Here's what i have. 1997 F150 with Windsor Block. Stock 1L2E PI heads. Truck PI upper and lower intake. All new timing set, oil pump, water pump and new gaskets for everything. I used the brand new spark plugs out of the 97 heads in the 1L2E PI Heads. (Pretty sure they are compatible.)

Now my problem. After assembling everything I left my crank sensor unplugged and cranked the engine to build oil pressure. (My starter seemed very sluggish in turning the engine over.) Oil pressure came up, plugged the crank sensor back in and attempted to start my truck. It will not start. It seems the compression is very high which explains the starter having trouble turning the engine over. I have verified all wires and vacuum lines are connected. Verified spark on cylinder #1 and fuel rail has pressure.
Has anyone ran into a similar situation or have any advice on what could be the issue. Thank you in advance for your time.

 

Opinion only based on what you posted.
Yes the CR is up a bit to 10.1 to 1 but that's not so high a good starter system would have trouble with.
1. Is the battery good for capacity and state of charge?
2. Is the cam drive chains properly timed?
3. Is the IAC opening up to give the engine air? A little foot on throttle would verify this as a substitute for lack of air.
4. Might the cylinders be flooded from cranking trying to start the motor?
If there is fuel and spark it will fire providing the cams are properly timed.
These are just all considerations.
Good luck.

 

If it's flooded, holding the pedal on the floor will shut the injectors off and help clear it.

 

Thanks for the reply. I've tried that plus everything else I can think of.
I'm in the process of tearing everything apart now to see if I can pinpoint the problem or see anything obvious that may be causing the issue.

 

how old is the gas you are using? my truck was down for 9 months, but the gas was fine when I fired it back up

also, what is the state of your battery? my truck was down for 9 months, my battery was toast. a trip to walmart solved that

 

3 weeks on the gas, battery was good. Not anymore.

 

So you're saying you have super high compression but you have a dead battery? If your battery is dead that's why it's not cranking.

 

Battery was good, I killed my battery trying to get it started.

 

I tore everything down to the heads then reassembled everything again. Timing is good. Spark is good. Fuel rail pressure is good. Fuel injector power and pulse are good. Changed crank position sensor, cam position sensor, and new battery.
Starter is still struggling to turn the engine over. And still no start.

 

All of that can't be good and still it doesn't start....

I think your diagnosis of stuff is off.

 

Believe me, I am completely dumbfounded as well.

 

Are you sure the STARTER isn't going bad?

How well does it turn over with the spark plugs removed? Do a compression test with the plugs out.

 

At this point, what is the fuel pressure in the rail by using a pressure gage?
Are the plug wires on in proper order?
Are any spark plugs wet with fuel?
The cam sensor has to signal the PCM to fire the injectors. If yes they will flood the motor if there is a no start and long cranking times
The sensor also is dependent on cam chain timing for signaling at the correct moment for each cylinder..
.
If the motor will not even attempt to fire, there is no use to keep cranking until the battery goes down. I does not fix anything over the longer cranking time.

 

After days and days of headache, I finally found the problem. Sticky valves. It looks as if the heads were hot tanked and left wet. Valve stems and guides had developed rust.
. Most of the valves would hang just before seating. Needless to say, I've ditched my Pi heads and went back to my original NPi. I did use the Pi cams and Pi intake. Truck fired right up and runs like a Top.
If I do decide to do this again, I'll build the heads instead of buying them complete from Napa.
​​​​​​ . I'd like to personally thank everyone that tried to help through the very frustrating diagnosing.
.

 

Glad to hear all is good to go!