stumped

i have a 96 ford aspire and it died one day after kinda sputtering. It wouldnt start afterward. Its getting spark, getting fuel, i can tell i has compression, WHATS MISSING?
it just keeps cranking like it wants to go but it doesnt.

any help would be appreciated.

thanx
david

is the sprak timing correct? is it carburated or FI? if its FI it may be an ECM problem.

Yea you probably wouldn't just lose compression. It definatly sounds like a timing problem. but it could also be fuel. need more input.

well i know its getting fuel cuz the night it broke down the plugs were fouled out cuz of how much fuel was in them. Its fuel injected and everytime id try to start it the fuel would keep coming in cuz of it being an electonic pump. So i bought new plugs and still nothing.

What do you mean spark timing?

thanx david

What do you mean spark timing?

thanx david
You want the sparkplugs to fire just before the piston reaches Top Dead Center (TDC) of the cylinder. If your timing is set to soon or too late you dont get a good burn in the combustion chamber, therfor you waste gas and in extreme cases you lose power. If your spark isnt timed at the correct time the air/ fuel mixture will not ignite therefor the engine will not turn over. When you changed the plugs did you make sure you had the correct firing order? Perhaps run some fuel injector cleaner through you injectors and see if that helps and check your timing.

sorry i didnt mean to sound stupid but i knew what timing was but i was wondering if spark timing was different.
thanx, ill try it.

well yo ucant just say timing because you cna advance/retard you spark and cams...

oic. i sprayed some chemtool in the injecters and it turned over even faster like it wanted to start even more but didnt. and yeah the plugs are in the right order.

thanx
david

If It Has A Cap And Rotor Try To Replace Both I Had The Same Problem

well mine only have like 15k miles on the cap and rotor, and they seem to still be in good condition but i might go ahead and try that.

cap and rotor look like they havent even been touched. I dont think thats the problem.

thanx
david

HEY!!! Check this before you mess around anymore!!
Check to see that the valves are moving when you crank the engine over. If no valves move, you broke the timing belt/chain/gear. All you have to do to check is take off the oil filler on the valve cover and check that the valves or valve springs move when the engine cranks.

all right...will do tomorrow morning.
thanx
david

well the rockers are moving in there so the timing chain is fine.