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86 Olds Delta 88 wont start.

Ok I know this is an older car but we love it and would like to get it going again so any help would be great. ...First it has a 3.8 and just turned to 100 thous miles and has ran like a brand new car till....We took it to a garage and had some trasmission gaskets fixed and a mount.We picked it up and it ran a little sluggish and the check engine light came on.We got it home and looked under the hood and the intake sensor and some other things was unhooked.Hooked them back up and it wouldnt start.It would crank over but just wouldnt start.So we had it towed to another garage and they said it wasnt getting spark and the coil and ignition module was bad so we replaced it.Then he calls back and says its getting spark but still not starting.Not sure why but if he could guess he would say its the timing and gave me a price to fix it.Not wanting to pay more money for guess work its now sitting at home.Another garage guy said it could be the crank sensor it would do the same thing as if the timing chain was bad.And that is not very common that that car and motor has timing problems.So what do you think Timing Chain or Crank sensor? oh If you go and start it now the first time you try you hear kind of a pop sound.that didnt happen before we replaced the last 2 things.If you try again it dont make that sound just the first time you try. So sorry for the long post but ireally want this car going any help would be great....New battery,starter fine,feul pump fine,new mass air flow sensor,new intake sensor,new 02 sensor,new coil and ignition module,new plugs and wires.

Reply to
LadyRavenFan52
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First does it have a strong spark, second will it start spraying carb cleaner into the intake, 3rd these engines were famous for failed timing chains .

Reply to
maxwedge

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according to everyone yes it does have a strong spark now,When we did try spraying the carb cleaner into the intake it still wouldnt start.Since the engines are actually bad about the timing chain then theres a very good chance thats wahts wrong huh.Thank you very much for your reply!

Reply to
LadyRavenFan52

I WOULD TRY THE CRANK SENSOR I HAVE A LUMINA THAT DID THE SAME THING PUT A NEW SENSOR ON IT AND WALLAH

Reply to
IRONMDN35

Since it went bad right after the transmission & mount work, its likely something is still not connected or not connected correctly (vacuum hoses connected to wrong ports, etc.), and probably is not any sort of internal engine problem. You want to start at the transmission and the mount and work outward checking every connection, vacuum hose and any/all moving parts they could've screwed up while they were in there.

Reply to
E Meyer

For those of you who replied (thank you) I wanted to give a little update.As of now the car is still not running and has been at a garage for 2 weeks now.They still dont know.Now I dont work at a garage or work on cars but shouldnt they know something as long as they have had it?

Reply to
LadyRavenFan52

Yes. These are not that hard to diagnosis.

Reply to
dahpater

had a friend that just went through this...... after throwing a bunch of parts at it, the mechanic replaced the crank sensor..... then the car started.

check the crank sensor...... might be your problem

Reply to
mark

He said it has spark.

Reply to
dahpater

Ok I really think I am done messing with this car.Its been about 4 weeks its been at this garage so I called them AGAIN.He really hasnt checked anything the only thing he has even mention doing is tring to start it and now a compression test.So when I talked to him today he said he thinks it has to be something in the head because it has little to no compression.So before I call the junk yard and say heres you alot of new parts could it really be the heads or could it be still something else like timing ?

Reply to
LadyRavenFan52

Well the bad news is your mechanic is either lazy or dumb or possibly both. Pretty much any trained monkey with a compression gauge could tell you what was going on if they were looking at it and had done it a few times before.....

If the compression is low across all the cylinders my first guess would be that the timing chain has jumped. When that happens the valves no longer open and close at the proper time as the pistons go up and down. If one of the valves is open when the piston is coming up on the compression stroke you get no compression.

If the compression is just low on a couple of cylinders you could have ring / valve issues on those cylinders.

My $$$$ are on the timing chain being worn out. If the car is otherwise in good condition it would be worth repairing.

Steve B.

Reply to
Steve B.

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