Another Crank But No Start Thread

[Igoo65]

I have a 1997 Wrangler with a 4.0 and a 5 speed, 186,000 miles, the engine was replaced in January. I was driving the Jeep when I had a miss-shift and the engine reved to around 3500 rpm. I lost oil pressure and the engine was missing very badly. I shut it off and towed it home. A P0320 code popped up, I replaced the crank position sensor with a Mopar unit. While in the engine bay I noticed the hold down tab on the distributor was broken. I replaced the distributor (aftermarket Orielly's). I am getting spark at the coil and all spark plugs. I have checked the compression and I am at 140-145 on all cylinders. I have 50 psi on the fuel rail (fuel pump replaced in January). I can hear the fuel pump relay turn on and off and the injectors are clicking. Does anyone have any ideas on what might cause this thing not to start. I am at my wicks end! Help! And yes I have read all of the solutions on all of the forums>

Thank you,
Igoo65

 

[Boinked]

My best guess is a miss alignment on the distributor. Double check top dead center on number one cylinder is aligned with the distributor.

 

[Igoo65]

It is aligned. That was the first thing I checked. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Boinked]

The next thing I would try is shoot starting fluid in the intake. If it starts (briefly) then you have injectors not adding fuel.

 

[Igoo65]

I did that and nothing happened. I'm not sure what that means.

 

[Budonahog]

Is it possible you jumped a gear on timing chain?

 

[Igoo65]

I'm not sure. Is there any way to tell without tearing the whole front of the engine off?

 

[Budonahog]

I'm not sure. Is there any way to tell without tearing the whole front of the engine off?

I'm not entirely sure. I don't think you would have to remove a lot to just check it.

 

[Daryl]

the hold down tab on the distributor was broken.

Do you happen to have a picture of the broken distributor? What did the distributor gear look like? Also, what did the camshaft gear that drives the distributor look like? While cranking the engine does the oil pressure gauge needle rise?

 

[Igoo65]

As you can see from the pictures of the distributor, the hold down tab is what broke. The tab that fits into the oil pump and the drive gear are in good shape. The oil pressure is around 40 psi when I crank the engine over.

 

[Daryl]

As you can see from the pictures of the distributor, the hold down tab is what broke. The tab that fits into the oil pump and the drive gear are in good shape. The oil pressure is around 40 psi when I crank the engine over.
View attachment 106957
View attachment 106958

Just trying to figure out why the hold-down broke. What I would do at this point is pull the number one spark plug and turn the engine over by hand to TDC and make sure the timing mark on the balancer lines up. Use a piece of wire through the spark plug hole so you know the piston is at the top of it’s compression stroke.

 

[Igoo65]

I did that already and everything lines up. It is on TDC on the compression stroke and the distributor is pointing at the number one post.

 

[Daryl]

I did that already and everything lines up. It is on TDC on the compression stroke and the distributor is pointing at the number one post.

Remove the valve cover and watch the rocker arms on the number one cylinder while turning it over by hand and see if the valves are both closed at TDC.

 

[Igoo65]

I will do that. I probably wont be able to report back. I go out of town on business tomorrow for a week. I will do it when I get home. Thanks for your help.

 

[Daryl]

I will do that. I probably wont be able to report back. I go out of town on business tomorrow for a week. I will do it when I get home. Thanks for your help.

No problem. Unfortunately at that mileage a worn timing chain isn’t out of the question. Please report back. Still wondering why the mount broke . If we can figure that out, that will probably lead us to the real problem, because a broken distributor hold down is unusual.

 

[Daryl]

My best guess is a miss alignment on the distributor. Double check top dead center on number one cylinder is aligned with the distributor.

I think you may be right.

It is aligned. That was the first thing I checked. Thanks for the suggestion.

I know you said you checked to make sure the distributor was installed (timed) correctly but I think this is worth revisiting. That TDC mark lines up on the exhaust stroke too. You really need to remove the number one spark plug and put your thumb/finger over the hole while turning it over by hand until you feel the compression. Then insert a piece of wire through the hole and continue to rotate the engine until the wire stops rising. Then look at the timing marks.

 

[Igoo65]

@Daryl, that is the procedure I used to determine I was on TDC on the compression stroke. Just to remind everyone, this is a brand new engine that was installed in January.

 

[Daryl]

@Daryl, that is the procedure I used to determine I was on TDC on the compression stroke. Just to remind everyone, this is a brand new engine that was installed in January.

I did read past that. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. As you probably already know you only need three things for an engine to run. Compression, fuel and spark. They all have to happen at the right times. I would still revisit the distributor install one more time before I removed the valve cover. While you have the distributor out, take a picture of the cam gear that runs the distributor.