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Post by bobbarker on Jul 21, 2009 16:57:40 GMT -5
So like it says... I got to the gym this afternoon and everything was working as perfect as the day it rolled off the show room floor... right.
Came out about an hour later and the bish won't start...
I can hear the fuel pump cycle, they starter turns, the engine rocks and the car shudders but no start?!?!?! It's like the engine isn't gettin any spark or something. The starter will turn for about half a second and then spin free, when I let off the ignition all you can hear is it winding down, no engine roaring to life... Any help diagnosing this? There's no reason for me to think that anything's gone wrong with the ignition system, and the only problem I've had with this car sine I bought it was the starter stuck on twice, last time about 3 weeks ago and the time before that was about 4 or 5 months before that. Help please!
p.s. the car is stock engine wise and I've replaced the dist. cap, dizzy, spark plugs and wires all within the last 3 months.
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Post by Stinger on Jul 21, 2009 17:43:28 GMT -5
Did it stop starting or start stopping? ;D
The timing belt may have skipped a few teeth. Reason I say this is because you say the engine "shudders" and the starter kicks off which indicates there is spark and fuel making it "almost" start.
Of course it never hurts to verify you are getting spark though if I'm wrong in my understanding of how it is acting.
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Post by bobbarker on Jul 21, 2009 18:09:02 GMT -5
Only way I know to verify a spark is someone hold the plug wire while someone else tries to crank it... last time I tried that it made me jump a little cause I was grounded to the truck! Any other way to test for a spark? If it is the timing belt where do I start with that? I'm real green to these things! But I'm sure I can figure it out with little coaching. Oh, and if the timing belt did jump, how would that have happened? It was running perfect when I shut it off at the gym, came back out and first bump of the starter it usually fires off but not this time, second, third... no start... and yes, it stopped starting!  |
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Post by bobbarker on Jul 21, 2009 19:16:29 GMT -5
What are the chances it's the starter? Suggestion from another board said the bendix has gone bad... I don't want to pull that off unless I'm sure that's the problem. I will check the timing belt first though.
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Post by Stinger on Jul 22, 2009 9:54:57 GMT -5
It could be the starter, hard to tell without being there to see/hear what it is actually doing though. If that's the case, you should be able to roll start it to get it home.
That is the best way to test spark unless you have a timing light. With a timing light, just put the clamp on the plug wire and crank it...if it flashes it's sparking. Without the light, pull off the coil wire from the distributor cap and hold it near a ground source (I use the strut mounting nut) and then have someone crank it while you hold it close and look for a spark. It will only zap you if you let it get too far away from the ground source (then you will become the ground source).
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Post by bobbarker on Jul 22, 2009 16:10:09 GMT -5
Well I went back yesterday afternoon to try and get it home and decided to try to start it one more time before I got to messing with anything... strange enough it started right up without a problem. The engine made a nasty rattling tapping noise for a little while and it eventually subsided into a lighter tapping, but still there. It drove home fine under it's own power and I'm gonna head outside now to take a look around.
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Post by bobbarker on Jul 24, 2009 10:23:27 GMT -5
How important/needed is it to have the cover on the timing belt for daily driving? When I took it off a small piece cracked at the bottom and I don't want to put it back on for fear of breaking it more. Does it have to be on there? It's not like I'm driving down any dirt roads, but there is a fair amount of rain around here some times of the year...
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Post by Stinger on Jul 24, 2009 14:00:32 GMT -5
You don't need the cover but you do need the very bottom of it where the timing marks are, otherwise you have no way to set timing.
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Post by bobbarker on Jul 24, 2009 15:45:48 GMT -5
ah, makes sense!
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