Ok I need help again. Crank no start.

[JuuCeD82ReGaL]

Man I wish I could go to Florida! Hell you come to the peach state for a vacation or somthing and I will settle you out right bud. 🙂 When you say booster is that the 1.5 in hose thats by the brake res against firewall? If so it had a bolt in it already. I looked today but actually didnt see it in there anymore. Maybe it fell out I dunno. Well heres some pics of the bay I found online. What a P.O.S. Actually I did notice that when I Last drove the car the brakes were working like sh*t. Really stiff and barely grabbing. Before all this bs they worked fine. I also noticed that bolt you see in the line in the picture is missing. Just went and checked. Man do u think thats the problem! Let me know Cutlass.

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[85 Cutlass Brougham]

Well, the last failed booster I dealt with was in a EG Civic, and it surged and ran like crap because of it. That's in a car with a speed density EFI that could somewhat compensate for it too. I plugged the booster line, and it ran OK. I am not saying to drive with the bolt in the car for a long time, just as a verification procedure. (Also note this car had a 1.5 liter engine, so the effect may have been more pronounced than with the 3.8. Or, about 85ci vs 231ci) No sense buying parts that aren't broken, so it pays to be sure something is really bad to begin with. That 5/16 or 3/8 in vacuum leak will make it run like sh*t and idle high. So, plug the hole again, and test it to see if it pulls like a 3.8 should ( smooth and linear, but still slow). You may wish to grab a 3/8 hose clamp and clamp the bolt in place to eliminate the possibility of it coming out or leaking.

I will also give you the EGR valve checking procedure too as it is simple. To verify that it is opening and closing, put a finger through the window and touch the metal plate that is the bottom of the diaphragm. Now, rev the engine and you should feel it move up when revved, and down when it goes down to idle. If it doesn't do that, pull the hose off it and push the diaphragm up with your finger. Now place another finger over the hose nipple and see if it stays up. If so, it is operational. If not, it is bad. Plug the hose and see if it runs better.

 

[JuuCeD82ReGaL]

Well..... Today another day same issues. First thing I Messed with was the vacuum booster line. When I plugged it back the idle jumped a little higher when in park. Sounds alot better. I also found a sparkplug that was loose 😱
I still dont have any power though. So my next step is to get down to the timing chain. Any easy way of doing this? I dont think I will do anything else to this car before I fix the timing issue because it is running 180 degrees away from tdc. And it will only run that way. If I try to take it near the scale it will retard. Either way I turn the distributer. Has any1 actually seen a timing chain slip over teeth or get real loose? Im pretty sure its really f@&ked up in there where I cant see anything.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

You could use the finger test to check the looseness of the timing chain without pulling a bunch of stuff apart. To do so, you basically take the fuel pump out and push the chain with a finger. If it is really loose, it is bad. Then again, I would also see how fast it is 0-60 by having someone time it with a watch. It should take 20-22 seconds to hit 60 if all is functioning right. If it is much slower, you have an issue. I would also be sure you are timing off of the #1 cylinder, and not clamping the wrong wire.

 

[JuuCeD82ReGaL]

Man when you say have someone time me going 0-60 u know my car at this point will not go over 3 mph. When it was running decent it maybe went 30. So your saying I can take the fuel pump out and in the hole feel with my finger, feel and see if the chain is loose? I didnt know the timing chain was right there but makes sense. I had the fuel pump off plenty of times too. But
thats the kind of info I like! Ok so I read from a post that you can find and dial in your timing by cranking your car over till you find #1 cylinder at tdc. Then take off distributer and check to see if the rotor is at the #1 wire on cap. And if its not then rotate to the #1 wire on distributer. Will that work or is that not accurate? It makes kind of sense though. Just wanted to see if it was true.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

You can also use the finger test. Pull plug number one, and put a finger in the hole that will seal the hole. Now hand turn the crank with a socket wrench (you may need a helper) until the pressure inside blows your finger out of the hole. You are now on the compression stroke. You could also use a screwdriver to probe the piston through the hole if you are CAREFUL with the crank turning. When it no longer goes up and starts to go down, back off until you reach TDC. Now check your rotor position. Alternately, keep putting your finger over the hole until it no longer gets pushed out, but instead gets sucked in by vacuum. The midpoint between these two events it follows would be TDC.

