ben43newman

So I just bought this car a few weeks ago, its a ‘79 euro 5 speed that has been sitting for 5 years, and already had a few things done. Rewired the 14 pin connector harness, cleaned fuel system and replaced fuel pump and filter and replaced starter. Now the issue I’m having is actually getting the run. I’m leaving for school in a few weeks (and I know it’s a little ambitious) but I want to get the car running before I leave. The main issue I have or am trying to figure out is why the engine won’t run. I’m getting spark (although it’s weak) and fuel, but it doesn’t sound like I’m getting any combustion. Also the starter intermittently sounds like it’s grinding when I’m turning the engine over. I’m open to all thoughts and ideas but just please help me out.

Rob Edwards

Will it start on starting fluid? If you get some combustion events on starting fluid then you can be more confident you have a fuel delivery issue. Merely having fuel (where?) isn't enough to get a CIS 928 to run. Do you have access to a fuel pressure gauge set? You should beg/borrow/steal a set and go through the CIS fuel tuning workflow on the 928 Classics website here: https://928classics.com/bosch-kjetronic-cis-fuel/ as a starting point so you are at least in the ballpark for system pressure, leakdown times, cold and hot control pressures.

ben43newman

Well I know I’m getting fuel at least to the injectors, not sure if it’s going through them, but no I haven’t tried starting fluid yet. I suppose I should give it a try but the starter itself is also really weird in the fact that it’s brand new and occasionally makes a ridiculous grinding sound and I’m not sure why. I took off the bottom of the clutch housing off and there was some weird looking metal gasket pieces or something like that and I figure that might be cause the starter to slip a little bit. Regardless, I don’t really want to put the starter back in until I know why it’s making that sound because putting it on is a pain

Rob Edwards

Pictures are worth thousands of words, post some pics of what you're seeing in the lower bellhousing/clutch cover.

ben43newman

Obviously the clutch has seen better days but this is how it all looks. The thing I can’t get over is all the mismatched screws holding in the housing and those weird metal gasket things.

hwyengr

The teeth on the ring gear in this picture at about 7:00, are they worn down or is it just the picture? I wonder if the spinning starter gear is losing mesh with the ring gear, causing the sound when the teeth get deeper.

ben43newman

Good catch but fortunately the flywheel gears are all relatively intact and not worn down. I’m starting to think that the metal pieces sandwiched between the housing was causing a large enough gap that it led the starter making that sound. Still not really sure what’s going on though.

Rob Edwards

There should be no gap between the upper bellhousing and the lower bellhousing cover. Someone was trying to change the amount of mesh of the starter gear with the flywheel gear, no idea why. I'd put the cover back on without the spacers - with a good starter and good flywheel teeth there's no reason it shouldn't work.

GregBBRD

The odds of getting a CIS car, which has been sitting for 5 years, running with a new fuel pump and filter is very remote.

Generally, the fuel distributor plunger will be frozen and the injectors will not spray.
​There'l
There's also a 9th fuel injector (electrical), which sprays raw fuel into the intake system, which will make the engine at least cough and try to run, if it functions and there is spark.

Speedtoys

IMHO, send off the WUR, fuel distributor, and the air flow meter here:
https://fuelinjectioncorp.com/

Get new injectors

And you will have saved yourself a TON of time.

The gear was old and off when it was parked, sitting for years makes it that much more difficult to make it a good runner.

ben43newman

After getting the clutch housing cover off I think I can safely put it back on and not worry about the starter grinding anymore. As for the fuel system, today I will check if I’m getting fuel at the injectors, but I also want to try to start the car on starter fluid. I don’t have any starter fluid but I do have throttle bottle cleaner, that should work right? If the car runs on starter fluid then I think the next obvious course of action is making sure the fuel system is working correctly. I know I’m getting fuel to the injectors, I just don’t know if it’s going through them.

Petza914

This. On a CIS car, you'll pull your hair out and misadjust a bunch of stuff trying to get one to run without actually having the source of the issue. I would start with a new or rebuilt Fuel Distributor and WUR - at a minimum a new FD. 928 Int'l should have one available that's done correctly.

ben43newman

I definitely want to rebuild the FD and WUR but my question is, should I rebuild them or buy a rebuilt one? Second question is where should I get a rebuild kit or buy the rebuild from? Also, what would need to be done with the airflow meter?

Petza914

I would buy a Rebuilt Fuel Distributor and WUR from Mark Anderson at 928 International so you know they're calibrated correctly. Rebuilding them yourself is not the easiest thing to get right. Probably has an option to send yours back for a Core Exchange. I wouldn't worry about the air flow meter yet - that one may be fine.

ben43newman

$900 for FD and WUR? Honestly not even a bad price. I’m probably going to wait until I start school before getting those but definitely gonna be worth the money.