Trying to revive a sleeping midget

[Solmangrundy]

So i just got me a 1993 festiva, its EFI, its also been sitting

So far i've replaced the fuel pump, filters, and TPS sensor as those were obviously broken parts.

Turn-key, cranks fine, all info-lights on dash illuminated. Can hear the new fuel pump whining away.

Checked spark with a plug-in tester. Bulb flashed on all 4. Good.
Pulled spark plugs, all 4 wet with fuel.
Dropped engine and checked if timing was correct, it was.
Checked the air-door on the air-filter sensor 0 gunk and swings open easy.

Have not ran a compression check yet.

Looking for some more "test" info to run on this car to hunt down this no-start issue im having. If anyone has any pointers.

Thanks.

[ryanprins13]

Check your sprk next. Was it sitting because it quit running? Could be a bad distributor

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[Solmangrundy]

Guy i got it from was pretty shadey, typical "oh yeah i did this n that and it ran when we parked it" belts look good, tires almost new, and there was fresh gasket maker on the valve cover so it has atleast had a parts-shotgun taken to it lol. This also makes me suspect that he re-assembled some stuff wrong.

Took the cap off of the distributor, pretty clean inside.

Also noticed that the distributor swivels, how do you get the correct position? Haynes manual just assumes you're taking off the old one and to "mark" the position. I suspect this distributor isnt even in its correct position.

[radi8u]

The rotor in the distributor can be put in facing the wrong direction too. Check TDC and see if it's pointing the right way.

BTW, welcome to the forum :fofd:

[Doug Brown]

Could also be the master fuse. Under the hood on the drivers side of the engine bay on the shock tower there is a master fuse box that has 3 fuses in it. The fuses are wire, not what we normally thing of as a fuse. You need an extra long push in fuse (AutoZone sells them $5 each) for I think it is a Mazda.

The one that usually causes all the problems is the center one, which also controls the windshield wipers. You need a 30-amp plug in fuse for it - the other two are 20-amp. Simplest to just change them all and be done with it.

[WmWatt]

The distrbutor should not swivel. That would set the ignition timing off. It should be fixed in one postition. Someone else will be able to tell you how to tighten it. Not knowing what else to do I'd try setting it at the midpoint. When the engine is at top dead centre on the compression stroke the rotor on top of the distributor should be pointing to the cylinder #1 igniton wire.

[Rick the Quick]

I would check the ignition and the cam timing also. The previous owner may have replaced the timing belt and he may have failed to line the marks up. It's been a while since I did a timing belt on my daily driver and without seeing the marks in front of me I can't tell you exactly what the marks are. However what you are looking to achieve is to bring the number 1 cylinder to TDC of the compression stroke and then check the position of the camshaft pulley. The camshaft pulley has a mark that needs to align to a mark on the cylinder head. When you verify that the cam is lined up as described with the No. 1 cylinder at TDC your distributor rotor should be pointing to the No. 1 terminal on the distributor cap. Loosen the hold down bolt and rotate the distributor housing to achieve this. If you have compression and the spark is timed properly or even close, it should run. One other thing to check is that the plug wires are in the correct positions in the cap. The distributor rotates counter clockwise. When you locate #1 the next position should be 3, then 4, then 2. It's simple to check the wires yet I have seen many cars that wouldn't run right because the careless mechanic didn't pay attention to the wire positions. If you don't have a repair manual you should pick one up. My old Haynes manual is literally coming apart. I bought a genuine Ford factory manual, actually two manuals off of eBay for $19.99 including shipping. The main manual covers the entire car and the second manual is specifically for electrical and vacuum. Check the timing as I described and report back here if it still does not run. There's a lot of talent on this forum and I am sure we can help if you ask. Good luck!

[Solmangrundy]

It seems to be timed right, dropped the engine down and checked the bottom pulley. Its mark/knub its straight up, along with the top gear marks being alined in its L fashion. Distributor is hitting the #1 mark and #1 piston is at TDC.

