If it was the tensioner you would hear the chain slapping but it should still run well without the need for extra rpms.

Is the engine shaking a lot? Then you could have misfires. Most odb2 readers can read this per cylinder.

The extra oil should burn off rather quickly.

 

sorry to here of the challenge. i can only guess.

reset fuel adaptations
check spark
check fuel pressure
how is your compressions now?
vacuum leaks?

hoping you find something jump out at you

 

thanks! i went ahead and pulled the tensioner, since im getting good at it, and it was popped out so i assume that was working. it does feel crunchy though. not sure if it's supposed to BUT...i managed to keep it running long enough to get some codes. 0302,2300 and 2303. weirdly cylinder two was the one with the broken valve. i will replace the coil but maybe there is a short somewhere. moving things around so much in an old car i could have damaged a wire. ive been looking with my bad eyes but don't have the gear to test continuity on everything. coil first then look some more with two pair of readers on

 

Have you double checked that the spark plug wires are in the corect order ? A while back after buttoning up the car after some work my car ran quite rough and it was puzzling me for a while. After looking over the wire sequence I realized I had messed them up . Hopefully its something as basic as this with yours ...

 

i would hope so but alas yes i double, triple and quadruple checked that and the coil is clearly marked. one additional thought about the coil is that it is an aftermarket coil and i did notice that it fits a little loose. shopping for a new one i noticed some complaints about aftermarket coils where the original bolts don't fit correctly. maybe it was vibrating too much? maybe that was the initial cause of all my problems? can a misfire due to low voltage from the coil cause a valve to eventually crack?

 

ok so i am mistaken. the coil is the original but the valve cover is aftermarket. i took the coil off and tested the leads. i wasn't able to find a diagram but assuming the middle lead is #2 i guess it doesnt matter. the lowest setting on my meter is 2k). 1 - 2 = zero. 1-3 = .001 kohms. 2-3 = zero. this doesn't seem right.
reading the place where the plug wires go 2-3 = 11.8 Kohms 1-4 = 11.9. this seems correct.
i am really stumped. when i initially tested for the misfire i swapped the wires and still read cyl 2 so i assumed it wasn't the coil but now i am wondering if a fault in the coil caused a misfire in the cylinder which could eventually led to the cracked valve also causing a misfire from the same cylinder making the initial test misleading in a way. really stumped. you could ask: why not just try another coil? well the most frustrating thing about all this is the time i have to wait for parts just mulling over all this.

 

got the coil = no change. plus the bolts don't fit on the new one so at least i have an excuse to return it. feeling discouraged now but i did get a new clue. i cleared the codes and got it to run long enough to get a new code. it now reads misfire cyl 1. i think next i will go ahead and pull the crank pulley and timing cover to make sure it didnt skip a tooth. i dont see how that's possible when everything lined up but i dont know what else i can check. close to throwing in the towel. maybe i can part it out?

 

As mentioned above;
I wonder if you might move on to fuel supply?
When was the last time the fuel filter changed?
Do you have the means to check the fuel pressure at the rail.?
Might also be worth pulling and testing the injectors.
Perhaps a lean condition on #2 may have played a role in a cracked valve (?? - I'm no ace mechanic - just a thought)

 

im sure it needs a new fuel filter but i made no change to the fuel system. i just did the head gasket. i dont have a fuel pressure gauge but know it is getting fuel because when i accidentally put the clip upside down on the regulator gas went pouring out. the way it is running also points me in a timing direction. it runs better at higher rpms but wont idle. i am sure i didnt move the crank bolt at all when i had the head off but i am wondering if, when i was trying to keep tension on the chain when pulling it back through the head it skipped a tooth and the cam alignment tool isn't tight enough to tell if it was just one tooth off...but my white-out mark that i made lines up. if my white out mark lines up and it skipped a tooth underneath would the alignment tool still fit. i also took a picture of the end of the cam when it was off. sides straight up and down with the dowel pin slightly to the left but i neglected to take a picture of my white out mark.

 

Not sure if I follow you completely but just the be sure:
- setting the timing on these engines is easy: line up the two colored chain links with the two arrows on the cam sprocket and do the same on the crank sprocket this one has one arrow and colored chain.
- there is no cam shaft timing tool. There is however a cam sprocket locking tool so you can undo and torque up the bolt
- ideally before you had taken the head off you had aligned the two colored links with the arrows on the sprocket to make your live easy
- If you want to check the timings it can take a ridiculous amount or crank rotations before arrows and links line up again, like 39 or something

Having said that, I would pull the timing cover and verify everything is timed as it should and take it from there.

 

yeah. the cam sprocket locking tool. that's what i was referring to as cam timing tool. maybe that indicates my problem - be it mental - dont try to use the cam sprocket locking tool as a timing tool haha. so i never pulled the timing cover when i did the head rebuild so i could not look at the crank sprocket arrows, only the cam sprocket arrow. i thought it would be enough to just do a dab of white out on the sprocket and chain but maybe that's not enough. it seems beyond my mental capacity to imagine how the crank sprocket might be misaligned and the cam sprocket aligned but that's just saying i put it in the realm of possibility. so...today, after lunch i shall embark on removing the timing cover. i am intimidated by the crank pulley and will probably need some reluctant helper for that. if i tell her she can have her garage spot back sooner i bet that would help!

