97 Cavalier won't start after radiator was damaged.

[Dakamaf]

My son hit something with his 97 Cavalier and took out the radiator. He got it hot and shut it off let it cool then started it again and it got hot fast so shut it off and we towed it home. Ok now for the prob. we replaced the radiator and A/C condenser and got antifreeze levels up and now won't start. Won’t even pop. A friend said that the timing belt is probably the problem but didn't even hook anything up to the car to check it and I kind of have a hard time believing that the timing belt would go out like that. We know it has gas and turns over real good but not sure on spark as of yet. So I guess my question is what else might be wrong before I go and try and replace the timing belt.

By the way I should say this car has 150,000 miles on it and I am trying to weigh weather it is even worth going in to the expense of fixing it or not if it is the timing belt.

The engine is a 4 Banger, 2.2 i think

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

[mobil_12]

For starters, your engine does not have a timing belt. It is chain driven. It is possible for chains to break - but not likely.

I would start with the basics - spark, fuel, and compression. You are likely missing one or more of these.

Wait, you said that it wont pop. Like wont turn over or wont fire up?

If it wont turn over, how bad was the crash? Was the radiator pushed in far enough to damage the starter wiring? You could just have a bad starter. Or.... worst case senario, since it got hot maybe a locked motor? Try puttin a wrachet on the crank pulley bolt and try turning the motor over by hand.

If it wont fire, then check out the basics and go from there.

[Dakamaf]

First off thx for the reply and sorry i wasn't clear. the engine turns over just great but it kinda seems to turn over a little to free maybe. i will do a compression check on it later to make sure there is compression. the damage was not vary bad. it pushed up the bottom radiator support and back just a little. didn't look like it hit anything else. i was hoping that maybe it might be something simple that i might of over looked.

[mobil_12]

I dont think any repair you made could have caused this problem, but Ive seen stranger...

If the motor is turning over too fast, a compression test sounds like a good idea. Try starting the car before you do the test and while you have the plugs out, look at them for fuel. If you have fuel but no spark the plugs will be soaked. Also look into the combustion chambers for coolant. The 2.2 engines are known for bad head gaskets whose failure may have been accelerated from the over heating. Another typical failure is the ignition module and crank sensor causing a no spark condition. Just some ideas to look into.

Like before, start with the basics and go from there. A four cycle engine is just a big pump. Intake, compression, spark, and exhaust. (Suck, squeeze, bang, blow!) All the b.s. on top of that is the problem.