will timing being off make motor barely crank

When you say it is barely cranking over, do you mean it is turning the engine very slowly?
That is enough to keep the engine from starting if the starter cannot turn it over fast enough.

If it is turning over just as fast as when it was running check the following;

1.Timing Chain
2. Fuel delivery and Injection systems
3. All wiring and vacuum connections and hoses
4. Air cleaners and ducts
5. Cooling Sytem

no it now turns maybe a qaurter of a turn of the fan,i thought timing ,maybe a bearing,if you hold the key over to on it will finnaly catch and start,brother inlaw said bottom bearing

i got it to start 2ce but it nocked a littel like low on oil but its full

stumped it was running fine

a friend of mine said his car did that and it was timeing so i dont know

i can donate fri when i get paid

On cars that you can set the timing by turning the distributor if the timing is advanced to far the engine will fire and try to kick back the engine, if there is a nose like a knock when running you may have a bearing problem, what i would do is pull the plugs and see if the engine will turn smoothly by hand with no tight spots, if you hit a tight spot, you may have a bearing ore a piston problem.

RE-CHECK EVERY BATTERY CABLE CONNECTION...I MEAN, FROM BEGINNING TO END. POSITIVE, ALL THE WAY TO THE STARTER, AND NEGATIVE UNTIL IT TERMINATES...LOOSEN/ CLEAN/ RE-TIGHTEN THE CONNECTIONS...EVEN THE "SQUEEZERS" (IF YOU HAVE THEM) WHERE THE BATTERY CABLES MEET THE BATTERY CLAMPS........NO CHEATING...NO SAYING, "THAT ONE LOOKS GOOD"----THIS WILL COST YOU NOTHING! (UNLESS YOU FIND A BAD CABLE)

IF IT RAN FINE, THEN "YOU" SHUT IT DOWN (NOT IT SHUT ITSELF DOWN)

PERSONALLY I DON'T THINK SOMETHING "BROKE" OR "MOVED" ON IT'S OWN, IF IT WAS SIMPLY THE STARTER OR BATTERY, AND "MUCH MONKEYING" WITH STUFF OCCURRED, WHILE "GRASPING" FOR A QUICK FIX. MAYBE YOU/ GOOD SAMARITAN HAVE COMPOUNDED THE PROBLEM.

EVEN HAVING SAID ALL THAT, AND NO "MONKEY STUFF" OCCURRED....I 'M SORT GONNA STICK WITH "SUFFICIENT JUICE" NOT MAKING IT TO THE STARTER

ONE LAST NOTE--EVEN "BRAND SPANKING NEW" STUFF, CAN BE DEFECTIVE!

IF IT WILL MAKE IT THERE, YOU MIGHT ALSO HAVE YOUR CHARGING SYSTEM/ STARTER CHECKED AT A POPULAR AUTO PARTS STORE, THIS IS USUALLY FREE TOO!

IT DOES FINALLY "BUST OFF" AND RUN???? HOW DOES IT SOUND???

KEEP US POSTED

THE MEDIC

knocks a littel like low on oil outher wise sounds and runs good ,i will go back over the ground and lead,i still think starter eavan though it tested good 122.00$ though,yeah there was no monkey around it just quit but i turned it off,it has to be somthing simple,possibly a relay,brother inlaw just put a belt on not too long ago maybe the timing

IMMA GUESSING,

THE KNOCK/ RATTLE/ CLATTER YOU DESCRIBE, WAS THERE BEFORE THIS ISSUE???

DON'T KNOW YOUR CAR KNOWLEDGE ON "RACKET"---MIGHT JUST BE VALVE TRAIN "TAP" OR "RATTLE" (ROCKER ARMS OR PUSH-ROD SLACK/ SLOP)----NOT A "KNOCK" USUALLY HEARD LOW IN THE ENGINE MOSTLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE CRANK OR RODS

USUALLY "LABORED" TURNING OVER IS POOR CONNECTIONS/ BATTERY/ BAD STARTER.......AND YES, COULD BE TIMING RELATED, BUT HOW YOU HAVE DESCRIBED THE SITUATION, TO "ME", IT AIN'T FITTING THAT PROFILE.....BUT THERE AGAIN, WITH THIS NEWER STUFF, I'M NOT THE SHARPEST KNIFE IN THE DRAWER!

KEEP US POSTED, USUALLY AS MORE INFO ARRIVES, OTHERS SOMETIMES TEND TO JUMP IN AN SHARE THEIR IDEAS.

