wrote in
:

On Wed, 5 Feb 2014 19:43:01 +0000 (UTC), Doug Miller
wrote:

wrote in
m:

The OP said that when starting fluid was used it backfired out
the throttle body. In my experience as a shadetree mechanic
when I experienced backfire it was either an intake valve or
valves that didn't seal, for whatever reason, or the timing
was off so that the spark occurred when the intake valve was
open. What other conditions can cause backfiring on a fuel
injected engine?

Faulty crankshaft position sensor that causes the PCM to think
the crank is someplace it's not?
Greetings Doug,
Didja figger it out yet? I would really like to know what the
problem turned out to be. I'm sure others here would like to
know if you got the engine running properly. Our egos are
waiting.

No, not yet. I haven't had as much time to work on it as I had
hoped -- it's funny how your job can sometimes get in the way of
doing what you really want to do... and it doesn't help things
that my garage is not heated, and it's 8 degrees right now, headed
to a low of -3.

I did verify that the valve timing, at least, is dead nuts
perfect: rotated the engine manually, with a wrench on the
crankshaft, until #1 piston was at TDC of the compression stroke
-- and the timing marks on the cam sprockets were exactly where
they should be. (Saturn S-series engines have alignment holes in
the cam sprockets and the head; when the timing is right, a 3/16"
pin slips through the hole in the sprocket and into the hole in
the head. It does.)

Ex-mechanic working at the parts counter of my local Advance Auto
suggested that maybe, just maybe, a faulty knock sensor could do
this. I have most of the afternoon off work tomorrow, so hopefully
I'll have time to check on that. Should be easy to test: service
manual says that a functional knock sensor should have about
100Kohms resistance to ground.

On Mon, 10 Feb 2014 23:35:27 +0000 (UTC), Doug Miller
wrote:

wrote in
:

On Wed, 5 Feb 2014 19:43:01 +0000 (UTC), Doug Miller
wrote:

wrote in
:

The OP said that when starting fluid was used it backfired out
the throttle body. In my experience as a shadetree mechanic
when I experienced backfire it was either an intake valve or
valves that didn't seal, for whatever reason, or the timing
was off so that the spark occurred when the intake valve was
open. What other conditions can cause backfiring on a fuel
injected engine?

Faulty crankshaft position sensor that causes the PCM to think
the crank is someplace it's not?
Greetings Doug,
Didja figger it out yet? I would really like to know what the
problem turned out to be. I'm sure others here would like to
know if you got the engine running properly. Our egos are
waiting.

No, not yet. I haven't had as much time to work on it as I had
hoped -- it's funny how your job can sometimes get in the way of
doing what you really want to do... and it doesn't help things
that my garage is not heated, and it's 8 degrees right now, headed
to a low of -3.

I did verify that the valve timing, at least, is dead nuts
perfect: rotated the engine manually, with a wrench on the
crankshaft, until #1 piston was at TDC of the compression stroke
-- and the timing marks on the cam sprockets were exactly where
they should be. (Saturn S-series engines have alignment holes in
the cam sprockets and the head; when the timing is right, a 3/16"
pin slips through the hole in the sprocket and into the hole in
the head. It does.)

Ex-mechanic working at the parts counter of my local Advance Auto
suggested that maybe, just maybe, a faulty knock sensor could do
this. I have most of the afternoon off work tomorrow, so hopefully
I'll have time to check on that. Should be easy to test: service
manual says that a functional knock sensor should have about
100Kohms resistance to ground.
Knock sensor will NOT cause a no start. It will not affect cranking
timing.

wrote in :

On Mon, 10 Feb 2014 23:35:27 +0000 (UTC), Doug Miller
wrote:
Ex-mechanic working at the parts counter of my local Advance Auto
suggested that maybe, just maybe, a faulty knock sensor could do
this. I have most of the afternoon off work tomorrow, so hopefully
I'll have time to check on that. Should be easy to test: service
manual says that a functional knock sensor should have about
100Kohms resistance to ground.
Knock sensor will NOT cause a no start. It will not affect cranking
timing.

I didn't think so either, but it's easy enough to check while I'm under there.