92 camry turns over but won't fire

[aeysha]

I have a 1992 4 cyl camry with 397,000 + miles on it. Anyways I let me sister borrow it for a night and the next day started it to go to work and it sounded like it was bogging down or something idk I was in a hurry and it leaks oil pretty good these days so I gave it some oil and started it up again and left for work. I didn't make it 100 yards before my car died and havent been able to start it since. I checked fuses since one other time it wouldnt start it turned out being the AM2 fuse.
I'm having trouble getting to the AM1 fuse and am wondering if that's a necessary fuse to check in this case?
Timing belt is fine, you can smell the gas after cranking it over awile and plugs get wet with gas so it's not fuel, The primary resistance on the coil was off so I changed that but it didn't do a thing, The rotor and distributer cap were changed 100K miles ago. I had my boyfriend check for spark and he said he saw spark -- however im going to try it myself with a plug out tomorro and on the plug wire to see for mysself.
But anywaays i'm running out of ideas. The fact that it was running poorly prior to dying makes me think its more likely to be mechanical than electrical but i don't know. Any help would be appreciated. Again, there was no knocking or anything prior to the car dying it just didnt sound right. I appreciate the help. Thanks

[eurohazard]

Compression test is probably the next logical step. With that many miles, and the fact it leaks oil....I suspect maybe some oil starving has led to quickly deteriorating piston rings. Sounds like you got spark, fuel and air. But a check of the fuel system might be worth a shot too.

[aeysha]

if it was a compression problem wouldn't I have lost more and more power leading up to this and have a harder time starting it. The car was still pretty good on power and never had a problem starting. I would have thought it it were the compression the effects wouldn't have set iin so rapidly???

[eurohazard]

I understand what you're saying, and in fact I started to second guess myself in my reply...because I also mentioned checking the fuel too. But 400k miles is a lot, anything is possible. But mostly because the compression test is so easy and free (or cheap if you have to rent a gauge), I feel it's worth a shot.

[aeysha]

well you may be correct. I tried a compression test today and my highest reading on the 2nd cylinder was 90 psi--not good. Anyways I'm going to squirt a little oil down the cylinder like the haynes book says and see if it improves compression which would prove rings. Another thing the book said is a worn exhaust lobe on the camshaft would cause one cylinder to be significantly lower than the others. Looks like I may not make it to 400 k
Thanks eurohazard

[eurohazard]

Hmm, so 90 psi in one cylinder (assuming the rest were normal) doesn't sound too too bad. I would think the engine would at least start and run, if not in top condition. Keep us posted!

[mvftw]

You would run on 3 cyl...not a compression problem...

[Kep]

When you turn the key to the on position and all of the indicator lamps on the speedometer light up, does the Check Engine Light also come on. If it does not, check your EFI relay and fuse. Probably not it, but worth looking.

Kep

[aeysha]

It has run on 3 cylinders before all the way home from a long trip when a plug wire quit working in the middle of the night lol. The readings were cyl 1: 135psi, 2: 90 psi, 3: 120 psi, 4: 120 psi. Haynes manual said lowest acceptable level to be 142 psi so I thought 90 was low but given the age and use on the car I wasnt concerned about the other 3 cylinders as I was the 2nd. But like I said I know the car has run on 3 cylinders in the past so you're right there and it didn't sound like it was missing prior to it dying just didn't sound right.
Here's what the Haynes manual said: If the compression on one cylinder is 20 percent lower than the others, and the engine had a rough idle, a worn exhaust lobe on the camshaft could be the cause.
Is the exhaust lobe a possibility here? or what are some other ideas During the compression test, I wasn't paying real close attention to the plug wires but did notice a strong spark out of at least 2 of them. After that I lost my helper though for a bit. Going to try pouring oil down the cylinders in a bit as well. Other ideas or tests I should try on it?

[Kep]

Still curious if you have a CEL when key is in the on position (not cranking).

Another interesting test is to squirt starting fluid in the air filter and try starting it. (Only spray in about one second's worth). If the engine trys to start it indicates that you have a fuel delivery problem. If it doesn't try to start it tends to point to an electrical or mechanical problem.

Kep

[aeysha]

Forgot to tell you earlier the check engine light does come on. Also I have squirted a little gasoline into the intake already and it did nothing. No sputtering or anything. Any other thoughts/ ideas?