car refuses to start..., right after a clutch failure Options

[Alchemist_57]

a week ago, i pulled up to a stop sign at a 4-way intersection. no cars, i start to proceed. as i'm accelerating, when i shift into 2nd, the car shudders, most likely because the clutch was slipping. i push in the clutch, go to neutral, and try again. it engages and still shudders/slips, but not as harshly. so i try and accelerate to 30mph, when, i think, the clutch fails. at this point, the engine is no longer driving the wheels, and i put it in neutral. the engine is still running, but my power steering is gone. i try to put it back in gear (clutch in), but it makes that awful grinding noise, no luck. THEN, my charge light and the oil pressure light both come on. it's time to pull over.

i come to a stop, the engine is running, but power steering still doesn't work. the charge and oil pressure lights are still on, so i shut it off to prevent any further damage.
under the hood. i don't notice any problems, i check the belts, ALL fluids. i get in, turn the ignition on. the normal lights are on, it's not throwing any codes. i try to start it, but...no joy. it cranks, but won't fire. great, so i had to call my house 13 miles away, and wait in 25* weather (at night), for my dad with the truck so we could tow it back.

now, i still can't figure out why she won't start. if that wasn't a problem, i would already be getting the clutch system replaced, but i need to solve this first.

condition of the car:
- 108k miles.
- full tank of gas.
- oil change 300miles ago, the level is fine.
- charged battery, the lights don't dim when cranking.
- new plugs, wires, cap, rotor.
- new fuel filter.
- belts are fine.
- NO leaks.
- NO trouble codes being thrown.

the car was running perfectly fine for months, no problems other than occasional, light, clutch slippage. by "light", i mean it was barely noticeable and didn't make the car shudder like it did that night.

i'm assuming the engine is getting fuel, because after a few tries, there's a faint smell of fuel from the engine bay. also, after i try to start it and stop, there's a humming noise, and a click. my guess is that's the sound of the fuel pump.

any help is appreciated. thanks

[Bitter]

when cranking do the sparkplugs get wet and is there spark?

This post has been edited by Bitter: Dec 10, 2006 - 4:42 PM

[mauricio878]

the same thing just happened to me today, sort off....i was getting out of a red light, when the car just shut off.

i was barely able to get it right in front of a driveway, i checked the engine and its all good, at least it looks good. its like 10 blocks away from my house, so i pushed it to a parking spot nearby. my brother in law believes its the ignition coil, ordered it from work today, hope i can get this fixed by tomorrow