A few weeks ago i realized that when i hit about 45mph the car starts to shake if i'm hitting the accelerator until i press the accelerator down half way or all the way (someone told me this could be my distributor). Today I drove on the highway for about 2 minutes. Going 70mph but went up to 80 for a few seconds to pass someone, i exited the highway and stopped at a light. My car shut off right then and there and the service engine light came on. Turned my hazards on, put it in park and tried to start the car. Luckily it started after a minute. I continued back on the highway for another 10 minutes. The service engine light was on the whole time. When i drive on the streets the light is never on. When i stopped the car at my destination it shut off. 5 hours later I came back to head home, the car barely started, idle was horrible. When i accelerate i have to floor it to gain even the littlest of speed. The shaking now starts at 20mph and if I press the accelerator down the car jolts back and forth like im tapping the brake and then hitting the gas. But it's consistent. Brake, gas, brake, gas, ect. I pulled over to check the engine. Shut the car off, popped the hood, checked hoses and what not, turned the car back on, and the engine was vibrating A LOT. Rocking side to side. I went on the highway in my car back in june or july of this year and none of this had happened. I'm pretty sure the cold has nothing to do with it. I have school on Monday and really need my car, unfortunately, the mechanics are closed for the weekend and I have a new lawn ornament for a while I guess.

Please help!?

 

Just dropped my car off at the mechanics. Hopefully they can find out whats wrong. If anyone has had similar problems please let me know what you did to resolve them. I can just tell my mechanic on what it might be and he'll take a look at it for no charge.

 

Have your mechanic read any codes collected to provide a starting point. Then you can start to narrow down the problem.

 

+1

 

Turns out that they could not recreate the problem even though i deal with it every time i drive the car. They said it misfires a lot. They are going to clean the intake because of carbon build-up. Vacuum line is going to be replaced. Nothing said about the distributor though.

 

They did a compression test. It's supposed to be 150 and the highest was 125. They don't know how long it has to live but the guy recommended not putting anything else into it. My dad wants to give up on the car so i guess it's all on me now. Anyone have any ideas on how i can get another 2 years out of this car? The guy also recommended that if i really want to try getting it running to a decent state, buy a big block engine thats carbureted or buy new heads for the engine.

The report went like this:

Vehicle has a few bad vaccum lines to the PCV system that need to be changed out. car is misfiring, theres a coolant leak on the top of intake manifold, a lot of carbon build up in intake that is restricting the vaccum ports. Will need to disassemble to check for any further issues.

After disassembling tech found dist is rusted/failing internally this has caused the cap and rotor to fail. There are internal burn marks on the rotor. The ignition coil has burn marks on it as well and would need to be replaced. Would recommend plugs and wires to to mileage and age. Throttle body shaft has bad play causing vaccum leak, also is leaking coolant. Upper intake needs to be pulled and cleaned because of carbon build up. EGR valve is clogged as well due to carbon build up.

Performed compression test. All cylinders were low, the highest compression was 125. Would need to pull head and replace valve seals.

 

125 isnt great. However, what we look for beyond average compression is deviation from one cylinder to another of 20 PSI or more. I assume they performed the test with throttle wide open, letting the motor turn til the tested cylinder has turned 4 full compression strokes. This is standard and the only way to use numbers for comparison. A small amount of carbon buildup in intake is normal. This is crankcase deposits from the PCV system. Heavy deposits indicate worn or sticky rings. You might try Rislone to clear up sticky rings before deciding on an overhaul.

This being said, the Chevy V8 is good for about 100K under normal use, before needing overhaul, longer with synthetic oil and meticulous care. Hot rodding a stock motor will tear it up in much less time. If this car is OE, the dist is past due for replacement anyway. The leaks just need to be resealed.

 

Are there any repairs/cleanings I can do to the engine on my own to hold on to the car a little more? Like cleaning some or all of the carbon build up in the throttle body? Stuff like that. Maybe repair a few heads. Not even just to the engine. Even the injectors. Anything that will give my car an extra push to last longer that I can do on my own in a driveway (with or without a jack)

 

Rislone is the best treatment for low compression. If any product will increase compression and reduce blowby, it's Rislone. The next best thing is Marvel's Mystery Oil. Be sure to get Rislone "engine treatment". Youll know it by the blue color and the viscosity of ATF.

Its always good to clear out PCV passages. You can use carb cleaner and a small bore brush for this. Be sure to let the engine sit for several hours after cleaning the PCV passages, especially if you use very much carb cleaner. The liquid can collect in a cylinder and cause hydrolock. Letting the engine sit for a while will give the liquid time to seep past the rings and out of the cylinder.

Clean the passages before adding the Rislone. Then change your oil to get rid of the solvent from the cleaning and add the Rislone with the new oil. Your oil should get real dark real quick. This is the Rislone loosening deposits from your rings and bottom end. Use the Rislone for three oil changes and recheck your compression. You should see an improvement.

 

Just cleaned my throttle body, what I could of it anyways. Took it for a test drive, ran a little better but after a while it stalled. I didn't go above 48mph. I think my fuel pump has a lot to do with this. When im low on gas it whines and over the last few weeks its seeming to get louder and louder. I looked up how to clean the PCV passages but I came up empty handed.

 

You never pulled codes - do that first - get a paperclip and follow:

https://www.thirdgen.org/service-eng...ht-error-codes

See what comes up and report back.

I'd say throw $100 at it and see what happens...

