hi i just replaced my valve cover gaskets because of small leakage and a burning oil smell from the exhaust manifold. after replacing both, started up fine and ran for about 15 minutes, stopped and started it again and I lugged to start. so I stopped and started it again and it lugged even harder. after stopping it and trying again it would not start it would only crank. i have triple checked all the connections I took off and they are fine. anyone have anything I should look for or do? this is my daily so I need it asap. thank you all in advance!
You need to determine if it's a fuel or spark problem.
Spray some starting fluid into the intake while cranking it to see if it starts.
If it does, you have a fuel delivery problem.
Also, check both sides of that PCV hose that you had to remove to do the driver's side valve cover gasket.
Make sure the connectors aren't damaged and that the hose is fitting tightly on both ends.
Inspect all vacuum lines.
If it doesn't start with a few shots of starting fluid, inspect the wires and the plug/socket on the coil pack for issues. Also the single wire on the front side.
No problems there?
Remove the plug wires, one by one, from the ignition coil while cranking.
Hold the wire just above its coil tower.
You should see spark arcing. Confirm all 6 are arcing.
If there isn't spark to all 6 plugs wires, it's an ignition problem.
Not pointing fingers but if it ran fine before the job, it's something that got unplugged, moved, or damaged during the job.
Be patient, you'll find it
So this morning when it was cold it started right up no problem working just fine drove it around just fine idle fine got to operating temp but I noticed at first the temperature gauge wasn’t reading right but it started working after the drive. Turned it off double checked all connections and went to turn it back on and it only turns over and doesn’t start. Which was what happened last time. It doesn’t want to start when it has warmed up only at cold start. Why could this be?
Depending on your model you either have an engine coolant temperature (ECT) sensor
or a cylinder head temp sensor.
You say the temp gauge didn't appear to work on startup but then began working after a while.
That's fine if it's reporting a cold engine temp to a cold engine.
The computer will provide a rich fuel mixture and the cold engine will start.
If it "sticks" and does that to a hot engine the computer will provide a fuel/air mixture that's too rich for the engine to start.
Maybe try replacing that sensor
So finally my engine threw a code for it and my dad brought an obd2 reader and it said the ect sensor had high voltage. We replaced that as well as the coil pack because we tested the warm engine without the coil pack plugged in and it sounded exactly like when it wouldn't start. obviously not causation but it was only like 50$ so whatever. also replaced the thermometer because I saw some leakage of coolant from that seal along with new ect and coil pack and she runs perfectly. I never touched the ECT sensor although it is close to the valve covers it's not in the way. Still don't know if it was something I did or just a coincidence. either way replaced all that stuff for about 100$ and now there's no more dripping oil onto my manifolds so I'd say that's a win. Thanks for your input.