Disconnect the the cat converter and fire it up. Like the other said. I too had a Chevy cavalier that was good everywhere but wouldnt start, even with starting fluid got nothing. Disconnected the down pipe and fired up the first shot. Definitely worth a try, its free to do

 

yes, that's my bad, I forgot about the starting fluid. it should have ran if it were bad gas.

 

I certainly agree to ruling out having an increased exhaust pressure drop. I do not like to use the term back pressure when referring to a gas gradient. The flow of gas is simply driven by a pressure gradient with the only possible direction of flow being that from a higher to a lower pressure. Gas cannot flow against increasing pressure. It can go in all directions. The exhaust pressure drop overall to the whole exhaust system may be negatively influenced by any component such as the muffler or the catalytic converter.

Basically, the 'muffler pressure drop' (or, back pressure) due to soot having built-up in the catalytic converter, or in the muffler, may effect the entirety of the exhaust pressure drop throughout the system. The end result is the need for the engine to compress the exhaust gasses to a higher level of pressure in order to overcome the pressure drop that could possibly occur. The level of pressure being needed to overcome increasing exhaust pressure drop may eventually be too great for the engines capabilities. Increased exhaust pressure drop may also start to adversely skew the air-fuel ratio at the same time.

I agree, and I think it would be a smart thing to do removing a possible exhaust restriction out of the equation in the way in which how it was mentioned. It can at least be ruled out if nothing else...

 

Pull the distributor cap off and have a gander.

 

1. With the accelerator fully depressed (to the floor) start the vehicle and let it crank 4-6 revolutions (the vehicle should not attempt to start, as this is for clearing any existing flood of fuel in the cylinders/intake).
2. With the accelerator lightly feathered (just a small amount applied), attempt to start the vehicle

Is the behavior any different when doing the above? Does it attempt to start (try to hit) more?

 

If you were running in the recent past without issue, then I would think along his lines (above quote). I don't think that you would go without noticing the loss of power with a blockage of exhaust that lead to not being able to start. Also, ether is pretty close to a small spoonfull of gasoline in each cylinder as a test for fuel.

 

that’s where you’d be wrong most times starts with cat honey combs coming loose most people don’t even notice it but it happens once it’s rattled around enough it creates enough room that it turns sideways opposing exhaust flow and blocks exhaust almost entirely it’s not really a soot build up issue 9 times out of 10.

 

Here's a perfect case of a clogged converter. My wife's 87 Dodge K-car was running perfectly at 60 mph on the highway, then suddenly barely ran at all! She limped off the highway and called me. It started, but had absolutely no power. The EGR valve had blown off the manifold and all I could get it to go was 20 mph. By the time I got it home, the head gasket was blown. After changing the head gasket and replacing the EGR valve, it started, but would barely run. My brother suggested I remove the catalytic converter and try starting it. Varooom! I put my mouth on the inlet pipe and there was no airflow thru it! The matrix had collapsed and totally blocked the flow.

 

Little update, I got my hands on a scan tool yesterday I am getting signal from my crank sensor and cam sensor. I havnt took the exhaust loose yet I will do that tonight. Something I did notice while I was looking on the scanner is that with the engine cranking my battery voltage will go to 10.6volts. I am wondering if that is low enough to give me problems. Without cranking the engine I have 12volts, may have a bad cell on the battery, I will take the battery of my camper tonight and see it helps.

 

10.6 volts is a bit low for cranking power. Before you switch batteries just try with jumper cables and see what happens

 

10.6 is normal you don’t want to see anything below 9.6 when cranking .

 

while 10.6V is marginal....12V is absolutely no good at all only being 25% charge, a fully charged battery must hold a charge over 12.5V or it needs replacement
(not to say that is the issue)

 

Its been a little while but the jeep is back up and going now. I ended up hauling it to a local mechanic, I try to do all my own work but sometimes dont have the time or cant figure it out on my own. It sat at his shop for a couple days, he got in it and it started but ran rely rough. All he did was take all the plugs out and cleaned them off, he said they were soaked with fuel. He said he thinks my original problem was my crank sensor and I replaced it. He said it must have just been flooded rely bad, he kept it for a extra day to drive himself with know problems. I have had it about a week and its all been good, I guess time will tell though.



THANKS for all the input and suggestions.