Was watching a video and it mentioned the cam sensor causing no-start issues currently looking into that. Is there any replacememts for it, or is replacing the entire distributor the only "replacement" for the cam sensor?

Sometimes it'll attempt to start, rmp's go up a bit for a second, but its more of a cough than an actual attempt to come to life from the engine

[firebush357]

It seems to be timed right, dropped the engine down and checked the bottom pulley. Its mark/knub its straight up, along with the top gear marks being alined in its L fashion. Distributor is hitting the #1 mark and #1 piston is at TDC.

Was watching a video and it mentioned the cam sensor causing no-start issues currently looking into that. Is there any replacememts for it, or is replacing the entire distributor the only "replacement" for the cam sensor?

Sometimes it'll attempt to start, rmp's go up a bit for a second, but its more of a cough than an actual attempt to come to life from the engine

If you can do a compression test it will tell if it is in time or not. I have noticed that a lot of time it looks like they are in time but they are actually 1 tooth off on the cam sprocket. If you are hitting under 130 psi on all of the cylinders you are 1 tooth off, good numbers should be around 150 - 200 psi

[Solmangrundy]

Just got my compression test kit in. Readings are as follows.

Cyl 1: 0psi
Cyl 2: 122.5psi
Cyl 3: 0psi
Cyl 4: 139psi

Guess i found my no start problem. Where to go from here? Still a timing issue, or do i need to pull the valve cover/head and look at the valves?

Thinking the ol previous owner might've parked it because the timing belt broke and bent up some valves.

[bravekozak]

Remove valve cover and post a picture.
0 compression is unusual.
If you place your thumb over the open spark plug hole 1 and 3, you feel no pressure at all?

[WmWatt]

I'd drop the oil pan and see if there is a piston in #1 and #3.
Did the seller say the car was running? If so there's something wrong with the readings.
Any problems screwing the compression guage into the spark plug holes?
The compression guage should have a release valve. Check it's working okay and not sticking open?

[firebush357]

Those are some odd numbers you got there.... Good thing is that this engine is non interference and will not bend valves if the timing belt breaks. I would start by pulling the Valve Cover and see if there are valves stuck open from the top, if you can't find anything from the top you may need to pull the head off and see what is going on. Maybe run the test again to make sure it your valve on the compression gauge wasn't stuck open?

You may still be off a tooth looking at the other two numbers but I think you have bigger issues for now.

[Solmangrundy]

Welp, definitely looks like its been sitting, as for the story of the previous owner your guess is as good as mine. Guy was previously in jail, car sat and had all his crap in it so my guess is, it ran when parked, he went to jail, it sat, got gummed the f$!# up, he got out, tried to fix it, found out it was beyond his skill/affordability and then traded it off to me.

My other guess is it overheated, blew a gasket, and then sat, but the radiator is still holding water and there's no milk in the oil pan, meh. Will pull the head just to see what it looks like, if he got this far in tearing it down, im pretty sure the bafoon reused the old head gasket.

[Rick the Quick]

Before you go any further I would do a cylinder leak down test. There are videos on You Tube that show how to do it. Basically you will connect an air hose to each cylinder via the spark plug hole with the cylinder at TDC on the compression stroke. On the 2 cylinders with no compression you will hear the air escaping as a loud hissing sound. You will probably hear the air coming out the exhaust which would indicate your exhaust valves are stuck open. Air escaping through the intake indicates intake valve problems. Broken rings or pistons and you will hear the air escaping through the oil filler cap. If you are getting zero compression you probably have valves that are not closing completely. Even with broken rings you will have some compression. Cylinder leak down testers can usually be found at Auto Zones or O Rileys and are usually available as loaners. You will need a small compressor for air. I would try this before pulling the head. Even with a bad head gasket you will usually see some compression. Keep us posted and good luck!