We still cannot get the 1995 legacy sedan with the ej22 engine to start. Car drove into driveway just fine before all this started. Vehicle has 160,000 milkes on it.

This all atarted when 2 of my boys removed the timing belt without ligning up anything, just took it out. They then replaced the belt using the wrong marks. They tried to start the car over and over, no luck (they were using the wrong mark on the crank sprocket). I set the marks correctly and installed the belt, spun it around by hand a couple of times to verify that the marks were CORRECT. Car still will not start. I have verified the pins on the cam sprockets are still intact, and they are. We are getting readings of "0" compression on the two front cylinders, cannot get guage in the back two.

My question is, is there any way that the valves could have been bent when the boys tried starting the car with the timing SO FAR OFF? My next step is to take car to a mechanic. How do I check for bent valves? There is not a lot of room on the sides of the engine.

Thank you all for your input to prior posts I have tried everything!!!!!

ok so if your absolutely sure that all the timing marks are lined up.......are you sure its the original engine from 1995 in the car?.....im sure someone has said this but also make sure they didnt unplug/damage the crank or cam sensors.....the cam sensor is right under the oil fill neck and the crank sensor is directly under the alternator.....im also assuming you counted the teeth on the timing belt between the cam and crank sprocket marks......i believe it should be 44 teeth between the crank sprocket and the right hand cam sprocket and 40.5 teeth between the crank sprocket and the left hand cam sprocket.....

 

you could do a compression test or a leak down test to see if you have bent valves......but i believe it is next to impossible to do on this engine MY

If you are getting 0 compression on two cyl, the valve timing is certainly off.

I'm with Evo on the fact that you have a non interference engine so no bent valves.

Are you absolutely sure you are using the right marks not only on the crank sprocket but also on the cam sprockets ? Wht is your reference : Haynes, shop manual, Endwrench, etc.?

You wrote that you spun the engine by hand to verify if the timing marks were correct. I'm not sure I understand what you mean by that : if the three timing marks are in alignment and you spin the engine, they will cease to be in alignment after one revolution and will not realign before a lot of other revolutions.

HTH.

crank keyway DOWN (the timing mark will be the nub on the backside of the crank cogged drive that's UP - it has a mark on it)

 

cam sprockets LINE matched to NOTCH on timing belt cover (BOTH SIDES AT THE SAME TIME) .

 

Lines on belt matched to the timing marks (makes it easier)

 

no compression on the same side - you have a cam out of time. IF TIMING IS CORRECT BY THE BELT - No spark - either the cam sensor or the crank sensor is disconnected (or both)

 

All bets are off if the engine is interference - likely bent a valve or 2 or 3 or 4

 

The long winded version is in here - how to do it with references

 

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=88141

 

each 2 revolutions of the crank the marks will all THREE line up EVERY TWO!! - IT HAS TO BE THAT WAY - TWO!!

each 2 revolutions of the crank the marks will all THREE line up EVERY TWO!! - IT HAS TO BE THAT WAY - TWO!!

 

True. I meant the marks on the belt and the timing marks on the sprockets will again lign up only after a lot of rev. Sorry for the mix up.

For a good exposé on which are the true timing marks... and with photos.

http://www.motor.com/article.asp?article_ID=460

unless there's something we don't know the timing marks aren't lined up right. the endwrench articles for EJ's are really good stuff.

 

the compression readings are accurate? is the gauge accurate? did you use the starter to turn the engine over (by hand won't work)? i'd feel better to get a reading from the gauge before assuming every cylinder checked is zero, i've seen gauges fouled with oil.

 

the "not-starting" thing isn't odd....but the random removal of a timing belt is...knowing why it was removed in the first place might help.

 

if the engine was ever replaced with a 97+ EJ22 then it would be an interference engine. this is very easy to check for, just look under the car, if it's a single port exhaust then it is indeed NOT a 1995 engine and may be interference.

 

or it could be a later model block...with the 1995 dual port heads swapped onto it....yeah, long shot on that...

If you're still having problems let me know. I'm out of town for 2 weeks, but my son may be able to come down from Fort Collins and have a look.

Here is the edwrench doc. My guess is you have the crank in the wrong position. The arrow should be pointing right not up

 

http://endwrench.com/images/pdfs/2.2SingleOverWin01.pdf

Look at the picture on the title page of the endwrench article - it's the largest picture there. The arrow on the cam sprocket points to the RIGHt (clockwise maybe 30 degrees or so) but look at the CRANK cogged gear - the KEYWAY NOTCH IS DOWN!! BOTH CAM SPROCKETS ARE IDENTICAL IN POSITION - the LINE FOR THE TIMING MARK (barely visible ) is on the sprocket RIM (NOT THE ARROW ON THE SPROCKET SPOKE) and difficult to see in this picture MARK IT WELL SO YOU CAN SEE IT - nail polish, paint marker, white-out, whatever. MARK BOTH SIDES OF THE NOTCH, TOO - IT HELPS SEE IT.

 

With the crank gear keyway DOWN (as shown in the picture), the TAB on the GEAR is pointing DIRECTLY at the sensor (to the right of the word 'Single" in RED in the picture). THAT IS THE CRANK TIMING MARK and has a line on it!! The barely visible white mark on the bottom of the sensor housing just above the TAB is the actual "set it to this" timing mark. It isn't too clear in this pic but you will see it - besides, it's right in the middle of the line you would get if you split crank pulley.

 

IF those 3 marks are all in position at the same time, the engine is in time and the marks will line up every second crank revolution. (and IF you look at the crank sensor on the FIRST revolution, there will also be a tab lined up as well BUT NOT THE CORRECT TAB - THE ENGINE WILL BE 180 DEGREES OUT IF YOU USED THAT TAB. THE CRITICAL THING IS THAT FOR TIMING, THERE ARE 2 TABS LOCATED CLOSE TO EACH OTHER, MAYBE 30 DEGREES APART NOT 90 DEGREES)