Oh, and the reason you can check the chain in this engine ( I know from experience) is that the fuel pump eccentric is on the end of the cam sprocket. So, a little below that point is where the chain may be slack as it is the point between the cam and crank sprockets. You can't do this on , say, a Small Block Chevy because the pump eccentric is ground into the cam, and the pump is in the block, not the timing cover. Which leads me to another tip: There is a hard way and an easy way to install a mechanical fuel pump. The hard way is with the eccentric at the top of it's lift curve as you will be fighting the pump arm's return spring. The easy way is with it on it's base circle. So, if it is hard to put in, rotate the crank until it is easier.

 

[JuuCeD82ReGaL]

Hey yall. Found a engine that is a chevy 1982 3.8 v6. Mines a buick 82. The guy wants 75.00 for it and says he will warranty for problems. Even remove old engine and install the one he has for 200.00 extra. But.... the thing is he said it wouldnt bolt up to the transmission? There are different bolt patterns? So wtf. Do I need to find a motor from my model exactly or what else has a v6 3.8 231 that I can look for at junk yards that will fit in my car. The transmission is a 3 speed, pretty sure, and it also feels like it may be going out by shifting in gear so harsh when going from park to drive. So what will fit up to my transmission I have now? Just the 231 or will a 4.1 work?

 

[JuuCeD82ReGaL]

Ok! Been awhile since I been on here but been busy with alot of sh*t. I am proud to say I have had my car running for atleast 2 months and it still starts on first try and runs great with good idle. I replaced the fuel pump about 3 times because they all were just sh*t I guess. I eventually spent more money on the best one and that seemed to work cuz it past the pump test, oh but all this was after I had replaced the starter. The old *ss starter eventually sh*tted on me after failing plenty of tests done at different autoparts stores. I also rebuillt my first carburetor and it turned out great. Had no parts left 😀 and set the float and needle as instructed as well as the idle air controls etc. Put it all back together and it would not start even with starter spray everything. It finally took alot of tries and beers and im serious it took hours to get it to crankover after letting the starter cool off. I had to hold the choke wide *ss open then hold the accelerator open and it STARTED FINALLY! I read the chiltons more on choke adjustments and had to bend the choke rod a tad and sh*t this beast is runnin! I have driven it atleast 100mi. so far since it being fixed. Now my only problems now that I could use help with is my cluster. How can I fix it so I can get my MPH and fuel gauge to work. It is killing me to keep puttin money in it for fuel and I still dont know where its at :x Can I use a single gauge for fuel and wire it into the red wire going to the fuel sending unit behind bumper??? I have checked my cluster fuses and they are fine. I have lights illuminated inside and the clock works and actually the fuel gauge has moved before but is not accurate what so ever. Can I replace the whole cluster and will it be ok? Some1 let me know thanks.

 

[megaladon6]

find the wires from the fuel sender and do a resistance test. GM units usually go from 0-90ohms (i forget which is empty/full but it doesn't really matter). test it after fillup, and then after about 50-100mi, or before and after fillup. if it changed then the unit is good. if not, or if you get a short to ground or infinite resistance, do the test as close to the tank as possible. preferrably at the sending unit itself, this involves dropping the tank. if you have a good reading at the cluster connector, then i'd check the gauge. inspect the gauge circuit board for cracks in the pathways. they can be fixed with rear window defroster repair kits. you can usually run power and/or ground to the gauge through the connector and see if it moves.

 

[JuuCeD82ReGaL]

Ok I will try that. anyone else have suggestions>?