car turning over but wont start..stumped in what to do

[blazinjames]

I have a 91 eagle 200gtx with a 2.0 mitsubishi engine. its turning over but wont start.

there is spark going to all the spark plugs, the distributor is rotating, there is fuel going to the fuel rail, I checked the resistance of the fuel injectors and they were all at 15ohms( i dont know if that is in spec but I figure they wouldnt all be the same if they were out of spec) when i pull the spark plugs I smell fuel and they spark plugs are wet

I dont really know what else to check or what the problem could be

I replaced the coil, leads and spark plugs, I havent replaced the distributor cap yet because I got the wrong one at the parts store. if the distributor cap is bad will i still get spark and the spark plugs?

any suggestions would be great

 

[Shorty]

since you've got spark to the plugs, I doubt the cap is the problem (I'll assume the spark is crisp and bluish/white??)

a little more info on the vehicle:
- was it running before anything was changed?
- how many miles on the timing belt and tensioners?
- any recent overheats?
- Turbo?

IIRC (and that's definitely a stretch) most of the Mitsu, Chry, and Hyundai (1.8l) variants of the 4Gxx engine got a cam sync sensor mounted where the distributor used to mount and a 4 post distributorless coil in that timeframe--


assuming that since you're distributor is turning, you don't have that ignition system, and it is probably incorrect timing or lack of compression causing the no-start.

on a side note-- what the heck is a 200gtx, and do I want one??:dunno:

edit: I see, (2000 gtx) it's a re-badged Mitsu. Galant-- might be easier finding parts/info when calling it that...

 

[blazinjames]

its my buddies car, it was running one day then out of no where he got in it and it wouldnt start. the car has over 450xxxkms but apparently the engine was rebuilt at some point. the other couple times ive looked at the car it seemed to be a strong runner. i dont think it over heated. i dont know how many kms on the timing belt. i took a couple bolts on the timing belt cover off to check the timing belt and from what i could see it looked fine.

and its non-turbo

is it possible that i somehow screwed up the ignition timing? i took the cap and rotor off and turned the key to see if the distributor was turning and but the new rotor on

i havent checked if it has compression yet but I really didnt think that was going to be the problem

 

[Shorty]

since it's injected and you turned it over without the cap, you could have soaked the plugs-- I'd pull them and dry them with a little starting fluid/brake cleaner first.

I'd check the fuse box for anything labled "fuel injection" or something like that on the off chance it's not getting power to the injectors.

If both those don't help, you're probably pulling the timing cover to check the cam & crank marks (enjoy getting the balancer off-- IIRC, it's about 1/2" off the front unibody rail...)

 

[blazinjames]

how would the timing be off out of no where?

the car was running then it randomly just stoped starting and is just turning over

what could cause that?

if the timing belt broke woulnt it be turning over slower then normal

 

[Shorty]

--timing belt can lose teeth and still appear fine from the top but allow the crank to turn a couple degrees out of time
-- timing tensioner can fail and allow enough slop for the belt to jump teeth

both of the above scenarios can easily happen when the engine is shut off as the cams attempt to turn from valve spring pressure and engines often "rock" back or forward during shut down. A loose belt can allow one gear to rock independently of the others.

The engine may crank slower or faster depending on which cam has moved-- an intake valve opening late (and remaining open late) can reduce cylinder pressure and allow quicker cranking.

good luck!

 

[Outlander560]

take the valve cover off and check to see if the valves are moving skipping...understanding that the 4 banger is a ohc u can check that...but i agree with Shorty, after first reading your initial post i thought to that your timing is off..let us know what you find out

 

[blazinjames]

ok thanks..i havent had chance to look at it in the last week or so as ive been working stupid hours but im hoping to figure it out in the next day or so

 

[mikeam7750]

Sounds like your crankshaft position sensor. I spent a lot of time and money before I came to that conclusion on my Xj. I was having the same problem so I started checking and replacing things. I dropped the fuel tank twice, tuned my TBS, pulled all fule injectors and cleaned them, I checked every relay, checked compression, spark, timing, fule pressure and I even took out the computer and checked the terminals.

 

[Keithmania]

I have a couple of thoughts, could be an ECU failure or could quite simply be water in the fuel.