wtf

[lilphillie78]

ok here's the issue, i have an 88 lxi and it won't start no matter what i do. i checked everything i can think of, changed wires and dist. cap, and it cranks but won't start i checked the fuel pump and all the lines, fixed all the messed up coolant lines still nothing i think i have a bad head gasket, but i don't wanna tear anything apart till i know, and i pulled the plugs and i think there was either fuel or antifreeze on them so... a little help would be nice.

[accordlxi2.0]

check the radiator and oil for the color.
what color are they?

[k-roy]

Yea if there is oil in the coolant or coolant in the oil its the gasket. Did your car overheat at all?

[nswst8]

Now if it cranks, but doesn't try to start sounds like no fuel. I would suggest main fuel relay, These are the main culprits for no starts. Theres a thread on how to resoder it or just grab on from the junkyard or $50 @ the dealer
Hope this helps, LOL
Phil :cheers:

[ET2]

Do a compression test and check for spark and fuel

[shepherd79]

if it cranks but doesn't start, check the fuel relay. they are known to break.

[smufguy]

By now i guess its well known how to fix the main relay, ie by resoldering all the solders underneath it, check to see if ur connection from the injectors to the injector resistor box is tight. I forgot to clip it in and it would crank but would not start.

[1988starter]

Take off your fuel filter line check if fuel comes out. If yes pit it back on your relay is probably not the problem. Then check your coil

[FoX]

Sounds to me like your timing belt broke. Mine did that once.

[lilphillie78]

if it is the timing belt or something with the head which i am getting fuel and spark, does anybody happen to have a decent head 4 sale???

[goldadition]

i'm not sure why your wanting a new head. are you sure yours is cracked? is the block cracked also? ok here is what i would do.
since you know you have ant. in with the oil i would pull the head, check for cracks, also see where the gasket broke while it's torn down. this area should be somewhat clean compared to the rest, no carbon and such. put it all back together and hope that it starts up.

or i would pull one plug, have someone crank it, and see if i have spark. if i do then i would see what color it is, it should be a blueish color.

so since you do have fuel go to autozone and borrow a fuel pump pressure guage, or rent or what ever. and make sure you have enough fuel pressue.
other than that i wouldn't know what to tell you.

[lilphillie78]

ok blew my head gasket to smitherenes, looked like hell, the whole process left me with more bloody knuckles and tetanus infected looking wounds than i'd care to admit. put a new head gasket in and when i started it after changing oil, bleeding and burping the coolant system and making a list of future repairs i started it up and it idled at 3000 rpms fixed a couple of last minute coolant leaks, started it back up and it ran like a raped ape for 15 miles and then when i went to start it for work the next nite i ended up walking... it won't start, I'm fairly sure it's timed right, but it's doing the same thing it did before i changed the gasket. Can you screw up the timing and bend the valves on an A20?!?!? If so anybody wanna buy a white 88 LXi sedan with a near immaculate interior and not too severe 1/4 panel rust for anything more than $200??? or is anyone selling a B20 that will either fit or knows where I can get a mount kit for a b20b or z???

[smufguy]

why not just get another A20 block. If eveything is done right, then it should fire up right and have no problem. I would say check the timing one more time and make sure you got no air pockets in the cooling system. Well, u can bend the valves, but dont ask me how. but intense heat can screw up the head big time. I would say forget about selling the car or getting a B20, just get another junk A20 and put that motor in.

[lilphillie78]

already as good as sold although to a friend so i'm still gonna end up workin on the damn thing anyway. he's gonna put a junkyard motor in and we're gonna build a 20+psi turbo motor out of the old 215,000 mile cantankerous asshole of a motor...