1990 Honda Civic si will not start after head gasket change.

Bruce,

I am able to turn the engine over. I have lined up the crankshaft drivebelt pulley to its timing mark and then lined up the crankshaft sprocket with its timing mark as shown in the Haynes manual I have. I turn the car over and I get back pressure from the exhaust like it wants to fire but just wants to backfire. I think my timing is off by one tooth. I am going to try it again and then check the ignitor coil in the distributor. I check everything else. I just really think the timing is not dead on. Thanks for the reply BRUCE!

:( Well I have tried everything I have read in both the haynes manual and chiltons manual. NO luck! Do you think it could be something with the distributor. Like the ignition coil or igniton module. I looked at each manual and the haynes manual says to line up the white mark on thr crankshaft pulley to the mark on the lower timing belt cover. And the chiltons manual says to line up the red mark whic id the center mark of the 3 marks that are together to the same mark on the lower timing belt cover. Which one do I use to set the timing up to turn the car over?

Well, When you talk about codes. You mean on the ECU correct? If so there are no codes. I turn the ignition to start an I get 1 blink meaning the ECU is working. I have no other codes besides the 1. I still need to look at the color spark. Last I checked the spark was BLUE. When I first put everything back togehter and could not get the car to start. I read out the the cranshaft sensor and TDC sensor which are the 2 connectors on the distributor. 1 is a 7 point connector and the other one is a 2 point connector. I read the resistance out and they were within the limits of the Haynes manual specs. I have no clue no more. I am very mechanically inclined just not that electrical savey. I will check everything over gain. I know this is probably a simple fix and I will feel stupid when I finally figure this out. If you have more info I would appreciate it. THANKS!

That has not changed. I still get a whinning noise. But you can tell that it engages and the crankshaft is turning. Just that there is not combustion in the chamber to start the car.

Well I am still trying to get the car started. I hope you can help me some more if possible. I tried a different distributor and spark plug wires. I am still getting back pressure like the car is trying to start but it just does not. I do not know how else to explain it. I have the timing lined up like it is suppose to. The wires are on correctly. The distributor is on correctly and all electrical lines are hooked back up they are suppose to be. I f you can think of something and do not mind helping I would realy appreciate it. I put all this work into the car and I hate to just drop it off at a mechanics shop to pay a lot of money when I know I can do it myself. Atleast I thought I could. Thanks

I just read your post with interest. You said you install a different head. Was it a rebuilt or was it used? I assume it was designed for your engine. You are sure you are getting spark at the plugs but do me a quick test and crank the engine without the cables on the plugs. Then remove the plugs and tell me if they are moist with gas. If they are re-install them. If they are dry you might want to see if the injectors are capable of receiving a signal from the computer. You might have left off a vital ground wire from the computer to engine/body ground. You might not get a trouble code because without this ground wire attached the computer doesn't reconize the fact you are trying to start the car. This also will effect the cam and crank senosr etc.

You keep saying you hear a whining noise during cranking. Does your engine sounds as if it is spinning freely? What is your compression for each cylinder? If your cam shaft is also different then the valves might be opening and closing at the wrong time. If compression is low then remove valve cover and inspect position of cam lobes in relationship to timing.

Well, I finally got the Honda running. I could not find anything wrong. I decided to take it back apart and put the originally cylinder head back on. When I did this I realized the cylinder head I had on the engine had a few unseated valves that should be. As soon as I put the original head back on and put everything back together. I crossed my fingers and the damn thing fired right up first time like it did not skip a beat. It only took a few months and a splitting headache. Oh well. Thanks for everything. One thing is sure I now know how to troubleshoot the car and work on the engine without being scared to mess it up. Plus I did not spend a fortune at a shop for them to figure it out and bill me for their time.