so i changed out the pipe after the cat and then went to start the car and it cranks and that's it. I drove the car home from work the night before (30 miles), and yes open cat drives ya nuts. changed out the exhaust pipe and now it wont run. Ive swapped distributors with another one i had, changed the module under the distributor cap, new cap, rotor. still nothing. i have fuel to the rail, checked spark with an inline spark checker ( yes bulb lights up), ive even swapped main relays since i have a couple. (i have 3 total and none of them smell burnt). The plugs have been pulled and you can smell fuel on them as well. not over powering but there.
I'm at a loss for ideas.

 

are you getting any codes and is firing order correct ?

 

firing order is correct. the distributor only goes in one way & i changed out the wires one for one. i havent checked codes. thats in the passenger side kick panel last i knew. ive never pulled codes from this car and i've owned it since 2000 @ 92,000 miles and currently just under 230,000. the CEL has never been on since ive owned it. the last time i had a no start and all it would do is crank, crank, and crank. the cause was the main relay. when i turn the switch on it makes the normal sounds like it always has. only thing i can think of is this has something to do with the vibration of being driven 30 miles and a open catalytic converter.
i feel like beating my head against a wall. i wont have time to pull codes till thursday.

 

Does the CEL work?

 

have you checked grounds?

 

how does your start sound?

 

Did you burn up the secondary O2 sensor wire?

 

Curious as to WHY that would cause the car not to start?

 

OP if you have spark, fuel, and crank, you need air. Is your intake plugged up? Is you're timing belt broken?