Why won't it start again after we "fixed" it last night?

Tiny
BILL FOR
  • MEMBER
  • 1999 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN
  • 175 MILES
It ran ok last night; stopped to allow more antifreeze to fill radiator. Same problem; no start; diesel, two pufs after cranking. Set no. 1 to TDC, removed dist. Cap; rotor in same position as was the distributor.
Fuel line pressure about 55 psi and plenty of spark, smell gas in exhaust after cranking.
(this is the same problem as we "fixed" last night.)
Sunday, September 30th, 2012 AT 3:12 PM

11 Replies

Tiny
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  • MECHANIC
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Did it overheat? Diesel? Please explain.

Roy
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Friday, October 4th, 2019 AT 3:42 PM
Tiny
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It overheated a little; not near the red line.
The dieseling is after cranking; about 2 pufs.
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Friday, October 4th, 2019 AT 3:42 PM
Tiny
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Ok, you re checked the fuel pressure and it is still 55 lbs?

Did you check spark at the plug while cranking as well.

The puffs of smoke, were they white? Asking as possible coolant in the cylinders.

Roy
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Friday, October 4th, 2019 AT 3:42 PM
Tiny
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Fuel pressure still 55.
Checked two plugs, 1 & 3 and also the coil; great spark.
No smoke, just that the engine tried to run after cranking as it did when the timing was off by one tooth.
Did you see all the messages from last night?
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Friday, October 4th, 2019 AT 3:42 PM
Tiny
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Ok, one thought, is the distributor tight? Did it loosen up and move which would change timing?

Roy
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Friday, October 4th, 2019 AT 3:42 PM
Tiny
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I guess the next thing to do is remove all the plugs, put a rag near the hole and crank; see if any coolant appears.
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Friday, October 4th, 2019 AT 3:42 PM
Tiny
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The distributor is tight and did not move; checked alignment this morning (i have a paint mark that I can align with a 6 inch scale.)
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Friday, October 4th, 2019 AT 3:42 PM
Tiny
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Did you check the distributor?

Roy
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Friday, October 4th, 2019 AT 3:43 PM
Tiny
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It always ran regardless where the distributor was set; all it ever had to be was close to it's orig position.
What else is to check on the distributor? It's new.
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Friday, October 4th, 2019 AT 3:43 PM
Tiny
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The only issue might be the crankshaft/camshaft sensors. A garage tried to set the relationship when we were trying to determine the cause of the skip and crankshaft/camshaft error codes.
Does the diagnostic tool need to reset the computer? I disconnected the batteries; no change.
There was no coolant in the cylinders, but gas on the plugs.
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Friday, October 4th, 2019 AT 3:43 PM
Tiny
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I didn't like the way the connector attached to the camshaft sensor on the distributor. So I replaced the pick-up sensor on the new distributor with the old one.
The old chevy engine sounds like new.
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Friday, October 4th, 2019 AT 3:43 PM

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