2.0l SPI won't start

Parked the escort and tried to start it 30 mins later and it cranks but won't start. Took off the top line on the fuel filter and turned key to acc and fuel was gushing out. Spark plugs, wires and distributor were replaced not too long ago with motorcraft. Took off the three nuts on the timing belt cover and pryed it apart to look inside and the belt is fine. When I apply throttle it tries to start and sounds "bad" does this sound timing belt related?

Does a '97 have a distributor? I don't remember for sure.

Do you have ignition?

since you just had your plugs and wires changed i would go back over them and make sure they are all connected properly. i would also check to see if there is spark. you can pick up a spark tester for 5 bucks at autozone. just follow the instructions on the box.its a tool worth having around.good luck and let us know what you find out.

While having it turned over look through the oil filler cap hole and see if the timing belt is turning the valve train. Sometimes the belt will lose the teeth at the bottom of the crank pulley.

since you just had your plugs and wires changed i would go back over them and make sure they are all connected properly. i would also check to see if there is spark. you can pick up a spark tester for 5 bucks at autozone. just follow the instructions on the box.its a tool worth having around.good luck and let us know what you find out.

The spark plus and wires were changed at a shop when my distributor died about a year ago. I checked the wires for spark and they worked. The reason I was thinking it's timing related is because when I press the gas and it kind of runs it sounds really bad.

While having it turned over look through the oil filler cap hole and see if the timing belt is turning the valve train. Sometimes the belt will lose the teeth at the bottom of the crank pulley.


I just looked through the hole in the valve cover while someone cranked the engine and I saw the valve springs near the hole moving.

Well the timing belt is all right. It's getting fuel. Pull a wire connector off a plug, stick a screwdriver into it and hold it close to a ground to check for spark. I suspect it is all right since you had the wires redone not too long ago.
If you aren't getting spark I would suspect the Crankshaft Position Sensor is bad or the wire connections need to be cleaned. It's just at the 10 O'clock position from the crankshaft pulley. Pull the connector loose and plug it back in several times to ensure a good electrical contact.

Well the timing belt is all right. It's getting fuel. Pull a wire connector off a plug, stick a screwdriver into it and hold it close to a ground to check for spark. I suspect it is all right since you had the wires redone not too long ago.
If you aren't getting spark I would suspect the Crankshaft Position Sensor is bad or the wire connections need to be cleaned. It's just at the 10 O'clock position from the crankshaft pulley. Pull the connector loose and plug it back in several times to ensure a good electrical contact.

I checked each plug wire by pulling it off the spark plug and then I held it near the valve cover bolts and the spark was strong enough to jump to the bolt. The distributor died a year ago so that was replaced with new plugs and motorcraft wires.

I'm going to check the crankshaft position sensor.

I took the car to a mechanic and I explained that when I try to start it, it just cranks but doesn't start and when I press the gas pedal it starts and runs really really rough as long as I keep pressing the gas I also said that I thought the timing belt jumped. He called me saying "the engine was bad because the valve hit the piston and maybe the timing belt jumped".

So that left me thinking, if the engine is bad why don't I hear those noises while it's just cranking? After owning this thing since day one and never going over 3k miles on an oil change and only running it on premium fuel I feel obligated to finding out what is wrong.

The car was just parked and then it never started. Does it sound like the engine is gone or is just a jumped timing belt?

The 2.0L SPI is not an interference engine so there is no way a valve could have gone through a piston. Even if the belt totally broke in half that wouldn't occur. It could have jumped time but not because of the timing belt. The crankshaft pulley has a timing ring on the back of it that has some teeth on it. One of the teeth are missing. The crankshaft posiltion sensor uses this mark to send this informatiion to the EEC and it tells the ignition module when to spark the cylinder. On my 2.0L SPI the crankshaft pulley separated from the timing ring. They are just pressed together. This made the timing ring off by 20 degrees and the spark was occurring at the wrong time. Look down at the crankshaft pulley and in back of it is the timing ring made out of silver metal. I think it's aluminum. If the belt for the crankshaft pulley is not in position on the pulley the timing ring has separated. It will still send a signal through the Crankshft Position Sender, but it will be too far off from specs to make the cylinder fire.

Get away from this mechanic as fast as you can.

I'd get a second opinion. I thought they stopped using the suicide engines, so that the valves and pistons wouldn't hit each other when the belt broke or slipped. It could have jumped a cog but since you haven't heard at first or later a horrible noise like they were hitting and I don't believe the engine is the design that hits, I don't think that is part of your problem. Did anyone do a commpression test? That would prove a jump in the timing belt.

If the belt for the crankshaft pulley is not in position on the pulley the timing ring has separated.

Get away from this mechanic as fast as you can.

I don't understand what you are trying to say.

I'm going to rescue my car a.s.a.p.


Did anyone do a commpression test? That would prove a jump in the timing belt.

A compression test hasn't been done.

This problem sounds awfully familiar. See my earlier post re the ECT engine coolant temperature sensor. For about 75 cents, you can buy a 56K ohm resistor from Radio shack, jam it in the ECT connector, and if it fires up, you have found your problem. Takes about 5 minutes to change out the sensor.

Maybe the mechanic was saying that a valve SEAT had hit the piston ... quite a different kettle of fish. This often happens on cyl #4 of this engine.

Maybe the mechanic was saying that a valve SEAT had hit the piston ... quite a different kettle of fish. This often happens on cyl #4 of this engine.

He didn't open up the engine but he did a compression test and told me that two of the cylinders had no compression. He also showed me one of the spark plugs and the top part was touching the electrode. How much would a used engine like this cost? I live in north jersey.

Could very well be the valve seat on #4 has separated. You can get a used engine for about $550 here in NW Arkansas. Might be a little more expensive in New Jersey. The valve seat is known to go out at around 170k. How many miles have you on the engine?

Could very well be the valve seat on #4 has separated. You can get a used engine for about $550 here in NW Arkansas. Might be a little more expensive in New Jersey. The valve seat is known to go out at around 170k. How many miles have you on the engine?

Engine has 97,000 miles. Owned since new, my father drove it to work everyday which is 3 miles away. Changed with castrol oil every 3k miles and used only premium fuel since new, the car pulled better and didn't knock on premium. The engine would start as soon as you touched the key.

I just towed the car home and want to fix it. I checked the ring you were talking about behind the crankshaft pully and it looks fine.

What should I do or check next?

Should I take off the cylinder head to check for damage?

I would take the splash shield off the right fender well and put a 19 mm socket and ratchet on the crank pulley to turn the engine over. You should feel compression on each turn. Also, if the valve seat has dropped you will feel the obstruction while turning the crank. If you don't have compression or feel an obstruction you could go ahead and take off the head to check for damage. If just the head is screwed up you can get a rebuilt for about $260 or can get a used head from the boneyard for about $100. The last person who had a seat drop had piston and cylinder damage and was unable to fix it himself. Ford has known about this dropping of the valve seat on the number four cylinder for some time. It seems that no matter how well you have maintained your engine, if it's gonna drop it's gonna drop and there is little you can do about it. I'm sorry it happened to you. I'm waiting for it to happen to me.

The spark plugs are out and I only have two of them but I will turn over the engine and see what I hear. Maybe I can remove the head too. I called a junkyard and found an engine for $600 with 72k miles. Installation cost starts at $500. Do you know how much the engine weighs?

Unfortunately I don't have time right now as I am a full time student and I work so I just bought the used junkyard motor and the shop is putting it in. I'll this updated with the results.

Thanks for the latest. Not a bad price for the engine or the installation.