alright. i have a IX and just did a cam install. here's what i did:

marked where the timing belt lined up with the timing marks on the cam gears. crank was at TDC, cams lined up valve cover. i also zip tied the belt to the pulleys.

pulled cams. bled lifters. swapped CAS triggers to new cams. tried to install cam gears, but couldn't it was too much a pain in the *** to install both gears, at same time, onto both cams without stuff banging around.
so, i cut the zip ties on the cams.
i made sure the crank never moved. installed cams. installed CAS triggers and their housings. i then installed timing belt by lining up pen marks with marks on cam gears.
after i was done, i checked that crank was at TDC and cams lines up with valve cover. i rotated the engine, by hand, about half a dozen times (i was paranoid). all marks line up perfectly.

car won't start.

it turns over, though seems kinda slow. i can hear a cylinder or two fire and it sounds like it's gonna catch until i let go of the key.

car is getting fuel, the plugs are wet.
it SOUNDS like it's sparking.
all timing marks line up.
the intake CAS trigger has the large vane at the 4 o'clock position.

does the exhaust trigger only have to go one way? i seem to remember it fitting in either way into the stock cam.... but, on my Cosworths, it seems to only go in one way and even then i had to tighten it onto the cam. it didn't just set in.

i'm guessing i need to check the exh trigger. isn't that the one the ECU uses for spark?

i'm stumped. two of us checked out the engine from top to bottom. everything is exactly how it's supposed to be. the only thing i didn't check is the exh trigger.

anyone have any ideas?

oh. and i haven't done a compression check, but with the spark plugs out, i can feel the compression coming and going as i turn the engine over. with plugs in, it's REALLY hard to turn it over. so it all feels like it should.

there are a couple other threads i've found here and on other forums. this seems to be a fairly common problem, but none of the threads have been resolved. i was advised to start my own thread instead of posting in others, so here i am.

help! i miss driving my car.

 

I don't know about the intake CAS trigger on IXs, but you could have several things causing that. Just because it's a real easy thing to miss, first thing I would check is the connector on your intake pipe, just behind the air filter (i don't remember what the connector is called). The car won't want to start without it, especially with new cams.

Silly questions, but how's the charge on your battery?

Did you try priming the engine before trying to start it? This involves cranking it several times using the battery with your ignition connectors disconnected. I think the proper method is in the FSM towards the end of the timing belt replacement process.

I hope someone who is familiar with timing on the IXs can chime in about the intake CAS and all that. I also hope it's something as simple as that intake connector. GL

 

not sure about 9's but you CAN install the CAS trigger wheel backwards on an 8. when the #1 cylinder is at TDC on compression stroke the trigger should be about to pass the cam sensor. hope this helps.......

 

All sensors are hooked up including the MAF which was never DCed anyway.
On an VIII, is the CAS on the intake or exhaust? Does it have four equal-sized vanes or one small, one large.
My ehaust CAS is the only part I have not double checked.
I pulled the ecu fuse and turned the engine over until the oil light would go off while cranking.
I'm not sure how to prime using only the battery but with the terminals DCed. You lost me there.

 

This is stupid advice. You never need to prime the engine by disconnecting the CAS. What the hell needs priming after a cam install? NOTHING!

Can you take a picture of the exhaust trigger? Its what tells the engine when to spark right.

http://www.evomoto.com/tech_articles..._article_id=18

If you look at one of the last picture it tells you how the CAS trigger should be, which is the large side should be at 5'o clock position.

 

Oh. And battery is at 12v.

 

I'm A ****ING IDIOT!!

I have my intake and exhaust CAS switched. Will swap them back tonight, after work.

I'm such an idiot.

 

Try and read more carefully before you flame, please. There is nothing in my directions about priming by disconnecting the CAS. I responded about the CAS because he asked about the CAS.

You prime the engine after installing CAMS to pump oil through it before starting the engine. If it's stupid advice, I'm not sure why our friends at GSC list it as a requirement for when installing their camshafts. You can do as you please, though, I won't try to stop you.

--
As for your intake and exhaust CAS being reversed, Kaj, I'm glad you got it figured out

 

I used assembly lube, poured oil over everything AND cranked over the engine till the "check oil" light went out. I made SURE all was lubed. LOL
I had to laugh at myself. The how-to is for an VIII. It shows the cam trigger. Common sense tells you that it's obviously the exh, seeing how the VIII has no intake trigger. Haha. But not at 2am in the morning! I had my parts transferred to my garage. I guess the triggers were mixed up and I took for granted they were as I had left them.
So.. I should have known which trigger was for exh which only left the other for intake. I was SO tired I just "dee dee dee'd" it.
Problem solved. I'll fix it tonight.
It's a weird feeling having a car not run though everything checked out. I felt helpless. Like "WTF??!!". I couldn't sleep cause I kept going over the whole system, in my head. We were stumped.
Thank god we figured it out. Imma dork.

 

That's how I had it. Just on the wrong cam. Doh.

For anyone coming across this via search:
I belive the "teeth" on each trigger are different. When I switched mine and installed the intake trigger on the exh, it was a tight fit. It didn't just set right into the slots on the cam. When I put the exh trigger on the intake, it flopped around and wouldn't stay in till I torqued the bolt. I conclude the teeth and slots on the intake cam are larger than the exhaust cam. This should have been a red flag but, as mentioned earlier, I was putting the car together with no sleep. Bad idea.

 

Ignition and CAS same thing. Start the engine up, it will build oil pressure instantly.

 

Anyone know if leaving the timing belt tensioner tool on the engine for an extended amount of time will ruin the tensioner? Like a week or so.

 

Car started right up. Ran great for 5 seconds or so. Slowly revved to 2500rpm and let off. Engine cam to a screeching halt. I look to see the exh cam retarded THREE teeth.
I'm told I may have damaged the tensioner by having the tool in for too long (one week). I used the tool after that week. It still took tension out. Tention still returned when removed. I had tension on entire belt before starting.
So. Seems I may need to replace my tensioner AND a few exh valves. Weeeeeeeee
Time for head studs, I guess.

 

update: i have compression and car runs fine.

now i'm getting severe knock (18-38 counts) between 3000-4500rpm. it seems i'm not the only one. i've read anything from "noise due to larger cams" and "get a new knock sensor" to "cosworth cams are way off when you degree them so you need an exh cam pulley".


i'm about to put my Tomei cams in.

a couple of us are working with your turner to figure this out. i'm told the trigger sensors are different. i'm gonna try to swap those.
i flipped the exh CAS over and got the same knock but in the 2500-3000rpm range. weird. but i'm 99.9% sure it was right before, so i put it back.

this is just weird. if none of this works, i'll try an exh cam pulley. if i'm getting knock, it's too advanced, correct?

 

Did you make sure the balance shaft was in time ? or put the screw driver through the front of the block?