1) fuel filter
2) ignition module inside dist (be sure to use the grease it comes with)
3) cap, rotor, wires
4) repair/replace whatever codes tell you.
5) fill the tank full with at least 89 octane, and add a fuel inj cleaner to the tank
6) replace those vacuum lines the 'mechanic' mentions
7) spray the throttle body with throttle body cleaner, and spray MAF with MAF cleaner

Then, take batt cable off neg post and let it sit 10 minutes (resets codes), then drive and see what happens.

Stay away from 'mechanics' - there is no such thing anymore, only 'technicians' that can't seem to fix anything (just replace stuff which you can do yourself).

 

Hello StephenS!!





with

 

I agree with camaronewbie, pull the codes first then go for the other stuff. I would do them in this order:
4, 6, 1, 2, 3, 7, and last 5. This way, if you find the cause, you know what it was - not just that it went away.

Good luck and let us know what you find.

 

I found some Marvel's Mystery Oil but i remember putting something into my gas tank that looked exactly the same just a little smaller. I also read that i should only do that once every 4 years, i put a liquid into my gas tank a few months ago. It says if i do it to often it causes problems with the engine.

I just got my car back from my mechanics about my fuel pump. He said he couldn't find anything wrong with it, even though everytime i turn the car on it makes a high pitch whining sound that I can hear from down the street. The pump does have his "personal" warranty but he will only change it if it completely dies, not if it's making noises. The noise is a bit embarrassing, i mean i have this loud car but once you get close enough you hear a whining sound that makes you wanna poke yourself in the ear drum. I've gotten used to it since i've been driving with it for the past 3 months. It used to only do it at half a tank, now it does it even at a full tank. He said it runs fine but just last week my car shut off on me again several times. I almost didn't make it home. Unless, there is something else near the gas tank that could make this noise, it's only in the rear of the car. I'm almost positive it's the pump because when i accelerate, If i give it a little gas the noise goes down, when it's at a stop light, it's loud. If I have to replace the fuel pump, even if it is a brand new pump (about 1 year old), fine. I don't want to have that noise while im driving. Unless theirs something that I can do to make it stop, which i highly doubt because my mechanic would have told me.

He also said that my Mass Airflow Sensor makes the car a little hesitant (not sure what he meant by that, didn't have time to ask) and needs to be cleaned or replaced. I'd rather clean it first and see what happens.

So as of now i'm looking into a new distributor, and a new fuel pump which will hopefully stop the noise from happening.

Next week i'm going to hopefully go buy a code tester and see what else I could fix as a DIY project.

 

You don't need a code tester - re-read my last post, you need a paperclip and that's all!

You don't need a distributor, maybe a new ignition module and cap/rotor/wires - no need to throw $100 at a $50 problem.

MAF - buy a $5 can of MAF cleaner and clean it - takes 3 minutes.

Fuel pumps whine and make noise - period. You don't hear it as well when accellerating because of engine noises. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Might just be because you are lower on gas than what your guage reads - these guages are not very accurate. Fill it up! Then drive it 100 miles and refill it, noting exactly how many miles and how much gas was used - then you get a mileage rating for your car (MPG), then you know how many miles you can go before empty (these cars have a 15 gallon tank).

 

On Friday i filled up, thinking it wouldn't make the noise, right as it started the pump started whining. I write down what my mile meter reads so I know when to fill up because my gas gauge is inaccurate. I fill up when i go 100 miles.

The fuel pump does whine "normally" when it primes, and continues to whine. You won't notice it until your ear is right against the gas tank with the gas cap off. Right now it's a very loud, very annoying whine. I'll take a video of it the next time it happens so you can hear how loud it is.

 

Today my car shut off on me 8 times while I was driving. It took me 15 minutes to get home from school when i normally takes me 2. I'm really concerned about my safety now. I don't know what to do.

 

I did a code test and replaced the distributor and MAP sensor. The code test told me that my MAP sensor was faulty, my TPS was faulty, and my oxygen sensor was faulty. The MAP sensor was replaced but since the connectors were so old they snapped off so I had to tape the wire back to the MAP sensor, it is still very loose Is there a way to buy the cable for the MAP sensor?

 

yes, the pigtails are replaceable.
you should replace any that are not in good condition.
if you can't find them locally, you can get them from here, http://www.eficonnection.com
that site is from S10Wildside, he is a thirdgen sponsor and regularly posts here. good company and a great guy.

 

I'll look into a new cable. The TPS cable connector tab also snapped off but it's in there tight enough.

As I was driving my fuel pump started to whine, of course, but this time I would have to press the accelerator down to the floor to actually get the car moving. The fuel pump whine would get very very high pitched, the car would bog, almost die, but stay alive. Then the fuel pump would have the normal annoying sound. It did this several times. Even when I was on the accelerator, the car would bog and not accelerate, but then it would stay alive and the accelerator would catch. Maybe it's just the loose MAP sensor? I have yet to change the TPS since it's 50 bucks for a little plastic and metal piece.

 

TRy local auto parts store (AZ. Advance, Oreilly, etc.). I know AZ can order from Dorman. Think the MAP connector is on link below. When screen opens, upper left corner, change page number to 37 and press enter. 1st column, second row - part number 85115. Just try and order a Dorman part number 85115 - if not listed as Dorma, try Conduct-tite 85115.

http://www.dormanproducts.com/flipbo...nductTite.html

Same page, 5th row, 2nd column - TPS connector - Dorman #85186

Might want to give Dorman a buzz, and make sure these two come with the wires (since the wires are not pictured on the page). 1-800-523-2492

 

I talked to a different mechanic and he said it sounds like the module is overheating. Not sure if the module is the computer or not. Yesterday and today the car ran fine, but on Monday it ran like crap. I'm hoping Friday I can get the car checked.