Gibby Posted May 26, 2014 Report Share Posted May 26, 2014 (edited) 1990 turbo grand prix. Replaced valve seals, put car back together and now it does not start. It will sometimes backfire, never actually wants to start though. I did not remove the intake manifold, all work was done with heads on the car, I used compressed air to keep valves in head. I am absolutely positive that I put the valve locks back in the right way. I also did not get the rockers mixed up, I removed two at a time and labeled them. Things I have checked: Spark IS good Fuel IS good All fuses are good, even checked tail lamp fuses LOL If I forgot to plug in a connecter some where I do not see it, I have checked everywhere. My main question is, is there something special you have to do on these 3.1l engines when removing the springs and rockers?? On my 3.8l valve seals were a breeze... thanks for reading, Luke Edited May 26, 2014 by Gibby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heartbeat1991 Posted May 26, 2014 Report Share Posted May 26, 2014 I would check your plug wires for proper routing. What else did you take off? You'd have to have taken the AC compressor off, did you unplug anything else down there? What about the back side? You'd have to have unplugged some things back there too. Maybe MAP or a vacuum line is off? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibby Posted May 26, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2014 Forgot to note that I also kept the pushrods in order as they were not removed... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibby Posted May 26, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2014 I would check your plug wires for proper routing. What else did you take off? You'd have to have taken the AC compressor off, did you unplug anything else down there? What about the back side? You'd have to have unplugged some things back there too. Maybe MAP or a vacuum line is off? I did not remove AC compressor. Only removed valve covers, Alternator and bracket, coolant line to turbo, Map, throttle cables were slightly moved, and PCV on rear valve cover was moved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heartbeat1991 Posted May 26, 2014 Report Share Posted May 26, 2014 I did not remove AC compressor. Only removed valve covers, Alternator and bracket, coolant line to turbo, Map, throttle cables were slightly moved, and PCV on rear valve cover was moved. I assume then that you were able to get the valve cover off the front with the dog bone mount still on. I wasn't sure, it's been a while. Your PCV could be the problem too. If you used compressed air to hold up the valves, did you do 1 cylinder at a time? Check the PCV and supply to it. The 1990 had the tube coming off the bottom of the upper intake. It's pretty tight in there, and was likely brittle. Perhaps it cracked or broke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibby Posted May 26, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2014 Heartbeat, I thank you for your help and responses. But the real problem was me, not the car . I am so used to working on 3.8L, which is reverse of a 3.1 http://repairguide.autozone.com/znetrgs/repair_guide_content/en_us/images/0996b43f/80/20/8c/85/small/0996b43f80208c85.jpg I looked at the above picture several times and my thick skull never registered that the 1, 3, 5 are in back instead of front... I cannot tell you how many times I checked firing order before I made this post and intern made myself look like king of noobs... LOL Anyways car runs great and no more smoke... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heartbeat1991 Posted May 26, 2014 Report Share Posted May 26, 2014 We've all done it before. That's why my first suggestion was ignition wire routing, and why I repeated it. Some people (myself included) think something that simple wouldn't be missed. But it usually is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tornado_735 Posted May 26, 2014 Report Share Posted May 26, 2014 Don't feel too bad....a few years ago, it took me nearly 6 hours to figure out that I had two plug wires swapped on my 3800 powered 1991 Olds 98. I looked those wires over a hundred times, but it wasn't until the last time I did, I noticed that I had two of them swapped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibby Posted May 26, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2014 Don't feel too bad....a few years ago, it took me nearly 6 hours to figure out that I had two plug wires swapped on my 3800 powered 1991 Olds 98. I looked those wires over a hundred times, but it wasn't until the last time I did, I noticed that I had two of them swapped. Its always the last time that we check when we fix.. lol. Dang cars anyhow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibby Posted May 26, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2014 Also, if anyone has ever tried doing valve stem seals without removing LIM, it is a total bear. Almost impossible, but I was stubborn enough to make it work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2001goldGTP Posted May 26, 2014 Report Share Posted May 26, 2014 Next time remove the LIM. I cant have you hurt my future ride. Lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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