knji

Could not complete the job of changing the water pump due to a stubborn crank shaft pulley bolt and bad weather. Towed the car into a shop and mechanics charged me 12 hours of labour to complete the job I started and now car will not start. Crank turns but the thing will not fire. Mechanic reports zero compression on all cylinders and says it might be a burnt valve.

My question is how? This car ran fine before I decided to change the water pump. I decided to change the water pump because it was going south even though the car was not yet overheating. The car was never run with the coolant drained out so I cannot see the possibility of a burnt valve.

Will misplaced spark plug wires cause no compression? What else should I be looking for?

Any kind of input will be deeply appreciated. Car is an 83 Nissan Stanza with barely 165, 000km.

Thanks
knji

[TIO]-VIPERHVV

Sounds like the cam is out of place... but a burnt valve in every hole is highly unlikely... even with a burn valve, there should be SOME compresson there. No compression at all means the valves are totally gone or the crankshaft isn't moving.

One thing you could do, if you don't have a compression gage is to put some kind of cleaner (like carb cleaner) into each spark plug hole (disable the ignition first!) and leave the spark plugs out. Crank the engine. What ever amount of carb cleaner you put into the cyclinder should come right back out. Compression just indicated whether the cylinder is sealing to allow for combustion.. great website for info on terms like that is www.howstuffworks.com

I know it's kinda late, but hope i helped a little

Kurt

There could be another theory
You left the car in reverse and they towed it away by lifting the back end and you engine got flung apart 'cause the guy in the tow truck wanted to see if the rig had a shutoff at high speed.
But I could be wrong, I mean I'm not god or anything...