96 1500 won't start

hello all, new to this forum. I have a 1996 1500 with a 5.0 that doesn't want to start. i've never had a problem with this truck in the past, always started on first turn. last week it started kinda hard and i haven't driven it since then. i went to start it today and all it did was crank. not even a pop. i checked for spark and have that. i checked for fuel, i seem to have that. i even dumped a bit of gas down the throttle, nothing. i'm at a loss here, can't seem to think of what else can be causing this issue. with that said, i've turned to this forum.... any input would be great. thanks in advance.

Welcome to AF, if you have " sufficient' spark and fuel it should start, assuming the internals are good. Sounds like weak spark to me it it wouldn't start as you said, look for cracks or carbon traces on the coil, seen some of those.

thanks, i'll take a look at that tomorrow. i did, however today, take two older plugs , removed the spark plug wires from #1 & #7 and cranked it over. both plugs seemed to have good spark. at this point i'm not ruling anything out. i checked fuel pressure by pushing on the check valve while the pump was building pressure, i've got fuel, it sprayed up to the hood. i'll keep you posted on my findings. again thanks.

If you have a good hot spark and fuel (assuming has good compression) I think I would check to see if the timing chain has jumped time. (How many miles on engine)

If you have a good hot spark and fuel (assuming has good compression) I think I would check to see if the timing chain has jumped time. (How many miles on engine)

the truck has 166,000 miles on it. until last week, it started a bit hard a couple of times, i haven't had any issues with this truck. as stated earlier, i'm not ruling anything out at this point. thanks for this input, i'll let you guys know what i find.

Maybe plugged catalytic converter?

Maybe plugged catalytic converter?

converter was changed 2 years ago, and there seems to be plenty of flow. i also didn't smell the rotten egg smell as of recent. i will keep this in mind though. thanks

I have a 96 Silverado Z71 . Ignition switch stopped working properly. It would turn over fine and again no life. It is a 6.5l diesel but the ignition problem sounds the same. Do the icons on the dash light up when the key is turned to the run positon? If not I would say it needs a new switch and harness. Not a bad fix and it worked in my case.

I have a 96 Silverado Z71 . Ignition switch stopped working properly. It would turn over fine and again no life. It is a 6.5l diesel but the ignition problem sounds the same. Do the icons on the dash light up when the key is turned to the run positon? If not I would say it needs a new switch and harness. Not a bad fix and it worked in my case.
everything lights up when the key is turned on. i have remote start as well and it won't start with that either. thanks for the input.

over this weekend i'm going to dive in and figure this thing out, i will take everyone advice into account.

After checking fuel pressure (55 psi) and replacing the coil, i'm still at ground zero. i have very good spark now and i can smell fuel out the exhaust.

a few of questions: is there a crank position sensor on this? could the EGR be causing this issue? what is the timing suppose to be at and is it adjustable? how can the timing be adjusted if it is adjustable? is 55 psi enough fuel pressure?

i've even gave it a shot of starting fluid, and not even a pop. it just cranks over, and over, and over. i placed my hand over the throat and it had excellent suction. pulled a plug and could smell gas on it. i feel like i'm chasing my tail here. again, thanks everyone for your input.

it's got the service engine light on. the code taken from that is a 1345. anyone one care to give me some input on this?

timing chain has been replaced.

You have a bad fuel pump and the fuel pressure specs are 60 to 66 psi.GMs will not run under the fuel pressure specs.

Change the fuel filter also and that is part of the warrenty on fuel pumps.

fuel pump was replaced less than a year ago and the fuel filter just shortly before that.

besides the service engine light, the truck is running fine now. i can reset the code while the truck is running and it stays out, just the next time i start it, it comes back. i'm going to double check the distributor to make sure i didn't knock it.

Gents, i'm happy to say that it is running correctly now. i figure it was the timing chain that caused the original issue. when reassembling i noticed the rotor off after the new chain was in. remove distributor turned back 1 tooth and it took right off. then got the 1345 code. found that the cam shaft retart needed to be corrected. this was done today, and as stated, it's running as it did before.
i would like to thank everyone for their input, all was useful.