I understand alot of threads are being created on matters like this lately...

Two days ago, I am hearing a sound like piston slap coming from the passenger side. I drive it easy on my way home and when hitting the brakes and placing transmission in neutral (T5) it immediately kills the engine and will not start. I coast into my driveway and after three minutes it starts and I quickly park it in my garage.

I finally have time to deal with the car today so I remove the belt and check for play and sounds. The a.i.r pump makes a clatter when turned so I remove it and install a 96.8 inch belt with it rerouted. The car starts fine and no more piston slap sound. Score! I back it out and drive it down the driveway onto the road. Drove perfect, no problems! A 1/4 mile down the road is intersection I planned to use to turn around and drive home. Again, placing it in neutral I hit the brakes and it dies. Wouldn't start at all.

I get it back to the house via towstrap and she won't start at all. I have had the battery checked and charged. The battery does read low in my opinion according to my gauges, but she won't crank. I press the clutch, turn the key and get a loud click and nothing, my efans always turn on with key on, and they stop when I turn it all the way to start and my gauge lights dim slightly. Turn it back and the fans go strong, gauges are lit up strong.

I'm short for time and need to get this car back on the streets as it is my daily driver. Open to suggestions, help, answers.

 

Sixty-Eight views, you don't have to just look at it, feel free to post. :P

 

The starter isn't turning the engine over?

If not and the battery checks good, check battery/starter connections. If good try turning engine over with pull handle/socket on crankshaft. It turns over by hand, remove starter with set of jumper cables test, ground casing and apply voltage to hot post and check for engagement/spin. If starter checks ok, ohm cables.

 

Today it's snowing out so I got and try to start the car and it fires up. Alibi bit of a lopey idle. Pulled it forward and shut it off. I have yet to check grounds. Gonna wait till my heater get's everything warmed up.

 

Does it do it just coasting without any brake pressure applied?

 

Sorta, the idle drops to near dying and hops back up. I also have a new issue. It is now randomly starting again without me doing anything to it, however, I have a knocking sound coming from the driver side that does increase in sound as the engine is revved. I let it idle for maybe fifteen minutes and I could hear the knocking kinda sound like it was going away but came back.

 

Not to mention fills the area with white smoke and hurts the throat. FAWK.

 

You should check compression.

 

Make sure you explain exactly your problem. Wont start and wont crank over are two completely different problems. When a starter is getting tired heat from running can kill em until they cool a little. You cant start an engine without cranking it over first. (Sorry, thats one of my pet peeves)

White smoke from the tail pipe is coolant, usually a head Gsk. or cracked head. Have fun!

 

I agree. It almost needs to be a forum rule to verify whether its a no start/no crank situation.

 

Forgive me. It wouldn't start, and it wouldn't even crank. So I guess I should have stated not cranking. Thank you for the help. I've been pretty stressed lately and have not even wanted to think about this damn car.

 

If your going through allot coolant one quick check would be to remove your spark plugs & look for signs of coolant, then crank the engine over (stand clear) if there's water in a cyl. it'l be obvious, not necessarily a huge problem, might just need head gsks.

Unfortunately if you cranked the engine over with coolant in a cyl.(hyd lock) you probably bent a rod.

Now this would be a worst case, hopefully it wont be this bad. If you do have water in a cyl. go ahead and run a compression check, that can help narrow down your problems, if the comp on the wet cyl is only a little low then maybe your lucky enough to just need head gsks. If its really low it could still be a severly blown gsk. or back to the worst case bent rod.

There are other ways to trouble shoot an engine but requires tools that most folks don't have, CO testers (blue fluid). leak down testers.

Do the simple stuff yourself, if that doesn't help find a good Mech.

 

more than once cars have come to me with this problem,many times i find it to be bad or missing body grounds.a bad battery to engine ground cable.on the other hand swap the battery out, your idea may be spot on