95 legacy wont start! please help

[ubar legacy]

so after timing it time after time, got a new belt and tensioner and stuff.. got it running GREAT! it was actually the night MN got the blizzard.. it was fun. :) then the day after, drove it to work and it ran great still. then after sitting outside from 2 to 9, I went to start it to let it warm up and it made this sound like something was spinning (starter maybe?) but nothing else happened.. its dont this a few random times before. so i tried again, this time it almost started, then started trying to fire, but it just wasnt happening.. it seemed to have a rhythm to it kinda, so i dont think the timing is off.. i did try starting it with the gas pedal to the floor to shut off the injectors.. still doesnt start. it does randomly pop.. and sometimes it sounds like the starter is making a weird noise..

any suggestions on what this could be?!?

Please help me with this!! this is my daily driver, and only car right now.. im currently using my mom's car, and its a big inconvenience..

Thanks in advance for your help!

[Baddog]

Check to make sure plugs and wires are on all the way. I know my plug wires have to be pushed in fairly hard and make a "pop" noise otherwise it will misfire. So just do a check in on that.

Youtube starter noises to see if it is your starter.

[ubar legacy]

ok. I will check that again tomorrow after class.
Also, I did do the neon coil pack mod a month or 2 ago.. idk if that could have anything to do with it...?

[ShadowGT]

ok. I will check that again tomorrow after class.
Also, I did do the neon coil pack mod a month or 2 ago.. idk if that could have anything to do with it...?

That's a cut and splice operation isn't it? If it is make sure the connection from igniter to the coil pack is still intact and didn't come apart.
What condition is the battery? I mean you're in a blizzard, I imagine it might be so cold it's effecting the battery. Tried jump starting the car or taking a volt meter to the battery to see if it's retaining a charge?

Before going off the deep end, just look at it simply as "car won't start." Diagnose from that viewpoint. Check battery, check connection to starter. Check coil pack, plugs. Harbor Freight sells voltmeters for less than 10 bucks and they're easy to operate and figure out. Test the battery, check it's connections.

The fact that it tries to start but won't sort of makes me think battery.
It's been getting down to the 20's here in Texas, I know my car has a hard time initially starting at that temp. In my case at this temp it sounds like it takes a split second more than usual to start. Otherwise it just fires up.

[jey]

Yeah check that you're getting spark, and also check that you're getting fuel. How old is the fuel filter? Is the fuel pump priming?

[ubar legacy]

I just performed a vat40 test at school recently.. Battery is great. I plan to check for spark after school.. Not sure when the fuel filter was last replaced.. But would that make it all of a sudden not start?

[ShadowGT]

I just performed a vat40 test at school recently.. Battery is great. I plan to check for spark after school.. Not sure when the fuel filter was last replaced.. But would that make it all of a sudden not start?

If the fuel filter is old and nasty inside.

[ubar legacy]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFMsA0xe9gk
This was a vid I took of what it was doing yesterday. Most of the time it will pop and whatnot too.. I dont think it really does that in the vid..and I just put new spark plugs in it last night before this video cause the ones in it were nasty

[ShadowGT]

You don't have the accessory belt on? I see nothing on the alternator. I guess that really doesn't matter since you have a battery charger plugged in.

So you're getting power. You're getting spark I think because the engine is trying to fire. Starter is fine. Maybe you're not getting fuel flow? Something is missing from the combustion equation. I'd like to say fuel since it's sputtering.
Check fuel pump, fuel filter.

[ubar legacy]

its getting plenty of fuel.. i think its just not getting the right mixture at the right time or something... seems like i get detonation sometimes when trying to start it.. (didnt really happen in this vid though..)

[green97gt]

smell really gassy? it should if your getting fuel...

[ubar legacy]

yes sir, it does.

the other night it smelt like a snowmobile.. lol

[ubar legacy]

soo...my buddy looked at it again today, and i have a mechanic/family friend coming over tonight to hopefully confirm it, but we think its the tensioner pulley.. it looks like it has wear on it.. and my brand new belt has the print on it (timing marks and the other printing on it) is fading already... so we think its occasionally siezing or something

[JunkerXL]

im almost positive your timing belt and the timing pulleys need to be changed :smt013 . i had prez that did the same thing. i might be wrong here, but im fairly certain that the beefy hydraulic arm that tensions that thing is fine... :lol: i have never actually seen one of those die before, though im sure it happens and parts DO wear out. i bet the belt is dead, possibly as a result of the bearings in the cogs failing. it prolly has a fast-ish "chi-chi chi-chi chi-chi" sound if it's cranking, yes? sort of like normal, but a bit faster and not quite right :smt017 . if this is the case it explains your symptoms pretty easily, off timing will cause a weird crank, occasional pops and a fuel smell, as well as a no start condition. i found this out a few of times, usually the hard way.

order a timing KIT if this is indeed what failed (if the timing is off at all, i'd order the timing kit anyway, just to be safe, and have all new timing pulleys). they cost a shade over a hundred bucks, but it's worth it not to take 3 or 4 unscheduled trips to the salvage yard to hunt pulleys and then go buying new belts all the time.

hope that helps :smt023




:smt020

[ubar legacy]

it is a new belt..
and I did get it running tonight.....although idk if I trust it yet... lol
all we did was time it and make sure it was really tight... i have a feeling its an intermittent problem that may happen again... but who knows

[Perkul8r]

order a timing KIT if this is indeed what failed (if the timing is off at all, i'd order the timing kit anyway, just to be safe, and have all new timing pulleys). they cost a shade over a hundred bucks, but it's worth it not to take 3 or 4 unscheduled trips to the salvage yard to hunt pulleys and then go buying new belts all the time.

hope that helps

Sorry to thread jack, but where did you find a timing kit for a shade over $100. I went to Oriellys here in town and for all the timing belt idlers and belt it was like $334. Subaru wanted $511 here for the same thing.

[ubar legacy]

order a timing KIT if this is indeed what failed (if the timing is off at all, i'd order the timing kit anyway, just to be safe, and have all new timing pulleys). they cost a shade over a hundred bucks, but it's worth it not to take 3 or 4 unscheduled trips to the salvage yard to hunt pulleys and then go buying new belts all the time.

hope that helps

Sorry to thread jack, but where did you find a timing kit for a shade over $100. I went to Oriellys here in town and for all the timing belt idlers and belt it was like $334. Subaru wanted $511 here for the same thing.
^this.

[Perkul8r]

Actually, the only place i found them that cheap was on Ebay. And i am sure it would be ok for a while, but not sure if i would trust them for a long period of time.

[ouch1011]

Ignition timing was off/over advanced before, thats why it was cranking like that (hear how it was stopping/kicking back?)

If the cam timing was OK, the only other things to cause that are the cam/crank sensors or their reluctor rings.

[JunkerXL]

ebay, but i was looking at a single cam kit, so that may explain the price difference :lol: . still go with the kit if possible. :smt023




:smt020