After Distributor replaced, still won't Start :(

[Krmnnghia]

Sisters 93 Camry(2.2, Auto) wouldn't start one morning. Got it towed to a mechanic and they said a new Distributor was needed as they were getting very weak spark. My sister could not afford the $600 bill so me being the big brother Offered my services. Had it towed a mile to my house and we bought a new Distributor and plug wires as it still had the OG ones @ 180K miles. I replaced the Distributor first and carefully etched the head where the distributor sat so as to line it up during re-install. Noted that the rotor was facing the front of the car like an arrow. Pulled it out with ease and oiled the O-ring and reinserted the new dist exactly as the old one. Tried to start it and still just would crank and crank and give no signs of life. I replaced the spark plug wires and now at least I was getting a little sign of life from the old girl but it still would not fire completely. Interesting enough though now if I look in the rear view mirror I can see smoke coming from the tail pipe. Ran back and smelled it and it smelled like unburnt fuel pretty much. I thought maybe I will try adjusting the distributor to see if the timing was just way off and I tapped it down and re-tightened. I actually got it to fire with a lot of help from the gas pedal and it just sort of stumbled a lot and shook but was "running" until I shut it down.

Does this sound like my Timing is completely out of whack? I though that even with the timing off it would fire but just idle horribly. Thoughts on what I can do next? I thought the rotor was keyed so that it will only go in one way or 180 the other way. I am incredibly frustrated at this point. So close yet so far.

Any help is much appreciated.

[carsrus]

Yup sounds like your timing belt skipped a tooth or 2. Check timing on the crank and camshaft. Theres a good guide in the sticky section here.

[BMR]

Originally Posted by Krmnnghia

I thought the rotor was keyed so that it will only go in one way or 180 the other way.

Not quite. The tongue & slot are slightly offset, so it'll only go in one way. Like carsrus mentioned, check the timing belt to make sure it's still turning or slipped a tooth or two. The distributor is driven off the camshaft, so if the timing belt slips, the ignition timing gets way out of whack.

[Krmnnghia]

Originally Posted by BMR

Not quite. The tongue & slot are slightly offset, so it'll only go in one way. Like carsrus mentioned, check the timing belt to make sure it's still turning or slipped a tooth or two. The distributor is driven off the camshaft, so if the timing belt slips, the ignition timing gets way out of whack.

Is there an easy way to check if I am off by a tooth. I thought I read somewhere that there is an inspection plug but I would not know how to diagnose if I am or am not off a tooth. Thanks.

[Mister_Perkins]

Remove the passenger tire and splash shield. Grab a 19mm socket and roll the engine clockwise until the crankshaft lines up on 0 on the Timing cover (visible from looking in the engine bay)

Once at Zero, you can pull the #1 spark (closest to passenger side) and place a long straw or screw driver in there and confirm the piston is at the top of the Block (Top of stroke). Note: The pistons will go to the top twice. Once for pistons 2 and 3 and once for 1 and 4. If you cannot touch the piston when at 0, rotate the engine 180 degrees (one revolution) and Recheck

Remove the Upper Cover (bunch of 10mm bolts) --- you will have to remove the Dog bone Engine mount and Bracket (the bracket is 14mm Bolts . you will need a wrench to get these. Ratchet Wrenches work great)

Once the upper cover is removed, look where the camshaft is. There is a V Notch behind the Camshaft Sprocket that is visible through the small hole on the camshaft. that should be lined up with the center of the V Notch.

I'm guessing its not.

[Krmnnghia]

Thanks for the info so far. I will tackle this in the AM and report back.

[Mister_Perkins]

The Dog Bone Motor mount Bracket is a real pain in the ass to get off. Just Warning you. If you've never removed it before, Try using Long handled wrenches for more torque, Or Stack your wrenches together to get more torque.

These bolts are a quarter turn at a time, and are very time consuming

[Krmnnghia]

Originally Posted by Mister_Perkins

The Dog Bone Motor mount Bracket is a real pain in the ass to get off. Just Warning you. If you've never removed it before, Try using Long handled wrenches for more torque, Or Stack your wrenches together to get more torque.

These bolts are a quarter turn at a time, and are very time consuming

Awesome Thanks

[Stillrunning]

Originally Posted by Mister_Perkins

Remove the passenger tire and splash shield. Grab a 19mm socket and roll the engine clockwise until the crankshaft lines up on 0 on the Timing cover (visible from looking in the engine bay)

Once at Zero, you can pull the #1 spark (closest to passenger side) and place a long straw or screw driver in there and confirm the piston is at the top of the Block (Top of stroke). Note: The pistons will go to the top twice. Once for pistons 2 and 3 and once for 1 and 4. If you cannot touch the piston when at 0, rotate the engine 180 degrees (one revolution) and Recheck

Remove the Upper Cover (bunch of 10mm bolts) --- you will have to remove the Dog bone Engine mount and Bracket (the bracket is 14mm Bolts . you will need a wrench to get these. Ratchet Wrenches work great)

Once the upper cover is removed, look where the camshaft is. There is a V Notch behind the Camshaft Sprocket that is visible through the small hole on the camshaft. that should be lined up with the center of the V Notch.

I'm guessing its not.

Or you can just use a timing light and save all that work.

[BMR]

Will a timing light work when the engine won't start? I dunno, never tried it. Seems like it would???... as long as there is a spark being generated?

[Stillrunning]

Originally Posted by BMR

Will a timing light work when the engine won't start?

As long as it's getting power from battery and enough current through #1 wire it'll light up at TDC (or whatever). Just won't blink as often. It helps if it's dark enough to see the strobe pulse.