1988 won't start

[t-double362]

Took truck down to replace some gaskets. I ended up removing the balance shafts and replacing the camshaft and cam caps from a donor truck. Put everything back together and now it wont crank. I have spark and I'm getting fuel. Thought that I might have been 180 degrees out but I took the timing belt off and rotated the crank around and reinstalled the belt. Still the same issue. Even the distributor and put it on number 1. Any help would be appreciated

[geezer101]

So all your timing marks are good, the distributor is in the right position and the carb is pulling fuel? No life even with trying full advance/retard on the distributor?

[ragragtimetime]

you stated that you have spark but are you showing spark at the plugs?

[t-double362]

Timing is right, Balance shafts removed and and the distributer is aligned with the mark on the gear

[t-double362]

Yes I pulled number one wire and made sure it fired

[t-double362]

Update: The truck was jacked up, So I put it back on the ground. Re did the timing and the trucked fired. It dawned on me I didn't have full tank and then the battery went dead.
Woke up this morning and jumped it off and it ran like crap, Pulled the plugs and pulled the fuel filter. Filter was black.
Replaced the plugs and fuel filter, still runs a little ruff and then cuts off, I'm guessing my timing is off maybe one or two teeth.

[geezer101]

Sounds like you also have contaminated fuel. You might need to dump what fuel you have and try to flush the sediment out of the bottom of the tank. These engines were recommended to run on 98+ RON fuel from factory as well. Guys were putting regular gas in them and, although they will run on the stuff, it didn't do them any favors.

[pennyman1]

98 RON is a Australian octane measurement - in Canada, the United States, Brazil, and some other countries, the headline number is the average of the RON (reference octane number)and the MON (motor octane number), called the Anti-Knock Index (AKI), and often written on pumps as (R+M)/2. It may also sometimes be called the Posted Octane Number (PON). this gives a number lower than the RON alone. The US trucks had lower compression motors, so 87 octane was fine for these trucks when new.

[geezer101]

98 RON is a Australian octane measurement - in Canada, the United States, Brazil, and some other countries, the headline number is the average of the RON (reference octane number)and the MON (motor octane number), called the Anti-Knock Index (AKI), and often written on pumps as (R+M)/2. It may also sometimes be called the Posted Octane Number (PON). this gives a number lower than the RON alone. The US trucks had lower compression motors, so 87 octane was fine for these trucks when new.

Really? What did Mitsubishi do to alter the compression ratios? Or is this due to a different recommended engine tune to meet US emissions? I had a feeling the 4G54's had a lower CR than the G63B engines. Isn't there a label in the fuel filler doors with the recommended fuel type on it? *edit - I mis-quoted the fuel rated on my truck. Label says 97+ octane fuel.

[pennyman1]

dished pistons on the 79 - 80 motors - compression ratio is 8.0 to 8.2 with the dish. The early starquests used the same truck motor with throttle body efi and a turbo. oil squirters were added to cool the pistons.

[t-double362]

I'll try draining the tank tomorrow. Just seems weird. But it is definitely fuel related.

[pennyman1]

disconnect the feed line to the fuel pump and stick it into a 1 gallon gas can to run the truck until you get the tank cleaned out.