Won't Start!! Need Help From Serious Kia Expert!!!

cnayzenz · 09-04-2008, 09:39 PM

OK, I'm going to make a long story short. Hopefully someone with a little more Kia experience can help. About 6 months ago, my girlfriend's '01 sportage got hot, she shut it off, and that was the last of it. It will not start. My dad and I, who know a lot about cars have been working on it forever. We weren't getting compression, did a complete overhaul on the engine, honed cylinder walls, changed head gasket, changed piston rings, etc. (basically everything possible). We got it back together and the damn thing still won't start. It's getting good compression now, timing belt is on right, etc. Like I said, we both have a lot of experience working on vehicles and have already checked the obvious. My dad thinks it may be the cam sensor. It rolls over fine. Give it gas and it will backfire a little, so it's getting fuel. The only thing we can think of is somehow the timing is off. The belt is on correctly though! Positive about that. I seriously need a Kia expert to tell me where to go with this thing next, or do we junk it. Could it be the cam sensor? Electrical problem? We are at our wits end with this vehicle and we are both too stuborn to just give up! I know there are guys on this forum that know a lot more then most mechanics do about these Kia's. Please, any help would be very appreciated!!

cnayzenz · 09-04-2008, 09:45 PM

one more thing that I wondered about. We had the head milled. From the looks of it, it has been milled before. Think that could have any affect on the timing? You wouldnt think so, but I guess it could be possible.

gomer · 09-05-2008, 01:20 PM

That could have an effect on the pistons smacking the head if it's been milled too deep but you'd notice that. How good was the wiring when you reinstalled it? Reused the sensors? Bet it's an electrical problem in a vehicle already known for it's electrical problems. If you had it apart that far, why not upgrade the wiring and install new sensors in the first place?

zulf · 09-17-2008, 03:27 PM

HEllo I am having the exact same problem as you,the cam timing is perfect
the "E" on both cam pulleys line up with the rear cam cover.HAve checked everything there is spark at all the cylinders ,injectors receiving pulse, crank sensor working but still it wont start i am dumbfounded. n e way did you have any luck in repairing yours???

kiaracer · 09-17-2008, 03:56 PM

cnayzenz, are you getting a DTC from it not starting? if it's a cam sensor code it's probably not the cam sensor. 1st gen sportages that throw a cam sensor code usually are out of timing. even though your marks are right on, the timing is still off and i will tell you why...check the timing belt sprocket on the crank by turning it side to side and check for too much play. they have a problem with shearing off the key and eventually if not taken care of asap when it has this problem it will make the key way in the crank bigger which will result in having to replace the whole crank.

zulf, both "E"s on the cams are not supposed to line up with the arrows on the timing belt cover. the intake cam (on the left side if you're facing the engine) is supposed to have the "I" lined up with one arrow and the exhaust cam is supposed to have the "E" lined up with the other arrow. if you have both "E"s lined up with the arrows then the timing on the intake cam will be out by 180 degrees.

zulf · 09-18-2008, 04:56 PM

Hello and thank you for the quick reply.I have the timing marks lined up correctly, that is "I" on intake cam lines up with indent on rear cover as well as "E" on exhaust cam lines up with the rear cambelt cover.I still have no luck in getting it started. Would a worn out keyway on the crank cause it not to start at all, not even a backfire??.
thank you

kiaracer · 09-18-2008, 08:27 PM

it could if the timing is thrown off enough to cause it to have very low compression. i would at least check the timing belt crank sprocket to see if there is any play in it even if that's not the problem.

gomer · 09-19-2008, 08:29 AM

Pull the dipstick and see if the oil smells like gasoline. A lot of times, excessive cranking will blow gas right by the rings into the crank case. This thins the oil and instigates a low/no compression problem. If the dipstick smells like gasoline, all you have to do is change the oil and filter.

MrVette · 09-19-2008, 09:09 AM

Quote:

zulf, both "E"s on the cams are not supposed to line up with the arrows on the timing belt cover. the intake cam (on the left side if you're facing the engine) is supposed to have the "I" lined up with one arrow and the exhaust cam is supposed to have the "E" lined up with the other arrow. if you have both "E"s lined up with the arrows then the timing on the intake cam will be out by 180 degrees.

Kiaracer,
Along these same lines i had a question while taking mine apart for a head gasket. It looks like each of the cam sprockets can go on 2 different ways(each 180), how can you check that the sprockets are both on the cams the correct way? I scribed mine on the correct sides and marked them E & I to make sure they went back the exact same way...But what do you do if you didn't notice this before removing them from the cams? I didn't know if this might lead to their starting problem. I couldn't find any mention of this in the shop manuals.
Mine is a 99, don't know if those sprockets were changed by 01 either.

kiaracer · 09-19-2008, 12:47 PM

they should only go on the cams one way so they are interchangable. it's impossible to get them backwards unless you switched the cams and put the intake cam on the exhaust side and the exhaust cam on the intake side. then you would have a totally different issue.