Replaced valve cover and spark plug gaskets, engine started and shut off after a few minutes

Welcome to 2CarPros.

It's odd that it happened 10 minutes after the valve cover gasket replacement. Make sure nothing as far as wiring to the distributor is damaged, disconnected, pinched and so on.

Next, there is a pick-up coil and an igniter which can be the issue. My first suspect would be the pick up coil. The first pic below is a wiring schematic of the ignition system. The remaining pictures correlate with the directions related to the pick up coil test.

Because of the distributor position in correlation with the valve cover, make sure nothing was damaged as far as wiring.

____________________________________________________________

Here are the directions for testing the pick up coil:

____________________________________________________________

1989 Toyota Corolla Sedan L4-1587cc 1.6L DOHC (4A-GE)
Pick-Up Coil Test
Vehicle Powertrain Management Ignition System Pick-Up Coil Testing and Inspection Component Tests and General Diagnostics Pick-Up Coil Test
PICK-UP COIL TEST
***UPDATED BY TSB# EN91-007, JUNE 1991

Primary Coil Wire Connector

Pic 2

1. Disconnect the wiring connector near the distributor.

2. Connect one end of an ohmmeter to the G+ terminal. Connect the other end to the G- terminal.

G Pickup Coil Resistance: 130 - 210 ohms

3. Connect one end of an ohmmeter to the Ne+ terminal. Connect the other end to the NE- terminal.

NE Pickup Coil Resistance: 130 - 210 ohms

Pickup Coil Air Gap

pic 3

4. Using a non magnetic feeler gauge, measure the gap between the signal rotor and pickup coil projection.

Air Gap: 0.008 - 0.016 in (0.2 - 0.4 mm)

Note: The air gap is not adjustable. If any of the above tests reveal a pick-up coil outside specifications, replace the distributor housing assembly.

_______________________

Let me know what you find.

Joe

Hi,

We need to go back in the system and find out where we have spark/voltage which will tell us what the issue could be. Yes it could be the distributor but as you will see from the attachments there are quite a few components inside the distributor which most are available with out the distributor.

How did you check to see if there was spark?

I included how to test the coil on both the primary and secondary side to see if it is just the coil. Also, the same type of test for the pickup.

Let me know what you find and we can go from there. Thanks

Welcome back:

On many cars, oil pressure can cause the vehicle not to start. However, it has been so long that I just can't remember on this vehicle. I tried to search through manuals but wasn't successful. The only thing I was able to check was the starting system wiring schematic. There is nothing indicating the oil pressure sensor can cause this or is even tied into the starting.

Joe