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Car (not mine) died while driving down the freeway. I've checked the resistance across both windings in the coil (both are within spec,) made sure that the coil receives proper voltage when cranking, and checked to verify I don't have an epic chassis grounding problem. Still, no spark from the distributor-to-coil wire or (obviously) out of any of the plugs.
This is driving me up the wall! What am I missing???
Well, you see, there is no spark when I short out the coil-to-distributor wire against a ground. And yes, the distributor is on the end of the cam. Haven't checked to see if its spinning around, because the problem appears to be before the distributor (electrically speaking.)
I'm not going insane here though, right? I mean, if I hold the coil-to-distributor wire close to a ground (1-3mm) it should spark, right??? I even took a wire out of my truck and tried that, with no luck, so the wire is ok...
In the old days of points, you could check a coil by putting the coil wire next to a ground(like you've done) and opening the points. But since the ignition module and pickup replace the points, you need to find a way to check the pickup in the distributor and the ignition box. My guess is it's the pickup in the distributor.
Well... Turns out that the timing belt was indeed snapped in half, which is not that big of a deal.
The Chilton book said to "inspect for oil contamination" on the timing belt. When I took the snapped belt out, there was lots and lots of gunk in the housing and on the belt. Its almost like a mix between heavy grease and motor oil, and there is a lot of it... Is this supposed to be this way?
Nope, it should be clean and dry. You probably have a bad cam seal or crank seal. I would do both to be sure, replace the idlers, and the water pump if it's driven by the timing belt.
Well, this engine is a complete mess, there is oil leaking out of everywhere, so I'm afraid I would have to replace more than a seal or two...
Problem is now that I can't get the thing aligned because the owner has the wrong manual and it doesn't cover the timing marks for the 2.2L engine... crank shaft seems pretty straight forward, but the cam has four marks on it, and I don't know which one to line up...
It looks like if it is a SOHC, there is a pair of sprocket marks, one points forward the other up. If it's a DOHC, both point up. They only use the marks on the rim.