1997 Chevy Truck Engine Not Firing

JOHNNA18

MEMBER
1997 CHEVROLET TRUCK
V8
4WD
AUTOMATIC
197,000 MILES

Had to replace heads and intake gasket on my 97 Chevy Truck.

The engine will turn over, but it will not fire. New plugs, plug wires, new distributor, new rotary button, new distributor cap. Push Rods were adjusted, Valves were seated, Timing was set and NO FIRE.

Confirmed that crank shaft sensor (all sensors really) is plugged up, so I'm at a loss. Any help you can give me is greatly appreciated.

3 Replies

PEAR69

MECHANIC
1,482 POSTS

You cannot set the timing on this engine without the engine running. Setting the timing requires the use of a scan tool that can do this proceedure. How did you set the timing? How did you re-install the distributer? When you say no fire do you mean no spark? If no spark check the ignition module. Autozone or a place like that will do this for free. Let me know how you make out.

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Saturday, December 1st, 2007 AT 9:16 PM

JOHNNA18

MEMBER
2 POSTS

Thanks for the info. Yes, I do mean no spark. I had to replace one of the heads. We had the truck cranked before we did this. Now, when you turn the motor over, all it does is spin, you can smell the gas but there is no spark.

Shade tree mechanic way of setting the timing I guess you could say.# 1 spark plug up, set the rotary button at a diagonal to the # spark plug. And it did crank the first time we did this, the problem happened after the head was swapped out.

Where is the ignition module located on this truck?

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Sunday, December 2nd, 2007 AT 6:58 PM

PEAR69

MECHANIC
1,482 POSTS

Ok, the ignition module is located on the same mounting plate as the coil. It has two very small bolts holding it to a plate with fins on it. I think the bolts have 6mm heads or something that small. Make sure you test it, Autozone or a place like that will test it for free.
The distributer check this just to be sure you have it installed close enough to fire. Bring no.1 cylinder up to TDC on the compression stroke. Take off the distributer cap. Look at the rotor and make sure it is pointing at the number 8 or an arrow stamped on the base of the distributer cap. By base, I mean the base where the cap screws down too. There is also a 6 stamped on this base ( for a V6 ) so look closely. If the rotor is way off make sure you are on the compression stroke. If it's just a little off re-install the distributer so the rotor points at this mark. Even with all this, once you start the engine, it's blind luck if the timing is set right. You must take it to someone that has a scan tool that can set the timing to + or - 2 degrees from TDC. A timing light doesn't work because the computer advances the spark automaticly. It's not like the old days. Keep me posted.

BTW what do you mean by cranked the truck? Just wondering.

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Sunday, December 2nd, 2007 AT 11:59 PM