 

i havent been able to find a good decription of this, or at least one that I can understand.
i am looking for the brass links to line up with the arrows, one arrow up top and two arrows below
i want to turn the crank until they all line up
BUT if i screwed it up before they might never line up, correct?
OR since the crank sprocket is smaller could it be that: if the upper arrow lines up with the copper link then the lower ones should also be lined up?
what a head scratcher. i am going to start a new thread just on this. sorry to double post but need to know

 

i got the crank pulley off with my old 3 jaw puller. having trouble getting the timing cover off. it is caught by the water pump pulley, which has no bolt. i think this means removal of the bumper and putting the radiator in "service position" ugh

 

more bad news. i drained the oil and looking at it in a jar it looks like chocolate milk. i think my gasket already failed.

 

I think that's the reason you have misfires. I wouldn't be surprised if your sparkplug is wet or the compression in that cylinder is really low.

 

i might be castastrophizing. maybe it's just what oil looks like when mixed with assembly lube (i was liberal with that)

 

hard to tell in pics but looks fine to me

 

maybe the oil is ok. i just got everything apart, front end in service mode. not bad. i did use the ratchet strap method first but it was still a lot easier to just take the front end apart. timing looks good and the oil up in the head looks good too. i must have been freaking out a little. here are some pics. the white-out is where i had it lined up before but it's not lined up that way now but it is lined up with the arrows and the brass links....so i guess im ok in the timing department? there is only one way to get the cam on the sprocket with the dowel pin on it

 

so now i have to try and think of other reasons its running like *****. electrical? exhaust? fuel? i recently worked on a friend's Honda of similar vintage that had a clogged cat. swapped that out and it runs great...but why would that suddenly happen after i worked on it? maybe i messed up the wiring by twisting the ecm out of the battery box several times. i think i will put it all back together, when i get the new timing cover gasket, and try to run it with the o2 sensors unplugged

 

A few cents on a clogged cat.

Besides the obvious loss of performance, I experienced intermittent electrical issues: brief power losses both at idle and while driving. During these episodes, the gauges would flicker, the clock would reset, and on one occasion I even lost power steering. One morning the car was completely dead—no power at all, including the alarm system. Disconnecting and reconnecting the battery temporarily restored power.

Not a single engine code was thrown during this entire period. These issues went on for quite a while until I finally diagnosed a clogged catalytic converter and replaced it. After that, all of the electrical problems disappeared and never returned.

My point is that symptoms don’t always point cleanly to the root cause, sometimes the underlying issue can be very misleading.

Definitely check fuel pressure at the rail, verify that the fuel pressure regulator responds to vacuum (disconnect the vacuum line to confirm), check manifold vacuum, and of course measure exhaust backpressure at the catalytic converter. For backpressure testing, tape the gauge to the windshield and observe pressure while driving (not just at idle).

 

sounds like progress

whats your voltage reading at the battery when off / running?

 

have you done a compression test since you replaced the valves and verified timing?

i know you said you didn't have a leak down tester or compressor, but i'd bet you could get both for less than $100 total. and a leak down on a 4 cylinder is incredibly simple to do vs something like a v8.

 

i plan to do a compression test today once i get everything back on and will report back. i can try to check the voltage but it wont idle. it only stays running if you give it gas. not sure how i can test the fuel pressure guess i need a kit for that too but again it wont idle so there is no way i can test fuel pressure at idle. i can see if oreilly has a loaner. i would like to do a poor-man's smoke test. i did that on a friend's car recently with my pump thingy and a small cigar. i think doing compression test and the smoke test would tell me as much as a leak down test. i'd also like to see how much back pressure is coming from the exhaust. i can adapt the compression gauge to fit the o2 sensor bung but dont have any idea of what kind of back pressure, if any, i am looking for.

 

just did a compression test. cylinder 1 is reading zero! ive never seen that. i checked the other three cylinders and got readings around 160 but nothing for number one. that explains a lot. maybe one of the new valves broke, maybe the new gasket blew. all four of the new plugs are badly fouled already as well. decision time.
1. pull the head again and look
2. sell for parts
3. donate to local public radio and get a tax receipt

i guess since it's not running might as well pull the head off again

 

cylinder head off again. it took about 2 hours. the head gasket was all wet...so my suspicion of coolant in the oil was correct. the valves look a bit charred but seated. i will check the head and block again for flatness etc. i ordered new blots and gasket from felpro. the felpro gasket says "for imperfect surfaces". i am wondering if the bolts i used were maybe at fault. could they have been bottoming out? how do you clean out the bolt holes? i tried as best i could but this time i might try harder. i will also compare the new bolts to the original ones.