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[Nick W]

I cannot believe how this job can be so difficult

it isn't.

[terry paget]

length of clear narrow bore tube & suck on the end  worked for me

How I've always done it.

[rds]

UPDATE:

I used the soap pump method and got a load of oil out from all wells and also a little water from no4 cylinder well. Then I wicked out the rest with PLENTY kitchen paper; syringe method ineffectual.

New gasket and O rings fitted. Applied sealant on the front four flat sections around the arches per the suggestion on the Maintenance Guide and fitted all back together.

Car would not start. There was a partial "catch" then definite non-start.

Took out plugs, bearing in mind these are 3 years old they were grotty on the insulators due to the oil contamination but also the plug tips were filthy. Cleaned all up and refitted: car wont start. it turns over freely (although sounds different  - as if starter is not spinning anything apart from itself) and won't catch.

I'll order a new set of plugs but is it likely the coil pack and the camshaft sensor loom connector have suffered in this process:
coil pack due to being short circuited die to the oil and water, and
loom connector to camshaft sensor due to being tugged out of a tight sensor?

In other words why wont this car start now? No codes stored. Tried jump start pack in case battery low; no start either. Advice gratefully received.

cheers

RDS

[VXL V6]

2.2? Is cam sensor connection OK? Strange not to have codes.

[rds]

yes 2.2
cam sensor pushed right in but the surround clasp fell off.
if the wire connections in the male harness plug are now damaged, how far does the harness go back to the next junction for a replacement?

[Doctor Gollum]

To the ecu

[rds]

I bet that is a s*d. Might have to splice in then if I get no continuity on back probing.

[Enceladus]

Let's just clarify.

The car was parked up for three days, in heavy rain, then couldn't be started.
Renewal of the cam cover seals and cleaning the plug wells and plugs has not cured the non-start.
So disturbance of the cam sensor connector whilst fitting the seals didn't cause the original issue. The fault was already present.

AIUI the car should start with the cam sensor disconnected. Albeit you might need to turn it over for longer, the engine will have impaired fuel economy whilst running and a fault light will be triggered.

Something else is wrong.
From your description it sounds like the starter motor is not engaging and spinning the engine. Have a look from the front whilst an assistant turns the engine over. Can you see the auxiliary belt moving? Put some chalk marks on the belt if it makes it easier to see.

What's the rested battery voltage?
What's the battery voltage whilst cranking? You'll need an assistant to turn the engine over?
And is the car an auto or a manual?

And what did you use to check for fault codes?

[Doctor Gollum]

Let's just clarify.

The car was parked up for three days, in heavy rain, then couldn't be started.
Renewal of the cam cover seals and cleaning the plug wells and plugs has not cured the non-start.
So disturbance of the cam sensor connector whilst fitting the seals didn't cause the original issue. The fault was already present.

AIUI the car should start with the CRANK sensor disconnected. Albeit you might need to turn it over for longer, the engine will have impaired fuel economy whilst running and a fault light will be triggered.

Something else is wrong.
From your description it sounds like the starter motor is not engaging and spinning the engine. Have a look from the front whilst an assistant turns the engine over. Can you see the auxiliary belt moving? Put some chalk marks on the belt if it makes it easier to see.

What's the rested battery voltage?
What's the battery voltage whilst cranking? You'll need an assistant to turn the engine over?
And is the car an auto or a manual?

And what did you use to check for fault codes?

Fixed for clarity... Four cylinder will eventually start with a knackered crank sensor, V6 will flatten the battery trying.

Cam sensor is critical to engine running. Ecu won't release fuel until the cam sensor confirms engine rotation, ideally in conjunction with crank signal. No fuel=no start.

Misfire from soiled plug wells was the original problem.

Removing the foam, replacing plugs, camcover seal and coil pack should have rectified the misfire issue.

Temp repair to the cam sensor plug/loom should get the car running to confirm rectification of the original fault. 

[Enceladus]

Now I'm not saying the the cam sensor is not the culprit. Just that nothing that's been done has altered the original issue.
Opening post 22nd Dec 2019.
The OP doesn't say he can start the engine, but it misfires. He says it won't start at all.

................... after all this rain recently, I was unable to start car 2.2cdx after a 3 day park-up. I had similar issue two years back and traced that to water in the spark plug wells so checked that again and yup, there it is again although less than last time and some oil evident.

Then we have on Sunday.

Car would not start. There was a partial "catch" then definite non-start.

Took out plugs, bearing in mind these are 3 years old they were grotty on the insulators due to the oil contamination but also the plug tips were filthy. Cleaned all up and refitted: car wont start. it turns over freely (although sounds different  - as if starter is not spinning anything apart from itself) and won't catch.

So the car still won't start. Whatever work has been done has not fixed the original issue. The broken/missing  secondary shroud on the cam sensor connector won't prevent the business part of the connector locking into the cam sensor. Or impact the waterproofing. If the cam sensor is now disconnected due to pin damage or whatever then there should be a fault code set when the engine is turned over.

Now we are told the starter motor sounds different. So is the starter actually turning the engine over?

And let's understand how the OP is checking for fault codes.

[rds]

Many thanks for the further input. Apologies if the info was not clear or consistent but things occur to me (OP) afterwards....

Going back to the situation when i left the car for a period when it rained heavily: i tried to start it as usual and there was an initial catch and instantaneous faulure to coninue to run. This happeded again yesterday after i cleaned the wells out, cleaned the plugs and fitted the new gaskets and lubed the cams up a bit too.

ref the salient pionts in the last two emails:
"So disturbance of the cam sensor connector whilst fitting the seals didn't cause the original issue. The fault was already present."
yes, i agree, however the issue ast time this happned (apart from the starter "light" noise) was due to the water in the wells; hence my actin this time.

"Something else is wrong". see my comments within in italic:
From your description it sounds like the starter motor is not engaging and spinning the engine. Have a look from the front whilst an assistant turns the engine over. Can you see the auxiliary belt moving? Put some chalk marks on the belt if it makes it easier to see. perhaps it is not engaging at least for long enough to catch. I have no assistant where i left the car, sadly. good idea, will have to do that eg using phone in video mode

What's the rested battery voltage? 12.6v, then after a few tries 11.8v; now recharged to 12.6v
What's the battery voltage whilst cranking? You'll need an assistant to turn the engine over? do not know, i can put MM on "max" funtion and spin over as no assistant
And is the car an auto or a manual? auto

And what did you use to check for fault codes? Scanner Pro (ie odbII reader and re-set. I have a better item here at home so can use that next time i go down to the car.

Foam: had no time to remove that but have left top of engine covered in plastic bags pending return. foam seems attached by push on toothed washers on studs; is that it to remove the foam?

New cam sensor (Delphi), plugs (Bosch), coil pack (Bosch) now purchased.

Action:
1 video the aux belt with chalk marker,
2 test for codes with other scanner
3 then new Plugs and new coil pack will be fitted at same time
4 Then if no joy, the cam sensor will be fitted (back probe the old connector for electrical connectivity first).

Is that acceptable as a logical approach?

Many thanks again

RDS

[Doctor Gollum]

Foam will tear off easily enough

[rds]

TEAR??!
...as a last resort!!

odd though this time there was little water but plenty oil. Still, if it has to go, it has to go.

[Doctor Gollum]

OK tear sounds dramatic , just feel for the soggy patch and squeeze... It will practically fall off

[rds]

mine is still well attached though "heavy" with water i think, so will likely try the retaining washers first. I fitted a drip tray under it last time and it has served well. Until now.