No start after HG repair

[Tikibutt]

Hey all, I have a 2002 EX coupe that only has 110k on the clock. Wife is the original owner and we've been the only drivers for the past 16 years and there have been no engine mods.

Now, a couple of years ago, we started to have overheat issues and finally figured out the head gasket had let go. After doing a bang up job of getting it replaced and back on the road (no machine shop, b*tch of a time getting the timing set), it went again. This time, I did send it to a shop which replaced 2 bent valves and removed a spark plug. The car is back together, and has fresh gas (flushed the lines and emptied the tank) but will not crank (fuel pump works and relay is fine). It turns over for days. It did cough a little when I tried some starter fluid, but nothing to speak of.

At the end of my rope with it. I am 99% confident that everything is plugged in and timing is set proper, but there could always be that one little thing I missed. I can check sensors, but I really don't want to start replacing stuff in the hopes that the next one will be the fix.

 

[XpL0d3r]

Check engine light on at all? If you sent it to a shop and it came back not running, I would request the shop fix it IMO

 

[Tikibutt]

No CEL yet, and I did the work other than the decking the head and replacing the valves.

 

[Honeydo03]

I’d probably go basic on this. Engine starting is essentially just 3 components: one, spark in the cylinder, two, gas in the cylinder and three, cylinder compression of the air fuel mixture.

Checking for spark at the plug and making sure your starter is cranking the engine are easy to check for so I’d start there.

 

[Honeydo03]

After you check for spark and if you have spark, Have you replaced your fuel filter and checked your injectors? If it’s cranking over and you get a bit of cough from starter fluid I’m thinking it’s your fuel system. The bit of cough is just the starter fluid igniting. Does your exhaust smell like unburned gasoline when u turn it over? If it does then I’m leaning towards your electrical since that’d imply you’re getting gas in the cylinder.