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420A 1999 GS 2.0 Crank but no start help please.

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rocketman9206

Probationary Member
3
0
Dec 4, 2022
Nevada City, California
My coworker has a 99 Eclipse GS 2.0 that cranks but won't turn over, let me begin with he has been having a intermittent issue with this for a few months (happened twice, but always was able to get it started) until Wednesday when it refused to turn over and start. So being a manual transmission he attempted to pop the clutch by rolling downhill as he has in the past and nothing, so he used a can of starting fluid and sprayed into the air intake, which started the car but it died out, so he had it towed home, determined that the fuel pump was not working and began that repair.

Fast forward to today, fuel pump is replaced, he can hear it activate when turning the key 2 clicks resolving that issue.

However now the car is cranking but won't turn over, even with starting spray, he had the battery tested and it's good, it has a new alternator, however while attempting to restart the car days ago, he tried over and over again to start it with the key, I'm talking 30 plus minutes of trying to do so, the car now seems to have a bit of a sluggish crank, not as fast and sounds quite different. I'm thinking he has stressed out the starter (he believes it's original) he is worried that the timing somehow jumped, but the belt is still in proper tension, no check engine lights have been illuminated prior to or after the fuel pump issue.

He's on a bit of a shoestring budget and is trying to resolve the problem himself, I will take a video and upload that in a bit but in the meantime any ideas of where to go next would be great.

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I'm not a 420A guy so I don't know what they sound like whey cranking.
The standard things to check up front are fuel, spark, and compression.
If the spark plugs are wet get a fresh set.
 
I'm not a 420A guy so I don't know what they sound like whey cranking.
The standard things to check up front are fuel, spark, and compression.
If the spark plugs are wet get a fresh set.
He's so far replaced the fuel pump and spark plugs, still nothing, I will have him check compression next, he is going to pick up the Chilton manual I ordered in the morning. I have scheduled a mechanic to come out next week as well, his timing was off by a tooth or two apparently, so NAPA may have been right by suggesting it may have jumped time.
 
If the timing is off then it must be by 2 teeth. The 420a will still start and run being 1 tooth off but will throw misfire codes and lack power. If you're more than 2 teeth off it would cause valve damage since these are interference engines. I don't think your valves are damaged based on how it struggles to turn over (the 420a spins much quicker than that even with a undersized battery). Usually for it to jump timing there must be a tensioner issue, but you said the belt tension seemed fine. Where were you checking it from? The inspection cover on top? That is only for checking belt condition. Typically when they lose tension it's between the tensioner and intake cam gear. And causes the intake cam gear to skip teeth. The OEM tensioner works from hydraulic pressure and can lose pressure overtime. You can also lose tension from damaged bearings in the idler and tensioner pulley but you would likely notice obnoxious noise first.

If the car needs a timing job done I will recommend switching to a mechanical tensioner and have a mechanic set the proper tension (I say because you don't describe your friend as being mechanically inclined and proper tension is important.) I've had failure from new OEM tensioners after just a few thousand miles. So using a mechanical tensioner is the most reliable option.
 
I definitely at this point think it's the timing, his timing belt actually partially shredded back in November, he had someone come over and was able to replace the timing belt, however auto parts store didn't give the proper kit so he ended up having to put original tensioner and pulleys back on, I'm fairy certain that job was already off very slightly on the timing, the car started but had a rough idle, a very brief check engine light came on a week later for a few minutes and then went off again, no loss of power though, he just went and picked up a Chilton manual for his car and told me this afternoon there were a few things missed. I ordered a new timing kit and my husband will be going over to help him get it reset and done properly, I too don't think he has damaged any valves, we have had some really poor weather and it's been quite cold, I think the timing has moved just enough to create the no spark conditions, he did end up renting a code reader and it shows no previous codes, no current or even any pending codes, the night before this began there was no check engine light, we will at least fix the timing issue and if needed move on from there if the problem is still persisting.
 
I would still start with basics before tearing down timing side, does it have spark and remove fuel line from fuel rail and see if it gets gas, and do compression test, I actually had to do same for mine yesterday when my eclipse didn't start up all the sudden and it was a bad fuel pump.

There's a lot what can be wrong which is easier to change than taking the timing apart, crank/cam sensor, ignition module, clogged fuel filter, iac valve, fuel pump relay, 30a engine fuse in engine compartment...
 
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