So i was driving down the freeway doing 65, then all of a sudden the car dies! so i roll off to the side of the road, and try starting it. it wouldnt start back up, but will turn over. the car has about 180,000 miles, and is well taken car of. it was the weirdest thing, it just died. so any suggestions? if the engine seized up, it wouldnt turn over, right? or could it be the timing belt? any help would be appreacited. thanks

 

I'm thinking fuel pump.

to see if it's the problem, open the gas door and remove the gas cap. Have one person listen by the filler hole while you turn the key to ignition, DON'T start it. Just turn the key to ignition. The person listening should hear a little electric motor noise. No noise = bad pump.

to gain access to the pump, remove rear seat.

 

Is there oil in the car? gas in the tank? start with the easy things.

 

Has the ignitor coil ever been replaced?

 

i dont think the ignition coil has been replaced, and the car burns oil. so it might have been low, and i had a 1/4 tank of gas. i'll try checking the fuel pump, i'm hopeing thats it. if not i guess the motor swap is coming sooner than i thought. i found a D15B for like 450.00, i figure that would be a straight foward swap. or a B16A for 890.00. i dont know, what do you guys think. i want HP, but i dont want to pay out the a** for the swap. so let me know what you would do. my budget is around 3K. Thanks

 

Well, if low oil was your problem - your engine would most likely be toast. Although it's important to have the right amount of oil in your engine, it won't run if it's seized up - won't turn over, either. So you can have some relief on that.

A distributor cap, rotor, and plug wires wouldn't just quit all at once like that.

Check all fuses and relays. Check the engine ground. Listen for your fuel pump like danomatic93 said. And then check the fuel filter to see if it's clogged. If you can't remember when it was last changed - put a new one on anyway.

If that's all good, then check the timing belt. I had one let go in my Mustang at 70 mph - fortunately it was an automatic and wasn't a zero-clearance head. If you're lucky, you didn't bounce the valves off the pistons while slowing down, and a new timing belt will solve your problem.

Just about everything that's left beyond that is going to start costing good bunches of money.

 

Type RByou nailed it... timing belt! i just replaced it today, runs like a champ. thanks. i still might do the swap for good measure

 

wow you got very lucky you didnt bend any valves

 

it is running a little rough, but i think it will last long enough for the swap... knock on wood

 

I don't get it, did your Timimg belt snap and come off? lol, I didn't mention that as an option because you normally see the belt on the ground or it slaps around and breaks things.