My brother has a 1991 Cavalier with the 2.1L TBI. The other day he was driving home from work and stopped at the gas station. When he tried to leave the gas station the car wouldn't start.

I have taken a look at it and have found that all four cylinders are getting both spark and fuel.

The car turns over just fine and sounds like it wants to start. We tried popping the clutch a few times, once with a bit of luck, the car started then died shortly after when my brother tried stepping on the gas.

A friend suggested checking the compression and the timing. I will be checking the compression either tomorrow (Friday 7/1) or Saturday. Although, I feel as though neither the timing or compression is bad.

Any suggestions? Anything that notoriously goes wrong with this model that causes these symptoms?

Thanks!

If the car soley turns over and you definetly have fuel,and spark I would strongly suspect the crankshaft position sensor has gone bad! It screws into the block I do not know of a specific way to bypass this or test.Buy a new crankshaft position sensor,disconnect wire connector,unscrew it and you might want to use some permatex high temp thread sealant(sold at advance,autozone,napa) in a white tube on the threads to prevent oil leaks.This sensor controls the timing,ignition,fuel and will cause the car to turn over ALL day and never fire up,even tho u have fuel,and fire(coils,plugs,wires) and not start.Not sure exactly where it is located but should be close to the tc on the back of the block.The engine u listed 2.1 does not exist 2.2 (typo u did ) is what is should be.