THE MEDIC

i got the mountaineer to run it was the timing and sounds even better now than it did no knock at all ,like new car but my brother inlaw drove it to the wallmart and it jumped time ,is that belt or chain,i found anouther forum auto zone says it is chain but it runs so it isnt brokecan time chain jump or just belt,im gunna try to fix my self where do i start

could it be camshaft syncronizer,making the comp throw time evertime you start it ,i can crawl under it and set the time on the crankshaft ant it will start right up no problem sounds good but when you turn it off it wont start again till you set the marks again

could it be camshaft syncronizer throwing the computors time off,its almost winter now here and i need this fixed can someone help,any ideas

No, the ignition timing cannot be changed on that vehicle and the synchronizer has nothing to do with spark.

yes but is the syncronizer is bad its telling it to not start,i looked up the symtoms of a bad camshaft syncronizer,engine light ,poor aceleration and no start

And what does any of that have to do with cranking speed?

if i line the marks up maualy on the crankshaft it starts imediatly has plenty of crank speed and spark ,i dont evan have to turn the key all the way but you drive it a block or 10 miles what ever you want then turn it off its more than a inch outa time again the syncronizer will tell the computor all is right, the comp is setting the final time

the camshaft synchronizer ,or camshaft position senser the same it is replaceing the distributor therfore if its not working its not keeping time,its not the chain or gears thats all thats left,like i said if i maually put it on its time marks it starts and runs fine like new car till you turn it off

It could be both issues that are bad. However, they aren't tied together. What you described sounds like the timing belt is really stretched. Have you replaced it yet? I looked over the posts and as mentioned, if the timing is out, it will cause a cylinder to kick back stopping or slowing the starter. So it does sound like you nailed it. Let me know about the timing chain.

everything i looked into so far site wise and auto stores says it is chain inside not belt is there a way to tell without taking it apart,it looks like i have alot of things to take off to get inside the timing cover. and if it is a time chain inside then there is no tensioner inside so crankshaft and cam shaft will stay in time then when i put on marks. #1 is tdc,leaving it to senser or syncronizer by same i meant 1 just clips on top of the outher it is cheaper for me to buy the 3 together than sepaerate synchronizer ,senser ,and tool,thank you

For sure it is a chain. Usually when they stretch, you can actually hear the chain. Other than that, it is a guess. And yes you are correct, no tensionier. The cam and crank will stay in time as long as nothing is moved. The worst part is getting to the chain. If I remember correctly, you will need to remove the bolts on the front of the oil pan too to remove the timing chain cover.

If you decide to do it, let me know and I can get you timing marks...

THANK YOU MUCH

Glad to help. Let me know if you need anything.

ok jacobandnickolas i took out the synchronizer ,it and the senser was both broke up in side baught new ones but i couldnt find the tool ,so i marked the senser cap ,the sync,and the motor,sat the motor to tdc using the crankshaft and a screwdriver in #1, put the new sychronizer in ,it started drove around the block turned it off started it again drove around the block ,turned it off wouldnt start the 3rd time,now it wont stay on time marks and i cant get it to start again ,so i screwed up and dont know how to fix it ,can you help

ok ,i now have the synchronizer tool it isnt any help,the directions say turn crankshaft till you have top dead center .i did,then put on the tool it will lock in vane i did.then put in the motor i did .it looks like it is exactly the same way as the 1 i took out,in every way,unless im doing somthing wrong,why does the tool have 2 littel holes like the senser

i did everything right ,finaly figured out the problem,car was starting 1 outa 10 trys,i had everything right evan without the tool the problem was the diagram .i had for the fire order wasnt right i was setting # 4 tdc #1 was actualy 4 plugs down in the same bank,i found a difrent diagram set tdc and it started right up and has started evrytime since ,sounds good runs good but the timeing mark on the crankshaft isnt on its mark its on the outher side of the pully,so did the chain jump or is #1,#4,in one diagram it shows #1 being by the glove box,the outher diagram shows #1 being passanger side front towards headlight ,if i use the diagram where #1 is to the rear of motor tdc the time mark lines up pretty close but car wont turn and eventualy will start 1 outa 10,but useing the diagram where #1 is passanger front of motor set tdc the time mark is on the bottom of pully but car starts ,turns right over and sounds good runs good,should i try and figure it out or leave it alone its running good?hmmm????

and thanks everyone,i was right told ya so

You were right? You have been blaming a cam sensor that you were advised was never the problem and you end up finding out the firing order was wrong.

senser and synchronizer was trashed put new ones in