August 15, 200619 yr Just replaced the water pump on an '88 Justy and now that I've gotten everything back together, I can't get it to start. It hasn't been started in about 3 weeks and overheated rather badly before it was parked for repairs. Any one have any idea why it won't fire? Thanks, William :-\
August 15, 200619 yr William: Do you have spark? If so, can you hear the fuel pump clicking as it pumps when you first turn the key on? jb
August 15, 200619 yr Author William: Do you have spark? If so, can you hear the fuel pump clicking as it pumps when you first turn the key on? jb Haven't noticed any spark. It's just cranking like it's out of gas. Could the spark plugs be to blame? William
August 15, 200619 yr Could it be possible that when doing the water pump you disconnected a ground and forgot to reattach it?
August 16, 200619 yr Author Okay, Tried changing the plugs just because I really didn't think it would hurt anything and was really needed anyway. While changing the plugs noticed a new symptom. There was moisture on the plugs. Any ideas with this new info,? Head or head gasket gone? Thanks, William
August 16, 200619 yr well if it overheated thats a pretty good assumption u may have popped the headgasket
August 16, 200619 yr Author UH-OH !! Time to do a compression check. HOPEFULLY, it is not bad !! How do I do a compression check if the car won't start. Wouldn't it start if the head gasket is blown? William
August 16, 200619 yr How do I do a compression check if the car won't start. Wouldn't it start if the head gasket is blown? William when doing a compression check,you don't want the engine to start..you just hook up and bump the engine. i had a head gasket completely go and the engine just gushed out oil an coolant.
August 17, 200619 yr Compression test. I always disconnect coil wire first.Remove sparkplugs, & hold throttle linkage fully open. You DON"T want the engine running!! If compression is very bad, or 2-3 cyclinders very weak, it won't start.
August 17, 200619 yr Okay, Tried changing the plugs just because I really didn't think it would hurt anything and was really needed anyway. While changing the plugs noticed a new symptom. There was moisture on the plugs. Any ideas with this new info,? Head or head gasket gone? Thanks, William Define moisture??? If the engine was`nt firing, there will be some moisture on the plugs>>>fuel???
August 18, 200619 yr Author Define moisture??? First thought was water droplets. They weren't soaking wet or anything just little beads of water on them. William
August 18, 200619 yr Author you just hook up and bump the engine. Bump? Does that mean try to start it? William
August 18, 200619 yr Try this link: http://www.motorage.com/motorage/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=16170 jb
August 19, 200619 yr If you are sure that the droplets are water then it would appear that there is a headgasket problem. Fuel doesn't bead up on the plugs like water does, it just soaks the plugs. It sounds like you still haven't checked for spark getting to the plugs yet. Place one of the old ones (if you haven't thrown them away yet) in one of the wires and place the plug on a good engine ground point. Then crank the engine to see if you get spark across the gap.
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