'90 Civic Wagon 2WD AT, no start

My beloved brownie died on me last September 2016.. It was running fine one day, the next day no start. It sounds like it cranks faster than usual, which led me to believe the timing belt had broke, but it is ok.

Things I have tried so far:

New Dizzy (had one so why not)
Checked fuses, found one 15A burnt out, replaced, still no start
Cracked fuel pressure relief bolt on the fuel filter, pressurized fuel seemed to be present,
Turn key to "on" I think I hear the fuel pump priming the line
no CEL's

Other info

Had the car in the shop in December 2016, mech told me one of the cylinders was pretty much shot (30 psi iirc) the engine (210K) has used alot of oil for awhile now and would be a little hard to start (crank for 10 secs or so) sometimes.
Car was started up in October of 2015 after sitting for over a year, with no fuel treatment. It threw a CEL back then (didnt see what code), ran like crap for awhile on the old gas, then ran fine until September 2016

Next

Gonna try replacing the fuel filter and see what happens, I have no record of the last time it has been replaced. I have one on hand anyways.
Gonna check for spark again when I get another person to help me

Thoughts? This car is an ugly wreck (2 deer strikes so far) but its fun to drive around, when it runs. Any help is appreciated.

Comments

  • bkmc24bkmc24 Senior Wagonist
    So, instead of throwing money at it, do some tests. IF one of the cylinders was "low on compression," why not compression and leak down before buying more stuff?
  • I haven't thrown any money at it yet. I know the engine is on its way out and was hoping to get some more miles out of it. I have a junkyard engine that I might put in it when the first one is totally gone. Going to check for spark when I can get another person to help me.


    I guess what I am wanting to know is, what would cause it to run fine one day, then be dead the next day... any EF/EE specific issues I should be aware of?
  • GriftyGrifty Wagonist
    Have you checked the actual timing of the motor? Maybe the timing belt skipped a few teeth.
  • bkmc24bkmc24 Senior Wagonist
    The_Head wrote: »
    I haven't thrown any money at it yet. I know the engine is on its way out and was hoping to get some more miles out of it. I have a junkyard engine that I might put in it when the first one is totally gone. Going to check for spark when I can get another person to help me.


    I guess what I am wanting to know is, what would cause it to run fine one day, then be dead the next day... any EF/EE specific issues I should be aware of?

    Only thing I have ever had happen was a bad ICM in the dizzy, which kept blowing coils, but it died mid drive.
  • shelbydaveshelbydave Band Wagon
    Pull a plug and put it back in the wire and turn it downside up so you can crank it and see if the plug has spark
  • How do you know the timing belt is OK?

    Out 2001 Civic died just like you described. We assumed TB broke. Peaked through the valve cover while cranking and could see the cam moving so "assumed" it was OK.

    TB had slipped. I don't know how much. I do know enough to not run but not enough to bend valves. New TB and car ran great. Dodged a bullet.

    Point is - it might look OK but not be OK.
  • Oh Hi,

    I just got done doing that and came to update the thread... pulled the VC to see if everything was moving, etc. It was. Still dont know if the belt skipped or not but will check that later, maybe. I also checked the spark, nice fat spark. So we fed it some starting fluid. Nothing, nothing at all. I have the day off tomorrow so I think I will try and get a compression tester and see how its doing there.
  • HaydzHaydz Moderator
    Air, Fuel, Compression, Ignition, Timing

    Two down, three to go. :)
  • The_HeadThe_Head familEE
    Come on, how would it not be getting air?

    So what happened when the car died is I drove it back and forth to work (60 miles), turned it off went inside, etc. Next morning, no start. Could it have skipped timing going down the highway? Just wondering. I'm waiting on a compression checker to become available to get the numbers there.
  • HaydzHaydz Moderator
    Easy, people leave rags inside the intake, water can hydrolock in a lower part of the intake etc.

    Those are the components to a running engine and air is easy to check, silly to overlook it, even if it's almost as silly to check... :)
  • The_HeadThe_Head familEE
    Yep it jumped timing. Has about 35K on the current Timing Belt and Water Pump. Going to have it put back in timing and hopefully I can another year out of it
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