96 ford escort trouble

my 96 is not terning over. the spark plugs are fireing and and the fuel injectors are working. so is it the timing belt or something else?:confused:

Need more info!!! What happened before this started? Do you mean the crank isn't turning or just the engine isn't firing? Is the check engine light on?

Add all imformation you can.

Indicate how you know that the plugs and injectors are working properly.

As mentioned above, tell what happened just prior to this problem.

Best guess with the information given is the timing belt. You can check by cranking the engine and watching for valve moment through the oil fill hole in the valve cover.

Okay this is what happened I was heading down the highway when the car over heated and started smoking then cut out on me. After that when turning the key there was no noise from the engine. I have replaced the ignition coil and now I can hear the starter turning but the engine wont start. The spark plugs were bad as well, I found that out by removing them and they all had a 1/4'' or more gap, so I replaced them as well. The valves are moving so I know the engine isn't seized. I checked the injectors by pressing the throttle and then I removed the spark plugs to see if there was any gas and there was. Then I checked the camshaft sensor and the crankshaft sensor using a multimeter and there both still good, but the car will not start.

edited by account owner for clarification.

Sounds like you were going down the highway and your engine started overheating and was blowing smoke out your tailpipe. Immediately after that you tried to start it and the engine wouldn't turn over. Due to the engine overheating, the motor could have siezed from the heat and turned over later after cooling down. If you could see the valve train moving it cancels out the possibility of a broken timing belt. Also, it means the engine isn't siezed up now. Run a compression check on the cylinders. The rings could have been fried and scored the cylinder walls when overheated. Btw the valve seat in the number 4 cylinder could have dropped due to over-heating, too.. Seems that Escorts have a habit of dropping the valve seat in the number 4 cylinder after overheating. Again, a compression check will confirm this or rule it out. Bottom line--your engine is toast. I hope I am wrong.

I agree with Dave... sounds like you probably have no compression due to the consequences of the overheating.
Did the smoke come out the tailpipe or from under the hood? Something along the lines of a cracked head or bad rings sounds reasonable at this point.

I think if your valve seat had dropped you would be hearing some terrible sounds when you crank the engine... so hopefully that hasn't happened.

A compression check on each cylinder is your next step.

ok so acording to my brother inlaw, the smoke was pure white and had a funny smell, it was comming from beneth the hood.

edited by owner for clarification