2002 2.7 Santa Fe will not start...

2002 Santa Fe will not start...
Prior to this, my transmission was acting up. I couldn't accelerate above 60mph... RPM's would climb but would not move faster. Drove it for about a week at slower speeds. All of a sudden vehicle transmission kicks out of drive and then stalls out... Towed it home. I replaced the crankshaft sensor(wires leading to it were seemimgly charred). That didn't fix the starting problem. I replaced all six spark plugs... What the heck, it was time! Still no start!
There's 150,000 on motor... Never replaced the timing belt.
Getting spark... Sprayed starting fluid in the air intake... Nothing happened.
Only other thing I can think of is prior to problems (about a week or so)I welded a dime sized hole in the exhaust before the catalytic converter... Could plugged catalytic converter cause these problems?
Thanks for your help,
John

 

does it crank when you turn the key? or no noise whatsoever?

 

Hi masacheef21,
It does crank over...

 

that sounds like a fuel supply problem then if you changed the sparks and make sure you're getting them.

 

I juse realized how old this thread was lol and am losing hope for a resolution to my problem.

 

I put a little gas in the front 3 cylinders, and then replaced the spark plugs... It turned over but didn't fire.... Hmmmm

 

from my understanding, what the sparks ignite is a gas-air mixture. liquid gasoline in a cylinder might not do you any good. did you check your fuel lines/injectors? thy sell cleaners for them to get rid of stuff that clogs them( water, debris, etc.) fairly cheap

 

After reading and thinking about what you are saying, I might check the fuel filter...Maybe it's clogged? (I'm pretty sure I can hear the fuel pump turning on)

 

If engine started up then would consider it a fuel issue.
Seeing there is spark and you sprayed fuel then it could be timing or compression?
If there was an oscilloscope (and current clamps) then it takes fifteen minutes to check timing and compression.

Welding a hole in the exhaust shouldn't have done anything to ECU
Unless you did your welding with an arc welder (flux core, tig, mig) and had battery still hooked up