Pontiac Repair: 2002 pontiac sunfire not firing, engine cranks, proper lubrication

Question
the engine cranks with plenty of power but will not fire at all.  I removed plugs and they all had fuel smell, let them air out and and reinstalled (so not flooded).  plug has spark.  side issues.. one cylinder also has water (cracked head or gasket), but I would think it would still fire??  where and what should I start looking for?  thanks for your help

Answer
Hi David:

If you have a cylinder with "water" in it it may not fire. it may be low on compression on that cylinder as well as coolant in the cylinder. It could have a head issue where it has a intake valve that is hanging up and the compression from one cylinder in leaking back into the intake manifold and effecting the other 3. Regardless if this has coolant in a cylinder the engine is going to have to come apart to see what the root cause it. getting it running is secondary. It may be a good thing that it's not running because if it's using coolant the will get into the crank case and intermix with the oil and they the engine will eventually seize up due to lack of proper lubrication. I would how ever take a compression test of the 4 cylinders and see what the reading are so you have an idea if you have a second cylinder that is going effected by the 1 that is dead. Sorry to be vague here but like I said the engine is going to have to come apart one way or another. Good luck :)