91 Lumina sudden death problem

[morjackson]

I was driving my 91 Euro 3.1 yesterday morning when it suddenly quit and would not restart. I tried some starting fluid and got nothing.
I checked it over, it's getting fuel and I can hear the pump working.
Fuel rail has pressure. Not sure how much but I replaced the pump earlier this year, so I don't think that's the culprit.
I let the car sit for a few hours and used some starting fluid and got nothing. No firing. The engine turns over and that's all.
I checked the computer, got codes 35 & 44. Code 35 is for the O2 sensor Which was replaced last year. 44 says it's running lean. (No kidding, no spark, no fire, no lean (no rich either).
Any ideas?

[Schrade]

Check fuel pressure for starters. See youtube fuel pressure test. You might be able to rent a fuel pressure gauge from Advance / Zone.

[richtazz]

Since the car didn't start on the starting fluid, you have no spark. Checking fuel pressure is irrelevant at this point because even if the fuel pump was completely inop, the car would have started on the starting fluid.

There are three common things that would cause a sudden no-spark issue on this car.
1. Bad crank position sensor or the wiring between it and the ICM (Ignition Control Module).
2 Bad ICM (these can be tested at most auto parts stores)
3 Bad ECM (computer).

[morjackson]

I wondered about the timing chain going bad and checked compression after checking the suggestions. Fuel pressure was right at 38 so that was good. I did a check on the spark and it was there on all 6 cylinders.
So, I did a compression test. it was all over the place. It wound up being a broken timing chain.
So far I haven't seen any collateral damage from it but will hopefully be back on the road tomorrow.
Thanks for your help and suggestions.

Originally Posted by richtazz

Since the car didn't start on the starting fluid, you have no spark. Checking fuel pressure is irrelevant at this point because even if the fuel pump was completely inop, the car would have started on the starting fluid.

There are three common things that would cause a sudden no-spark issue on this car.
1. Bad crank position sensor or the wiring between it and the ICM (Ignition Control Module).
2 Bad ICM (these can be tested at most auto parts stores)
3 Bad ECM (computer).