Tercel hesistating to start

[mrmora]

Hello everyone,

I went out to start my car yesterday. After a few pumps of the gas pedal the car started fine, but then it just stalled out on me. Thinking nothing of it, I cranked it over again to start it, but just hesitation. I gave it a few more pumps, but nothing. I thought well maybe I flooded the vehicle so I left it alone for about an hour, hoping the gas would by then evaporate. A few hours later I came out to start it, but still nothing and by this time the battery was starting to die. I decided that I needed some assistance so I called up my buddy to come help me. By the time he arrived at my place it's been about four hours since the car stalled out on me.

Using jumper cables, I attempted to jump my vehicle with his. The car sounded like it wanted to start, but nothing, just hesitation. We put a few more gallons of gas in the car, cleaned the plugs and cranked the car over without any plugs in. Plugs were back in, a couple tablespoons of gas down the carb, but after cranking it over... still it hesitates.

We jumped the vehicle a few more times, but it still wouldn't turn over. The dash lights and stereo work, but it seems as if the car isn't sending the gas or there is no spark happening when it's being cranked over. I'm thinking that it could be the dizzy or the fuel pump, but any other suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

[marlinh]

It is a little confusing as to what your problem is when you say it is hesitating. Is it cranking over at the regular speed with the jumper vehicle connected? If it is not starting but turning over there are only two possibilities, spark or fuel. You can disconnect the fuel supply line between the carb and fuel pump and have a friend crank the engine over while the hose is held in a can. Pressure is quite low around 5 psi so you should get maybe 1/2 to 1 litre in thirty seconds. Not sure of the specs. You could have a dirty fuel filteror water in it. It doesn't take long to check the filter. Take it off and dump what is inside into a clean container and then blow through the inlet side to see if there is a restriction. If it fired before you probably have spark. Although moisture under the cap could prevent starting. I'm sure there are lots of threads on checking for spark.

[dlb]

can you clarify what you mean by hesitates? it sounds like the engine cranks but does not start, but tell me if that's correct.

if it didn't start or fire at all after putting some gas down the carb, i would lean towards the ignition system. did you check for spark? disconnect a spark plug lead and hold the end of it near a clean spot on the valve cover while someone else turns the key. you should see strong, blue, regular arcing from the end of the lead to the valve cover. if it's not, the problem is in the ignition system somewhere. then i would remove the dizzy cap and check the cap, rotor, and dizzy shaft. if those check out, next i would check the ignition coil, which is also in the dizzy. check the FSM for removal and disassembly of the dizzy, if that's what you find.

[mrmora]

Thanks for the quick reply and I apologize for being a bit confusing.

Yes dlb your are correct, when I crank the vehicle with jumper cables, the vehicle will crank over at regular speed, but it doesn't turn over to start. I haven't tried checking the spark plug lead or the dizzy cap/coil but I will have to give those a look soon. I also have a spare fuel filter, so I'll replace that later today or tomorrow and see if that could also be a possibility.

[Petros]

you have to isolate the problem, have some one crank it with one spark plug wire off and hold the end near the engine, if you get spark than you are likely not getting fuel. If no spark than, yes, something wrong with the distributor. YOu can verify no spark by spraying a little starter fluid down the carb, or a few oz. of gasoline (stand back!). IF it runs briefly and than dies, that means no fuel. check fuel filter, fuel pump and fuel lines (old ones can get cracked and they will suck air instead of fuel).

Good luck.

[mrmora]

A friend came over today and was trying to help me isolate the problem. For one I put a new dizzy cap and rotor, new battery ( The battery was dead and the dizzy cap and rotor have never been replaced). I was hoping that would solve part of it. With the new battery installed, I attempted to start the car, but it doesn't crank over to run. It sounds like it wants to, but nope. We took out the plugs like mentioned above and they do in fact have a spark. Sprayed starter fluid down the carb, but I couldn't get it to run. My fuel filter was replaced a few months back and I checked it again... it still works fine. We checked the fuel lines and gas is still running through, there are no cracks that could allow air to flow through. the fellow helping me is thinking there is a problem with the carb, but I'm lost so that's why I've decided to take the car to a mechanic later today and have them tell me what they think is wrong. I'm perplexed by what is causing the car not to run.

[TURTCEL]

Careful with taking these Tercs to the shop. Very few mechanics or techs can even work with a carburetor. This type of fuel system is obsolete so mechanics are never taught about them.

I took my Terc to a local shop that was said to have a good carb guy...B.S.! I spent over $500 in two visits just so i could finally take the car home and fix it myself.

These carbs are not very complicated even though they look to be. Look through the FSM in the carb section and go through the tuning process. Also check for vacuum leaks...they can cause a major headache on these cars.

Good luck.

Peace

[Petros]

I would not waste money at a repair shop either. So it will not run even with spark and fuel? Only one other thing that will cause that, spark timing off or valve timing off. Something you stated early on, it started up and ran momentarily and than died and would not restart. When was the last time the timing belt was changed? I had a similar experience with our Mazda, it started than died. The timing belt had jumped a few teeth, so it had spark and fuel, but the valve timing was off.

On your Tercel, pull the upper cover off the timing belt (a number of 10 mm bolts), and bring the crank around to TDC (at the front pulley, the mark should line up with the scale on the lower front cover), and than see if the hole in the upper sprocket lines up with the timing mark on the head. If it is off you can correct it if the belt is not damaged, make sure you put enough tension in it. but likely you need a new belt. I would install a new belt since they do not cost much.

[mrmora]

I hear ya, I do not not want to waste money in a repair shop either. The price of the repair cost could be more than what I paid for the car. Correct, with spark and fuel, the car still will not run and also correct that the car did run momentarily, die and will not restart.

Checked the timing belt, it has cracks on top of it, so I'm going to replace it. I'm thinking that the belt probably has teeth that are worn down/missing. Not sure when the last time the previous owner did a timing belt change.

Thanks for the tips and advice, like always you guys are helpful!