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my car one morning would not start it sounds fine the starter runs a bunch, but the car just wont turn over.
no indication really, the nite before the car ran funny (rpms dropped a bunch)
i thought it would be the distributor i got a new one and it wont work either.
is it something else or did i fry my distributor and then buy a broken one?

What else could the problem be?

Does the rotor turn when you crank the engine over? Remove the distributor cap and crank it over.. if the rotor doesnt move.. your timing belt broke. Have you checked to see if there is spark? There are numerous ways to check for spark. You can use a timing light clipped over each plug wire (one at a time) and make sure the timing light fires when the engine is cranked. You will need two people to do any of these tests. You can remove a spark plug.. put it in the end of its plug wire and hold the end near something metal while the engine is cranked.. you should see the plug sparking. Or you can get one of these little tools cheap:

http://www.doityourself.com/store/1796457.htm

My personal favorite.. no danger of being shocked and no hassle of hooking up the timing light. That should get you started. Let us know what you find.. if you are getting spark we can move on to the fuel delivery system. Also.. you can check the online shop manual.. lots of troubleshooting tips in there as well.

Tunes67

How can the starter turn over, but the engine doesn't turn over?

lakersfan1 wrote:How can the starter turn over, but the engine doesn't turn over?

Exactly!

A little too vague on your problems. Tell us a long descriptive story of what's happened in the past, what's happening now and what you've done if anything so far. Details are essential if you want exacting answers. By looks, it appears you've got numerous mods, but very few post's, are we to assume that you acquired this car already modded with ZE etc. Need to know those details also. Try it again, it could save yourself some time and needless purchases.

how can the starter turn but not the motor? easy... broken teeth on the starter or on the flywheel.

dan

sounds fine the starter runs a bunch, but the car just wont turn over

I assumed this to mean that the starter was cranking the engine over but that the engine was not firing or "catching"... I could be wrong of course.. and if he has a ZE in the car.. you would think he would know the basics.. but maybe he bought it with the ZE in it.

Tunes67

if your engine was runin messed up the night b4 then there isnt anything wrong with your starter, starters r just that they start the engine, if your starter wont catch the flywheel then take the starter out and check the bendix or turn the engine by hand and check the flywheels teeth, if everythings cool there check your timing belt like someone said above. if thats cool u might have a preoblem with the crank sensor pull that out and check it, if all else fails go buy about a dollars worth of gas and burn baby burn lol, or just pay a tech 2 do his job and fix it the right way

well it turned out putting in the new distributor did work, there was a blown hose by the intake manifold aswell which kept killing the car once itd start.

hey i may have bought this car with the kl-ze in it but i love mx3's (especially ze mx3s) just as much as any of you.

hey i may have bought this car with the kl-ze in it but i love mx3's (especially ze mx3s) just as much as any of you

Easy there man.. I am not trying to be insulting.. your original post just left out a few details and you werent responding so I was only speculating a bit.. not saying you dont love the car or that you dont know how to work on it. Best of luck.

Tunes67

Tunes67 wrote:

hey i may have bought this car with the kl-ze in it but i love mx3's (especially ze mx3s) just as much as any of you

Easy there man.. I am not trying to be insulting.. your original post just left out a few details and you werent responding so I was only speculating a bit.. not saying you dont love the car or that you dont know how to work on it. Best of luck.
Tunes67

Exactomondo Tunes, If you need help, you've got to help us help you. Your search and and our recommendations are greatly enhanced and time reduced when given a thorough, detailed and sometimes a long drawn out history of what you got, what it did or didn't do, what you did or didn't do and any other subsequent cause and effect scenarios. Were not professional mechanics (at least I'm not) so all we have to draw upon are past stories and history and patterns. The key word in all of this is STORY. As Tunes said, "not trying to be insulting", and this is not directed at you, but we're all here to help one another and sometimes it feels like pulling teeth (read fustrating) trying to get something out of a person who want's help.
OK, I'm done now....

hey awesome, thanks alot guys for not bein a--holes because i dont know everything about the ze engine.