3100 wont start after lower intake gasket fix

[heza]

in a nutshell...

felpro lower intake gasket set and new injector o-rings on a '97 3100 grand am. everything was torqued to spec and everything was double checked several times before proceeding.

heres the deal, ive done this before a few times on the L82 and a few times on an LQ1. however, i never pulled the injectors out of the fuel rails; just out of the lower intake manifold. every other time, car i worked on started right up.

this time, car just turned over, but didnt sound like it fired even once. im presuming, lacking fuel.

with that note, is there a way to insure fuel is back in the fuel rail and at the appropriate pressure (stupid question i realize now, but i dont have a pressure gauge to test pressure at the rail)?

ANY inputs are greatly appreciated! thanks!

[heza]

ok, nix pressure issue. depressed fuel rail test point and got fuel spurting out this morning. so now im sitting with a multimeter checking voltages.

anyone know a good listing of point voltages for the 3100?

[SappySE107]

Check for spark first.

[tractorman]

When I've done that job, I've always (probably unneccesarily) removed the fuel rail and injectors. It's always taken a fair amount of cranking thereafter to get it to start. Bleeding some air out of that test port is a good idea... sounds like you already did that.

Make sure you plugged ALL the wires back into the ignition module- there are several plugs... it's easy to miss one. Make sure that your plug wires are routed to the correct cylinders. Make sure that you don't have a massive vacuum leak like the brake booster hose or something.

You DID keep the pushrods in order, right? Are you 100% sure that you could not possibly have swapped an intake pushrod with an exhaust one? These are different lengths, and will seriously fuk things up should two become swapped. Probably won't prevent the engine from starting... but it'll make you wish it hadn't.

[heza]

thanks for the responses. fuel is ok, it smells like fuel out the exhaust after a failed start attempt.

spark, thats a definite no go. not getting spark off of any of the plug wires. quintuplet checked all possible connections and all appears ok. going to check for 2V AC into the ignition module in a moment and if that shows good, im taking the module and all coils to auto zone so they can check it.

i know there are particular sensors necessary for an engine to stay running, but are there any that are DEFINITELY needed for engine start?

[torq455]

the crank sensor/cam sensor. if the PCM doesn't know when to fire, it won't at all. it needs to find #1 cylinder position first. or am i thinking 3.1? not sure if they changed things like that on the 3100. you sure you plugged the cam position sensor back in?

[heza]

ok, well, its running and running much better than before i started the project.

thanks for all help regarding this, but i can only state that i was a) a moron and b) working most of the time at dusk on the side of the street near my girlfriend's place.

today after i made my last post i checked the 2V AC going into the ignition module and had the voltage during turnover. then i decided to dig around more and noticed an unplugged plug (cringe...2 lead plug opposite closest to alternator) and immediately worded myself out. not too disappointed since i didnt have a lot of light when i was able to work on her car, but the fact i actually missed it the numerous times i checked wiring/plugs...grrr.

either way, 172k 3100 is running strong and happy.