Hello All- I am trying to troubleshoot a 94 Camry with a 4-banger. It was running kind of rough and upon intial inspection of the engine I noticed about a 4" gouge in the main drive(timing) belt. Then, the next morning the car will not start. It cranks, but will not start. It has gas and the fuel pump will whine after i stop cranking it. I can smell gas too. Someone suggested the distributor cap could have become loose and threw off the timing. Is that common? She has 204K on her. I'm sure I will need to replace timing belt too. If the distributor cap seems fine, what else might I check? Thanks

 

Remove the ign wire from the dist cap and hold about 1/2 inch from a chassis ground point. Turn engine over and check for ign spark.

Not common for the dist cap to come off. Make sure the dist housing has not become unbolted and allowed the dist housing to rotate (not common either).

If no spark the issue is in the ignitor, coil, etc. If spark check the plugs and ign wires.