Mark1957

spot on Leighcm, spin balanced all 4. put the 2 worst in the rear, and voila! no more shimmy. thanx.

ortho, the falling water sound you heard was in fact the sound of an impending water pump failure. the cooling system depressurizes and the remaining fluid sloshes around. antifreeze/coolant is circulated through the system by the timing belt via a spindle connected to the water pump impeller. when the spindle bearing fails (out-of-round) the timing belt jumps a tooth or two and the cam and crank shafts are no longer synced (timing is off). it sounds like your bearing may have seized and the sound you heard was either the belt or the spindle shaft snapping. in any event, the 4 cyl. engine is a non-interference type motor so your valves are ok, but since your going to have to expose the right side of the engine anyway to replace the pump have your mechanic replace the two timing belt idler pulleys, crank and cam bearing seals, thermostat, and all three belts (timing, alternator, power steering). also, the water pump and water pump housing should be purchased as an assembly. it's easier to replace that way and there's a gasket between the housing and the block that may have been overtemped and replaced anyway. if you're attempting to do this your self, see my earlier post regarding the right way to identify the cam bearing cap timing mark.

OK Fellas, What's the first thing I need to replace for a steering wheel vibration above 65mph? Mark

Lessons Learned: 1. Timing belt drives water pump impeller spindle. 2. Water pump spindle bearing will eventually warp. 3. Timing belt will slip and engine will shut down. 4. Unless you have a hard "Check Engine" light don't assume the water temp sensor failed and the ECM put the engine in "Fail-Safe" MODE. 5. If the "Check Engine" light illuminates during key rotation this not only assures the bulb is OK, it signals a good ECM self-test. 6. If your spraying starting fluid directly into the throttle body and you get "blow-back", it's a pretty good indication your timing's off. 7. Don't assume the punch mark at the 10 o'clock position on the cam sprocket bearing cap is the timing index. The line at the 12 o'clock position is. 8. $280.00 later I learned a lesson on engine timing. Thanks for the help. This is a great forum. Mark

No, 96 ECM won't work on 94, however 95 will. Swaped ECM and distributor, both from junk yard, still no go. Will recheck TDC.

False, 1 turn of the camshaft sprocket = 1 turn of the distributor. Had a second pair of eyes check crank, cam, and rotor for TDC. Still cranks, but no combustion. A friend has a “96” 5S-FE Federal with A/T also that’s running fine. Can I swap the ECUs for troubleshooting purposes?

True or False...2 revolutions of camshaft timing belt sprocket = 1 turn of the distributor? I would have bet the bank I was TDC! Pulled TB cover off and low and behold I’m 180 out. Forgivable if statement is true. I only wish some would tell me how to do a static checkout of just the ECU, without having to parcel through a ton of sensor fault code trees. Is there a fault code for just an ECU failure? Also, anyone ever connect a remote starter to a 5S-FE?

Thanks for the link, DF, I'll re-accomplish the ignition checks without skipping a step and have the igniter tested at Auto-Zone.

DF, Thanks for response and yes starting fluid sprayed directly into throttle body produced no combustion. Did not replace fuel pump, just H2O pump. Paper clip check of fuel pump was good. Could hear it running and fuel line from filter to rail was rock hard. Depressed pedal during procedure and couldn't hear injector clicking w/o stethoscope. Internal coil ohm checked good. Haynes wasn’t very clear about secondary coil location. Your thoughts?

Water pump failed @ 130K. Drove for two weeks 1 mile each way to work and back carefully monitoring temp gauge. Saved enough $ for new pump, timing belt, idler pulleys, spark plugs, fuel filter, H2O temp sensor, and drive belts. The day she died I was leaving for work, started normally, shifted into gear, started to pull out of parking space, and engine stopped. Never any problems with engine until now. No codes. Cranks fine. Paperclip spark check good, throttle body cleaned, Haynes fuel, ignition, and EGR systems checks complied with, triple check TDC. Still turns over fine, just won’t start. Any way to test the ECU? Also, tips for connecting remote starter will be greatly appreciated. :o