desperate times cause desperate measures

[beemsmx6]

ok guys please forgive my anger and frustration towards everyone here, thats just because everytime my car doesnt start i get pissed off and this is the first place i am able to vent to, along with mx6.com. so i have a no start issue. the majority of my posts go to mx6.com and i post here when, well i am desperate haha. to start off my car died a few months back, i did the HEI with msd blaster 3. and she fired right up and ran great....until she died once again. luckily i have towing insurance or there would be a smashed window on the mx6 right now. and the first thing i went to was the disty. i couldnt get it to start, so i put the car in test engine and i turned it while my buddy cranked. i got the car to start when the disty was turned all the way to the left (when your on the drivers side of the car, i believe thats retarding the disty?) and the car ran. but very bad, i got the car to get up to fully operating temp and i thought everything was going to be ok. so i proceeded to check the timing and it was off. but i realized i couldnt change the timing bc the disty was fully turned. well o (insert naughty word). so i thought it may be the timing belt, maybe it jumped a tooth or two. and i did not take this lightly as it was a lot of work. well i ended up doing it. so i got the car back together after checking the timing belt, everything went very well. i put in the new ECU it said KL48 on it and mine on my car said KL55. i assume its because i stole it from an auto probe? whatever the case is it plugged right in. and i still cant get the car to run. it turns over very smooth and fast. i cant think of what else it could be at this point. the only thing i have not replaced is the CPS. i AM NOT throwing money at that sensor unless i know thats for sure. ill admit ive thrown money at this problem because i am so desperate for my car right now. i absolutely need my car now and i have emphasized that time and time again. once again sorry to the people ive been rude to. but please any last thoughts or ideas on my problem? my brothers best friend is a tech for Audi, he owned the exact mx6 i have w/o a ZE so he knows the engine, is coming over saturday after work and after i get bitched at for having to take my dads car once again to help diagnose the problem. but we need some ideas to check too. sorry for long post guys.

[NickR]

So the marks on the cam gears line up correctly, but the ignition timing is way off (way too far advanced?), and it only runs when you turn the disty as far counterclockwise as possible (retard it as much as possible)?

My guess (only a guess, but I think a reasonable one) is that one of the front bank cam gears may have slipped on the camshaft, so the disty timing is not in synch with the timing belt (valve) timing. If my guess is right, then if you test compression you should find consistently low compression on all cylinders on the front bank. I vaguely remember reading a thread (either here or on MX6) about a year ago, with the same problem.

I understand your frustration.

By the way, is the disty rotor snug on the disty cam? (You don't have that big cam vs small cam rotor problem do you?)

[beemsmx6]

all the cam gear marks line up correctly. yes only runs when fully retarded as possible. that was my exact thoughts to. but they line up.. i did a compression test. all within 3 psi of 200psi. and yes the rotor is sung as a bug, but its not in a rug. the rotor came with the remaned disty. and it lines up with number 1 when at tdc. so seriously... WTF is going on here???? im sooooooo lost. normally i would have some ideas but now i have none.

[NickR]

I'm lost too. With those excellent compression readings, the cam timing must be good. Something wrong with the crank position sensor (or its pickup on the crank pulley), so it sends the spark at the wrong time? Something wrong with the cam position sensor in the disty? (Just guesses, obviously).

[mburec]

"i put in the new ECU it said KL48 on it and mine on my car said KL55. i assume its because i stole it from an auto probe?"

PT Search Says the ECU's are Compatible with both Atx and Mtx!

[beemsmx6]

well i would think the CPS would be the culprit. the whole disty is a new one. i have a year warranty on it, so i could try a new disty just for grins.

yeah i thought they were compatible. thanks for the reassurance.

is it possible my wiring harness is toast? i know its possible. it all started when my DE over heated real bad, my temp gauge wasnt working so i couldnt tell you guys how bad it was.. yeah i was 14 at the time when i first got the car and i knew nothing about it then. but thats why i got the ZE.

this really grinds my gears