When you run out of gas... Options

[Celicaguy13]

Hello all.
I did the unspeakable and allowed my car to run out of gas. After filling it back up and i'm pretty sure i primed the lines by cycling the fuel pump a few times. I even unbolted the output side of the fuel filter to make sure that there was pressure when I activated the fuel pump and sure enough there was a geyser of fuel. Anyways, Now i'm faced with a no spark issue. I'm curious if there's something i'm not familiar with that i'm suppose to do to reset the electrical system? I'm going to conduct some more tests today. But any feedback on this or related stories are welcome. Thanks!

[95CelicaST]

check your injectors. When you run out of gas you can suck crap up your fuel line and plug your injectors.

[alltracman78]

The point of the fuel filter is to catch particles before they get to the inj.
Sometimes things get past, but normally your fuel filter and not your inj are what get clogged.

Regardless, they have nothing to do with spark.
If your fuel pump is working [which is sounds like it is], the ECU is seeing the engine turn over, so it's probably something to do with the coil, plugs, wires/cap/rotor.
I would check those first.
See if you are getting spark at the coil. Unless you have a 94-96 GT or an ST the coil should be outside of the dist.
I could be a bit off on the years on that, but I believe they're correct.

What year/trim is your Celica?

[Celicaguy13]

Hah thx for the input guys... but after my inspection today I found out that I actually didn't run out of gas.... I broke a timing belt. LOL

I was inspecting the rotor with the cap off and I used a remote starter to crank the engine. I relized that the accessory pullies were turning just fine, but the rotor on the distributor was not... that was my first hint. Second hint I did a compression test and 2 companion cylinders were 0 psi and the other 2 companion cylinders were around 30 psi.

Kinda weird how things coinciently happens. Oh well tried my best to start taking it apart with limited tools. Got a good hour into it and i'm right to the good o'l harmonic balancer bolt.... I'll just save that for the next day...

BTW. I have a 95 ST

This post has been edited by Celicaguy13: Mar 24, 2007 - 9:45 PM

[K-ESD]

hurray for non-interference engines

[jc47]

You don't have to cycle the fuel pump or remove any lines if you run out of gas. The fuel pump will prime itself and the car will start as long as you add fuel to the tank. The crank pulley bolt usually isn't that bad on these engines. If it is a manual trans, put it in 5th gear and parking brake on to hold the pulley.