Hey everyone. I've tried searching and looked around multiple forums and videos and have yet to find or try anything that has solved my issue so I figured I'd finally make a thread.

I bought my '90 240sx KA24E MT back in October and it had been sitting in a Kentucky yard for about 7 years. It's no surprise I couldn't get it to start when I first got it but I've been tweaking and replacing things for a few months now with no solution.

At the moment, it cranks, sometimes fires once, and then just continues cranking. Never once has it acted like it wanted to get up and start.

So far I've replaced spark plugs, spark plug wires, injectors (they were ruined by old gas/age and wouldn't spray), distributor/cap/rotor, ignition switch, starter relay (blue box by battery), battery. I also drained all old gas and put about 6 gallons of new gas in.

I've checked the compression of the engine, all cylinders read 180 except 4th which is about 170. I get spark, the injectors all spray. I checked timing by checking distributor rotor is pointing at #1 spark plug wire terminal when 1st piston is at TDC. I tried starting it without the MAF plugged in. My ECU lights work when the key is turned. I've also cleaned all grounds in the engine bay. My fuel pump primes every time as well. Checked to make sure cam, crank, and distributor are all in sync and in the right place. Crank is at 0 degrees, key notch for cam is at 12 oclock, cam gear dimple is at 3, and distributor rotor points at #1 spark plug wire. This is correct timing if I read right.

Also since trying all this, I replaced the timing chain, tensioner, oil pump, and water pump. Checked oil pump/middle piece/distributor timing before putting it back together and crank/#1 cylinder tdc timing before turning the key after buttoning everything back up. Still not starting, doing the same exact thing.

I'm by no means a professional mechanic but I tend to do most simple jobs on my cars myself, and getting this to start has absolutely stumped me. Any advice or recommendations are greatly appreciated. Feel free to ask any questions or for clarification. Thanks!

when you say distributor/cap/rotor, do you mean you replaced the whole distributor too? i had a no start issue once on my z, it was getting fuel/spark, everything looked fine but would just keep cranking. it ended up being the CAS (crank angle sensor) inside the distributor. so i bought another distributor, swapped it out and it fired right up and haven't had an issue with that since. a bad CAS will cause a no start when everything else looks like it's working. if not that, then maybe try a spare ecu?

Yep, replaced the whole distributor. I got another one at the junk yard because (if I remember right) with my old one the injectors wouldn't fire at all (CAS issue again I think). So after I put it in they would at least fire but still no start. I guess it could still be bad and I could try a brand new/reman one but they're pretty pricey and I wouldn't want to unless I was sure that was it.

Silly question....but is your timing absolutely correct on your dizzy? Are you 100% that you're not accidentally 180 out?

So when I set it to TDC for #1 cylinder (2nd from left mark on crank pulley as far as I understand) and take off my distributor, the oil pump spindle in the hole is a "D" in orientation and so the distributor tip has to be essentially a flipped D for it to go in. Once they mesh together, the distributor rotor points at the #1 spark plug (bottom right one). Would this be correct dizzy timing?

Honestly I can't remember. It's been over a decade since I've messed with a single jingle. I just know that I recently had an issue with a dual cam where it was doing the same symptom, it turned out even though all the timing marks on the crank lined up I had accidentally installed the dizzy 180 out. Switched it, and it fired right up no problem.

Ah okay. I think I've got the distributor timing set correctly. I know with single cams they can really only go together a certain way I think but the dual cams have a bit more variation to play with.

I've got a coolant temp sensor on the way, as well as an ignition coil as I checked my spark color and it was yellowish, which someone said wasn't hot enough. I'll see how that goes.