This car has the 1.5 liter 12 valve motor and a five speed transmission. Ran pretty good until a few days ago when it died. the next day it started up and ran ok for about a half a block and then I had to pump the gas to keep it running.
I had bought gas at a dinky budget station that I had never been to before so I suspected bad gas and I put in a new fuel filter which did not help. I then put some Seafoam additive in. After I got it started I revved it up a bit to try and clear things out and then let it idle for an hour or so.
The engine smoothed right out and didn’t idle rough but did not start after I turned it off.
I pulled a plug wire, put in a bolt and tested for spark against the valve cover. Not even a weak spark, nothing. I looked for the coil but there is no coil and I am told that the coil is in the distributor. I also saw a reference online about the crankshaft sensor possibly being the culprit. I have no idea what a crankshaft sensor looks like and the engine compartment is so crowded with hoses, wires and all kinds of things it is real hard to see anything from above. I am wondering if the coil is bad do you have to get a whole distributor ( I was quoted a price of $269 for a new one) or can you take it out of the distributor and replace just the coil.
If anybody out there knows what the problem is or can give me some tips or advice on how to determine exactly what is wrong I would be totally grateful.
I have a brand new 154 piece Craftsman tool kit, but I am 62 years old and back when I learned how to work on cars it was a lot simpler. Now when I open a hood about half the stuff there is unfamiliar to me. So If you have any ideas about what it could be and in particular how to test for a definitive synopsis, please don’t hesitate to give me your thoughts even if it only an educated guess
I can’t afford to buy any more parts that don’t fix the problem, and my other vehicle (Chevy C20 van) is not running that great and gets awful gas mileage. So I am hoping somebody out there can help me. If so then thanks, Rick B
PS The battery is new and I have never ran out of gas with this car, so they are not suspect.
It could indeed be the crankshaft sensor. Because of the no-spark condition, that would be confirming. But are you certain there is no spark? Sometimes the spark can be difficult to see. There are gadgets you can use to make it easier to see. Harbor Freight for one sells them. Inexpensive.
The crankshaft sensor is used to inform the ECM what part of the 360 degree cycle the crankshaft is at. It is often located usually near the crankshaft pulley, in that area. So it can get sprayed with dirty road water, hit by small rocks kicked up by the tires, et. It is not an uncommon thing for these to fail because of where they are located.
If this were my car, I’d double check that there is no spark, and if so, I’d probably consider the crank sensor as a likely suspect. If the engine isn’t up to date with the routine maintenance suggested by the manufacturer, now might be a good time to bring that all up to date too.
For component locations, you need a Chiltons or preferrably a manufacturer’s shop manual for your car. Your local library probably has one for you. If they don’t have the manual, ask if they have the All-Data service, which is an on-line shop manual for most cars.