etc. So I put everything back together tonight and went to start it up. It ran for about 3 seconds then stalled. It sounded a little rough but I figured that was because of the cleaning.

Now it won't start. I can hear the starter and can see the accessory belt and water pump belts moving. I can also see the cams moving through the oil cap.

I'm a little scared now. I'm hoping nothing fell in while I had the LIM off. I covered up the ports while I had them off.

There was a lot of crud in the LIM and i'm worried some carbon might have fallen in to the engine. There was also lots of loose stuff in the valve stems.

Worse case senario, what would happen if some carbon did fall in? Even worse, what happened if something was somehow in the UIM and I missed it and got sucked in?

I also noticed that wiring harness to the injectors was starting to crack.

I wonder why it started the first time and now won't. Thats what worries me. I didn't hear a pop or bang or anything. It just stalled.

What do you guys think happened?

Got all of the vacuum lines connected? No blown fuses in the box under the hood?

That was one of the first things I doubt and triple checked.

But even if there was a hose disconnected, why would it have started the first time?

I'm trying to figure out how screwed I am. If I compression test it I guess it will tell me if the engine itself is okay right?

If it's new injectors or a harness i'm cool with that. But a new engine would really suck.

Many people clean around the intake ports and get cleaner down in the cylinders. This can cause a lack of compression and flooding. Pull the fuel pump fuse or relay and crank the engine for ten seconds, wait five minutes and do it again. Then put the fuse or relay back in and see if it starts.

Turn the key off and on several times to prime the fuel lines too.

If it still won't start, then you can look for other problems.

I'm more interested in the fuses. Any of them blown?

Back to basics: fuel, air and spark. Seems like you've got air. You had spark for a couple of seconds. I'd guess that you're not getting fuel. It could have run for a couple seconds on the left over cleaner in the cylinders, depending on how much there was in there. Is the fuel pump running?

Scott

the intake ports I'm sure are flooded with carb spray probably, you have to keep trying to turn it on until the engine keeps burning it ..it will turn on..

Well, I pulled the fuel pump fuse and relay and tried to turn it over a couple times. Then I put the relay/fuse back in and started it. It wanted to stall put I gave it a little gas and it finally started. It ran really rough at first and now it's back to normal. So I guess it was all the cleaner still in the manifold and ports.

I'm gunna run some fuel system cleaner through it just to make sure everything is clean.

One thing that did concern me is that there was white smoke coming out of the back of the engine close to the coil pack after the engine warmed up. The only thing I can think of is that some oil poured onto the block and got heated up as the engine got hotter.

Should I be worring about this now?

BTW, Thanks for solving the first problem guys. You guys are awsome.

Might be a good idea to change your oil pretty soon, considering how much dirty fluid and gunk got into the engine.