92 GT 1.8 cranks but won't start..

Hi all. I have a 1992 Ford Escort GT with the 1.8 engine and a 5-speed manual transmission. My problem is that it won't start. I'm pretty much a do-it-yourselfer but I've had it in the shop twice now and both times they got it running, it lagged really bad and died the next day. I've replaced the transmission (unrelated), I've checked for fuel pressure and I know I have it all the way up to the fuel filter mounted on the firewall. I know that the injectors are firing (I have a noid light set). I know the valve and ignition timing are dead-nuts perfect, and that I have substantial compression. It cranks strong, I just replaced the cap and distributor rotor, replaced the starter, timing belt, serpentine belt, idler pulley, belt tensioner. I installed a push button starter and replaced the fuel pump and filter. New plugs and wires. Plenty of fuel, compression, and spark.

I did run through some water the night i started having problems, and if you're familiar with that model, the maf sensor is mounted to the air box. It blew out a great plume of white smoke and ran like shit for a mile or two, but it finally got better and began to run normal. I went to work the next day, came home and parked it without any problems and the next day I went to fire it up and nothing happened- it just cranked. I thought I had ran out of fuel. So I went and got some gas and tried again and it cranked until the battery died. Nothing. So I had it towed to a shop that is supposed to be pretty reputable and they, right away, wanted to replace the push button starter and give me a new ignition switch. They were feeding me some line like it was backfeeding the electrical current and overloading my ignition control module. So I had them replace that, and he said the rotor was 180 degrees out so by the end of the day they somehow got it running. It ran like shit but it was runnning. I drove it to work the next day and on the way home it began to die on the highway. It wouldn't mess up if I pushed in the clutch, but every time I hit the gas it would die a little more. Until finally, it came to a painful rest. And that's where I am today. I had it towed back home and now I'm at my wit's end. Help! Please!:banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

Have you checked in the airbox to see if it is holding water, or if the filter is wet? Maybe air is still not getting through?
Sounds like you know your stuff so I will assume you have the timing correct...
Have you tried to hotwire it in any way to bypass the ignition or other components and rule them out as the problem?
Have you visually inspected that MAF sensor or tried to check it with a known good one?
Did you replace the plugs before or after you started having trouble? Are you sure they didn't get messed up by the water? Are they gapped correctly?

Yeah.. I forgot to mention that.. whe I opened the airbox, the filter was sopping wet. I did dry that and spray it out with brake parts cleaner...I know the ignition and valve timing is dead nuts on... I also had someone spray the cleaner in the air inlet tube while I cranked and it did manage to start and died when he stopped spraying... sounds like a fuel problem, huh?? But I am getting fuel all the way to the injectors... The plugs are gapped correctly... Can't remembe but i thnk I gapped them at .045 (.002 over)

Well if after getting all the water out it still is not starting, I would assume that the sensors in the airbox or possibly at the intake manifold have been damaged by the water.
I am still assuming that the plugs were replaced AFTER you went through the water?

Yeah. I did replace the spark plugs, The shop also changed them with some NGK V-Power plugs. Also when I replaced the plugs, I dry fired the engine to dry out the cylinders. The guy at the shop did the VAF (Vane Air Flow) meter was getting a weak signal, but that's a pretty expensive trial and error thing. Now I know that having a faulty Engine Coolant Temp Sensor on a GM could cause the Vehicle not to start, is it the same with Ford?? I asked a couple of guys here at work if it mattered if it wasn't hooked up (the connector broke) and they said they didn't know. I'm going to try to hit up the electrical guru for a ECTS connector that I can splice onto the old wire to see if that could very well be the problem. What other sensors do you know of that could become faulty in that line of fire?? (between the air box and up to the throttle body, and possibly beyond). By the way, I do work at a Ford Dealership (so I should have this thing licked by now, but anyway) so I do have the resources to test different things. But I think it's kind of wierd that it started and ran for a whole day even after the sensors and everything in that group got wet... Could a vane air airflow meter be the culprit? I just think it would be a pretty expensive way to find out if that's the thing. How do you test those by the way?? Hey thanks for all your help man...

I don't have the diagnostic know-how to test the VAF or most other sensors except simple ones that can be bypassed or swapped with known good ones.

Have you checked for engine trouble codes? The light may not be on, but you can possibly still have codes stored in there that may help.

Yeah.. I haven't een able to get a code reader to plug in.. I've checked everywhere local.. I think I'm going to start searching the internet for one.

Most parts stores have the code reader... it is only$30 or so.
I assume your 92 is the same as my 94. If so, rather than use a code reader you can use a jumper wire and read the codes from the dash. You can cause the codes to flash in sequence from the check engine light and get them that way.
A little Google searching should find the procedure for you, but it is in the Haynes manual too if you have one.
Search for "EEC jumper" or something of that sort and you should find some good info for the procedure.

Sweet. I just checked the Vane Air Flow meter and found that there is no resistance running through it. I think I'm going to start scouring the junkyards for a GT and rob it for the meter, a computer and an air inlet tube. A guy at work said that having a faulty vane airflow meter shouldn't keep the car from running but the way i understand it is it acts like a preliminary o2 sensor. What I mean by this is that the vane airflow meter measures the amount of air you're getting into the engine and provides fuel accordingly. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if it was faulty, wouldn't it either dump too much fuel into the throttle body, choking it out, or starve it of fuel or not give any at all? This seems to be a likely culprit.