Time to post my problem. Engine died, will not start.

[RobMilkshakes]

So on my way home this evening the engine died suddenly, all my dash lights came on, and I drifted to the shoulder. At first I thought I managed to stall it somehow, went to crank it and I could hear the starter cranking the engine but sounded faster/higher pitched (although this could be due to the fact the engine always fires very quickly after I turn the key so I may just not be used to the sound). The tach did not budge while trying to start the car.

I had no loss of power, odd signs, anything before it happened.

So first thing I thought is my timing belt snapped. I'm waiting til morning to check it out, in the mean time would anyone like to contribute to my worry?

Is there anything else you can think of that would produce these symptoms? I imagine something ignition related COULD possibly cause this (ignition module, dizzy, etc) but to fail that suddenly?

as always, thanks for any help

[stepho]

Either no spark or no fuel.
Both have a hundred causes but I'd bet the root cause will be electrical.
Check for blown fuses and for loose wires (including for the ECU and fuel pump).

- Stepho

[gorckat]

You didn't run out of gas did you ?

Good luck getting it straight.

[hatchy_gt-s]

Originally Posted by stepho

Either no spark or no fuel.
Both have a hundred causes but I'd bet the root cause will be electrical.
Check for blown fuses and for loose wires (including for the ECU and fuel pump).

- Stepho

^This is a good starting point
You can also check the pump by turning the key to the on position and you or a friend can listen to see if the pump whines, to eliminate a pump. Your next step would be to check injectors, first step is to check for fuel pressure, you should have a release valve on the passenger side of the fuel rail release the pressure then crank the engine, if you have fuel pumping threw then you will have fuel squirting out again. Your next step would be to check spark, the easiest way to do this is remove the spark plug and connect it to the wire and turn the engine over(make sure the plug is touching a ground), you can also use a screwdriver instead of the spark plug to check the wire. The next step would be to check the ignition mod. to do this just disconnect the ign. wire from the dissy but allow it to still spark and crank the engine.

Remember to not allow the battery to get low keep a charger on it if possible.

P.S. If none of these are the problem please pm me and i will assist you as much as I can.

[RobMilkshakes]

thanks a lot guys, now I'll have some places to start.

well, time to go out side and check stuff out.

first checking t see if the dizzy is spinning, then moving on to other stuff. Also pulled a code this morning that wasn't present before, I'm not sure if its a coincidence or not, but its too insignificant to cause this. it was code 24 (IAT sensor) and I had noticed the wire was broken at the connector when I went to pull the code, I'll have to fix that, but I doubt its related....

[RobMilkshakes]

yep, took off the cap, rotor did not spin while cranking the engine. looks like timing belt is shot :/

[RobMilkshakes]

well engine is half ripped apart, looks like my suspicion of a leaking cam seal was true and probably contributed greatly to the timing belts demise.

[93celicaconv]

Good thing about these Toyota engines, they are non-interference! The only timing belt issue I ever had was on a VW, and of course, that was an interference engine, so valves were belt and the head was cracked. That won't happen on your engine. And yes, when the valves no longer open & close when the engine turns over, it sounds like the whine of an electric motor, even pitch, when trying to start it. That is usually never a good sound.

[RobMilkshakes]

well some toyota engines. good thing I didn't have a 3SG(T)E, 4AGE, etc.

and yeah just cranking it, I knew it didn't sound right.

She's back together now, running like a champ again. I had small hopes that it would also fix my lack of heat (replaced water pump too), but no luck. The core has good flow through it, heater control valve and HVAC (the ones that direct air flow in the dash)valves are all operating, new thermostat, plenty of coolant, still only a slight hint of heat :/

[gorckat]

Does the coolant system need a burp? The 7th gens can get finicky with a little air in the line and necessitate and good burp...

[RobMilkshakes]

yeah, she could probably use one, last good shot other than possibly replacing the heater core (the only thing I can think of it that its partially clogged, could just have a big ole air bubble in most of it though). I'll probably go see one of my commercial account customers tomorrow and see if he is busy, since he has (I'm not sure of the actual name) a large pump which sucks the coolant system completely down, collapsing every hose then you place the outlet in like a couple gallons of coolant and reverse the pump, no more air!

[93celicaconv]

Companies like Prestone make flush kits, which are generally used to flush out all old coolant. But, because there is a tee in the heater hose line, if you have this tee at the top of the hose, open the tee cap, make sure your HVAC temperature is set to hot (keeps the coolant flow valve to the heater core open), and then start filling the radiator with coolant until the coolant starts coming out of the tee, put the tee cap back, then fill the radiator the rest of the way, this tends to reduce the chances of having air in the heater core.

You said you know you have good flow through the heater core. Did you try flushing the heater core backwards? Sometimes doing this will get some of the cross-flow tubes to open up. But if you are getting good coolant flow through it now, maybe the core is plugged in terms of letting air get through it from the outside? If this is the case, your air flow should be a lot lower when your HVAC control is set to hot compared when set to cold, so that would be a check. And if the air flow is very low when your HVAC control is set to hot, you will have to remove the heater core to clean the outside of it properly - kind of a big job.

[RobMilkshakes]

no air flow is fine through HVAC, have flushed the system, and did try it backwards. I am really at a loss. At this point, I've just gotten used to wearing my hoodie under my jacket lol