You said the valves could be bent. These are not interference engines, the pistons will not hit the valves if it were out that far or the timing chain broke/failed.

 

Most failures like this are caused by change, and this is a great example of why to NOT change a whole bunch of things at once... it now won't start, and you can't go un-do your change (put it back the way it was cuz it worked that way) because there were too many changes, and you therefore have no idea what you just changed that is causing the problem. It could be several things, too.

Which means you have to go diagnosing everything, determining what works and what doesn't and figuring out what you messed up.

Not trying to be critical or blameful or anything, this is just the way it is..

That being said, it is almost a sure bet that removing the heads could serve only make things worse... you didn't remove 'em and muck with 'em, so why go take THAT stuff apart? This is like replacing your tires and immediately finding you have terrible steering wheel shimmy so you then go replace your brakes or your ball joints - something entirely unrelated to the tires which you just changed.

Yes, your compression is way low, something is wrong there. You say you have good spark, but, is it at the right time?

An engine needs only three things to operate - fuel, compression, and spark - but the right amounts at the right times.

 

I would NOT remove the heads unless diagnosis indicated a problem there. Given that the valve timing WAS messed with, that was the change and I tend to think that is where the problem is. The low compression across the board supports that.

A leak down test with the cylinder at TDC will tell for sure. My guess is that you'll have air leaking out the valves.

Given it was running before, and that the valve timing was messed with - it just makes sense. With compression that low, even good spark at the right time may not help.

Again, and I can't say it enough: Basics. The compression is WAY low. Why? You could guess, use logic, or test to be sure. My guess is valve timing. Logic says that was one thing that was messed with so it makes sense. A leak down test would tell you for sure. Then the question becomes why and how to fix it. Once that is fixed, retest compression. If all is good and it still won't start, look at ignition, fuel, etc.

Inch by inch, everything's a cinch..

I'm still curious why the timing set was changed in the first place.

 

Just as a side note and example. I rebuilt the engine in a '95 Neon a few years ago. I bought the car for $100 from my niece after she let it run out of oil. (She thought the red light was just a suggestion).

When reinstalling the timing gears and belt, everything looked good. It started once and then went in the toilet. I didn't follow my own advice and started chasing all sorts of things. I then went back to basics and found that the locating pin on the cam for the timing gear had sheared off, most likely damaged when the engine seized. It had been there just enough when I installed the gear and then sheared.

If I had thought it through before diving in, I could have saved myself a lot of work.
Basics, what does an engine need, what was the change or symptom.

It's not rocket science but it's easy to get distracted by other things.

Sometimes we just need to learn the hard way. I know I did. The thing is, everyone makes mistakes; the key is not making them over and over..

 

Good point. And good news..

I still think it's a valve timing problem though. Rather than make assumptions, I'm a big fan of leak down tests..

 

well i replaced the timing set cuz the truck ran but would die if left at ideal an hard to start plus it missed badly an so i took it apart an an the timing chain was hardly catching the crank gear so i replaced it

 

IIRC the two dots on the gears are supposed to point at each other, this is the first thing that comes to my mind....

 

Leak down test!

 

already did that an ill do the leak down test when i get a chance

 

but how do u do it im not familair with that test

 

If you are referring to the leak down test; I don't know if you are familiar with it or not. Since no results were posted about that test, I assume you didn't do it.

I guess I'm confused by your post

 

i dont know what you mean by a leak down test how do u do that test is what im asking

 

Let me google that for you

 

thanks cuz i have no idea what he means

 

I don't have one of those fancy two-gauge things, I just got a fitting from NAPA that has one end that screws into the spark plug hole and the other into the air compressor hose. Bring each piston to TDC on the compression stroke, hook up the air hose, then fill it with air (I've never used more than 30 or 40 psi... don't put in too much else the pressure will want to push the piston back down, locking the engine in place if you have a manual transmission is wise... if you can get the piston at exactly TDC then it won't be susceptible to being pushed down).

Anyhow, once there's compressed air in the cylinder, now go look & listen - air coming up through the carb, through the exhaust, through the valve cover, and, most importantly IMO, look for bubbles in the radiator fluid.