It cranks but does not start?

OLDGUYMECHANIC65

MEMBER
2011 CHEVROLET TRAVERSE
3.6L
V6
2WD
AUTOMATIC
150,000 MILES

I'm thinking about buying the vehicle listed above used. I looked at it and it's a nice looking SUV. The owner showed me paperwork of timing chain got changed about 8 months ago. It has fuel pressure (about 55 PSI on crank). I didn't check for spark though. It cranks but doesn't start. I've heard the cats in these vehicles stop up pretty easily. What are your thoughts? I know several things can stop it from starting.

1 Reply

KEN L

MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
48,363 POSTS

To check if the cats are not making it start put your hand over the exhaust pipe when cranking and see if you can feel the pulses of the cylinders, if you feel the pulses chances are that the catalytic converter is not the problem. How does it sound while cranking, normal? If you could upload a short video of the engine cranking, I can tell if the engine is hurt or not. Also, let's try starting fluid to see if anything changes, that will help tell us if the problem is fuel delivery.

Here is a guide to help get us started and I have included a video to help check for spark:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/car-not-running-advanced

and

https://youtu.be/baq_aEWNQ0Y?si=0-s1eQcZtzBV5Sae

Once we have more information, I can help you fix it. Please go over these guides and get back to us.