It really sounds like the cam angle sensor is messing you up... I had a problem with a talon not starting, having a lot of the same simtoms that you have, and it was b/c the people that had the car before us, put the cam angle sensor on, but never put the bolt thats in it, in... We ended up getting a $150 talon when it was really something simple and easy to fix..

 

I think that may be the problem!!!! It makes sense, I remember marking the spark plug wires and where they went with a paint pen, but when I was ready to put them back the paint had rubbed off, so I looked at the manual for the correct way to hook it up. And it does crank, backfire, and not start....THANK YOU SO MUCH Nubiebubie_GSX!!!!!

I'm not for sure this is definately the problem, but I am Extremely confident it could be, cause it all makes sense! I wish I could be there right now to test it out, I am so impatient right now, lol. Thanks again man, you have no idea how much of a help that has been. I know for a fact the spark plugs are not hooked up correctly right now, so tomorrow I will let you know if your appreciated knowledge put another great DSM back on the road!

- Wi_Fibre

 

As for the cam angle sensor The_Advocate, I was sure that's what it had to be too, but until I heard about the spark plug wires being backwards it all makes sense now. The reason I really don't think the cam angle sensor is bad is because I drove the car for about 3-4 months with NO problems at all. So I don't see how a cam angle sensor would just magically go out at the same time I upgraded parts on my car, you know? I'm not saying it's impossible, just unlikely.....but just to be safe I'm bringing the cam angle sensor with me tomorrow, lol.

 

The problem is fixed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was the spark plug order, like Nubiebubie_GSX had said, when you use DSMLink and a 95ecu the 4-1 wires are switched with the 2-3 wires. I swapped the wires and the car fired right up. The only downside is that I now know my coilpacks are going bad. I still see intermittent firing, and one of the plugs aren't firing at all. It makes sense though, because before I started all this I started noticing my car would sputter around 55mph+ but just a little, and the faster I got the worse it got. But that was a sign of the coil packs going out I now know.

Any suggestions on a good set of high performance coil packs? I've heard of MSD ignition coils, but whatever I get I want it to be good.

 

if you want the best performance you want togo with a coil over plug set.

 

NO problem lol. the first post i made that was helpful lol. For your coil pack, the 1st gen and 2nd gen coil and mounting bracket are different. If your car has it custom mounted then it wouldn't matter which one you get but if your using the 1st gen intake manifold then you would need to get the 1st gen coil pack, vice versa if your using the 2nd gen intake manifold.

 

......*sigh*........this is beginning to become too much work. Alright, after I pulled the coils out I had ohmed them and they seemed to be fine, I double checked the connections one more time and I realized it was only halfway right, I didn't swap 4-1 with 2-3, I swapped 4-2 that was it. Stupid me I know. Anyway, it seems to run fine now, however It's smoking bad. Now I know your all going to say its antifreeze because its white smoke, but I think its burning oil as well somewhere. I noticed it wont be too bad when driving normal but when I get down on it it will start smoking really bad.

Here are the NEW problems...

1. Power Loss, turbo does not spool up as soon as it should (4000-4500RPM), and usually when it does spool up it will through you against the seat.......its not doing that too well, lol. I'm pretty sure this is due to an exhaust leak, because I can hear it pretty good in the car. Can this cause a lot of power loss on a turbo vehicle, thats what I've been told.

2. Oil leak, I've been told this could be due to valve seal stems( I never changed them out), but another friend of mine told me its probably my turbo seal. Not sure yet. Open for advice.

3. Antifreeze leak, I found 2 leaks on my way driving the car home (after constantly stopping to check fluid levels). The first leak is a pinhole on the top of the radiator. The second leak is just above where the lower radiator hose connects to the metal pipe on the motor, well there is a smaller metal pipe that is welded to it...right on that weld it seems to have a very VERY small pinhole leak. I saw it leaking from there after I shut the car off and started looking everything over. The reason I saw this was because I noticed a mist of antifreeze on my intercooler pipe and battery when I stopped to check my fluid levels, as if it was spraying out of a hose, but I ver found a hose that "looked" like it was cut, or bad in any way. I just planned on replacing all the hoses in that area, but then I found the leak on the weld so I'm not sure if there's still more to it or not.

4. Heater Core, my car was not distributing heat at all, and after I drove it awhile and kept refilling the antifreee it seemed to eventually give off a small amount of warm air but it was not HOT by any means. I put my hand on the hoses that ran to the heater core and one was warm but the other not so much so I know it has a clog or maybe its going out. It probably needs to be flushed out.

So I know I have and exhaust leak, I'm burning oil somewhere, and there are al least 2 verified antifreeze leaks I found.

Like I said I am more or less concerned about getting the smoking problem fixed first, but I don't really expect anyone to know the problem obviously without physically looking at the engine, lol. What I'll do is post a video on youtube and record all around the engine and give you close ups of problems I've noticed that way you can actually see and somewhat hear the problems. I'll try and do that soon. Until then just do what you guys do best and shoot me some advice and opinions on whats most likely to be the issue.

Thanks again from everyone!!!!! MitsubishiForum.com ROCKS!

 

One more thing I forgot to mention, everytime I stopped to check my fluid I had to add coolant, but my resevoir level never lowered like it wasn't pulling coolant from it, why is that? I had to keep adding it from the radiator cap. ????

 

Ok, just thought I would tell you guys I called a super shop not too far from me and got some advice. First off I explained to them that I had replaced the head gasket with a cometic one, and added a few other parts timing belt etc... Well the first thing he asked me is if I resurfaced the head when I put the new gasket on, ad my answer was no. He said it is very likely with an aluminum head that it may be warped, and he also stated that the cometic head gaskets come with instructions telling you to resurface the head before you install them. I will take all the blame for this stupidity and say I failed to read the instructions, or resurface the head.

I want to also mention that when I first took the car out....after Nubiebubie_GSX gave me the advice above about the reverse firing order, I realized when I was driving that my boost gauge was not stopping at 15psi...in fact it had no limit, I remember hitting almost 30psi when i realized the problem, I then stopped and pulled over to look everything over. I found that my boost controler hosehad somehow come off and was dangling below, I quickly reconnected it, but how much damage could I have caused for myslef because of my stupidity? Could this have blown the cometic head gasket? Also could I have damaged the turbo? Let me know all the possibilities, no matter how bad they may be. Thanks.