1993 Camry LE 2.2L Won't Start - Help!

[kevbrown713]

My 1993 Toyota Camry LE has ran fine for eighteen years until friday (EDIT - there was a hairline crack in between cylinders 2 and 3 that was causing a nasty misfire, however was welded shut). In the morning before leaving school I went to start it and it took a little bit longer than usual to start - cranked about twice as many times as "normal." I made it to school without any troubles whatsoever, and when I went to leave that afternoon the engine would crank but not catch.

I had the car towed to my friends house who has done a lot of work on the car for me in the past, and so far we have tested to see if I'm getting fuel, spark, and compression. I have all three, however in cylinders 2 I'm only at 115 psi and in 4 I'm at 90. 1 and 3 are both over 140 psi. However the car should be able to start with just the two - at least cough.

(At this point I should mention I just replaced my distributor cap and rotor a month ago. EDIT - Also replaced plugs and wires)

Any suggestions on what to do next? I don't think its my ignition coil because I'm getting good sparks, and the timing belt hasn't jumped time at all. Could I have somehow blown a piston ring or head gasket while driving and only gone one last drive out of it? Or did I miss something obvious?

Thanks,

kb

[Mister_Perkins]

your car should still run with those compression readings. Even with 1 bad cylinder your car will still run. You could try pouring some Transmission fluid into your #4 to bring the compression up and see if it starts.

Have you looked at your Coil? My guess is it has a crack in it .. Common thing to happen.

to confirm, pull the cap / rotor / plastic shield off, and check it out

[kevbrown713]

Wouldn't I not be getting sparks though? My friend looked inside and said it looked okay, I don't know enough about cars to see a problem. He did a voltage test inside the distributor which read 2.4 volts, which must not have been accurate, because thats not enough to create a spark.

I guess mainly my question is would I still be getting a spark with a bad coil?

Thanks,

kb

[Mister_Perkins]

Yup, its very possible to get a spark with a bad coil

all depends on the Strength of the spark

You could try to Disconnect the Igniter plug, and see if its corroded as well. Sometimes those gunk up and will cause a no-start situation.

[kevbrown713]

Okay I'll certainly try that tomorrow, thanks for the reply. Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated as well.

Thanks,

kb

[Stillrunning]

Originally Posted by kevbrown713

so far we have tested...I'm getting fuel, spark, and compression...and the timing belt hasn't jumped time at all.

As suggested check quality of spark (bright & blue) not yellow. You may be flooding if spark is good. Try holding the gas pedal to the floor when starting to see if it improves. Those compression levels are not good but are enough to start and run. A little starting fluid in the throttle is easier to ignite than raw gas.

Originally Posted by kevbrown713

He did a voltage test inside the distributor which read 2.4 volts, which must not have been accurate

I think it was 12.4 (primary). You probably misread.

[kevbrown713]

Thanks for the reply, I already tried spraying starting fluid directly into the throttle body, and it didn't change anything. As for putting the pedal to the floor while starting it, that didn't do anything either. My friend said that the spark was blue and strong on all four plugs (I was cranking the engine).

[Stillrunning]

and the timing belt hasn't jumped time at all.

How do you know?

I'd check for a large vacuum leak from EGR or PCV.

You've got; spark (good), compression (enough), air (pedal on floor), fuel (assumed), timing (?). Not much else for an engine to run. Is it not even burping?

[kevbrown713]

All the teeth on the belt are okay, as well as when I line up the notch on the harmonic balancer(?) pulley with 0, the timing belt aligns on the top pulley as well. I'm not sure if that statement makes sense but my much more intelligent mechanic-of-a-friend is sure that it hasn't jumped time.

[oldfirebird]

The last time I saw this formula of "it SHOULD be running but won't even fire on starting fluid" I had about two gallons of water in the gas tank. In my case the user didn't put the cap on correctly and the rain ran in. The water injected to the cylinders kept the starting fluid from igniting. Disconnect your fuel pump and try starting fluid again. If it runs, it's time to drain the tank.
If it still won't run, I'd wonder if the exhaust is clogged. You could pull the O2 sensor before the cat, that'll give it enough flow to idle..

[kevbrown713]

We've tried everything that you've mentioned, and none of it has gotten it started. Its so odd that we can't even get the engine to cough with starting fluid.

[Mister_Perkins]

So you've physically saw that the Timing was correct, on the belt ?

What Fuel Pressure readings are you getting?

[Stillrunning]

Originally Posted by oldfirebird

The last time I saw this formula of "it SHOULD be running but won't even fire on starting fluid" I had about two gallons of water in the gas tank.

It's certainly possible for a prankster to have poured water into the gas tank.

[kevbrown713]

Fuel pressure isn't an issue, the injectors shoot it into my hood when I crank it with the plugs out, and I don't think someone poured water in my gas because my car is always locked and the gas cover can't be opened from the outside.

[fullofzen]

Originally Posted by Stillrunning

It's certainly possible for a prankster to have poured water into the gas tank.

Although I too would be interested in seeing the fuel pressure reading, it might be an interesting test to siphon out all the old gas and toss in a gallon of fresh gas.