I have an 88 Toyota Corolla AWD wagon with a 1.6L dual overhead cam, engine family 4AF. I just put head gasket, intake and exhaust gaskets, into it. Previous owner screwed up the head gasket & I had to change it out. It has a new timing belt; all marks are correct. It's getting spark & has compression in all cylinders. I can't get the engine to fire at all; it turns over easily but can't get anything to fire. Any ideas? I'm perplexed. :cursing:
1988 Corolla Wagon- Not Firing
- Thread starter jerryroach270
- Start date
I'm not sure on that engine as I've never worked on it. There are some distributor rotors that can be put on the correct way or 180 degrees the other direction. If the rotor is on backwards than it will supply spark to a cylinder that is not on tdc compression.
The distributor cap can be rotated to change spark timing.
You can check this by hooking up a timing light to cylinder 1's plug wire and turning the engine. The timing light will flash when the plug recieves spark. It should mesh with marks on your crank pulley that show TDC and degree marks before and after TDC. If you still have the emissions label under the hood, it should say what the factory setting is for spark timing.
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The distributor cap can be rotated to change spark timing.
You can check this by hooking up a timing light to cylinder 1's plug wire and turning the engine. The timing light will flash when the plug recieves spark. It should mesh with marks on your crank pulley that show TDC and degree marks before and after TDC. If you still have the emissions label under the hood, it should say what the factory setting is for spark timing.
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I'm trying to change the spark plugs in a last-ditch attempt to get this thing running. Trying to swap them out, bought brand new plugs, and it figures a 13/16 spark plug socket won't fit into the spark plug tube on the head. Is there a special socket for this thing? If not, what plug should I be using? It calls for a 13/16. This thing is more trouble than it's worth...
"Patience Luke". 
Yes, it sounds like you need a different socket. Go to Sears and you will find a plethora of different sockets for many applications.
When you remove the spark plugs, look at them closely and compare them to what you see in the video below. If they look normal, there's no need to replace them. Throwing parts at a car hoping to fix a problem is very expensive and frustrating.
I doubt that all four spark plugs are not firing and need replacing.
You can check to see if the spark plugs are getting electricity. I suspect they aren't. I have posted a video below about that for you too.
Yes, it sounds like you need a different socket. Go to Sears and you will find a plethora of different sockets for many applications.
When you remove the spark plugs, look at them closely and compare them to what you see in the video below. If they look normal, there's no need to replace them. Throwing parts at a car hoping to fix a problem is very expensive and frustrating.
I doubt that all four spark plugs are not firing and need replacing.
You can check to see if the spark plugs are getting electricity. I suspect they aren't. I have posted a video below about that for you too.
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