Lumineer Posted June 17, 2009 Report Share Posted June 17, 2009 My friend Ben owns a bright red '97 Monte Carlo LS with a 3100 and was taking my brother and some friends to Worlds of Fun down in Kansas. I was sleeping and got a call all of a sudden. Apparently, the car broke down suddenly and left them stranded on the interstate. They report seeing the SES light come on, then smelling burning oil briefly, but the smell quickly went away. The car then died. He told me they checked all fluids, including oil, and said it was fine. I asked him if he checked the coolant, because I know these engines are known to suffer leaky head gaskets, allowing coolant into the engine, but he said coolant level was okay. The car is completely stock, with only a Flowmaster muffler. It has 115k on the odometer. Last I rode it, I remember learning that the car had some electrical problems (interior lighting never worked or partially-worked half the time). They want me to call back if I can tell them anything whatsoever, other than leaky head gaskets as a possibility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtremerevolution Posted June 17, 2009 Report Share Posted June 17, 2009 alternator? will it even crank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lumineer Posted June 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2009 Well, I called my friend to get more information and he said that the car would start right up, but then die again. I mentioned the leaky head gasket possibility and he said that it DID in fact have a leaky head gasket. Why he never did anything about it during the time he's had it is baffling (he's had it maybe a month or two at most). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertISaar Posted June 17, 2009 Report Share Posted June 17, 2009 starts right up, but then dies? VATS? or a fuel issue... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pontiac6KSTEAWD Posted June 17, 2009 Report Share Posted June 17, 2009 Thats what I was about to say... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5speedz34 Posted June 17, 2009 Report Share Posted June 17, 2009 I would check for spark and fuel.....and go from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy K Posted June 17, 2009 Report Share Posted June 17, 2009 I'm going to vote for something major... like a broken camshaft... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tornado_735 Posted June 18, 2009 Report Share Posted June 18, 2009 Throttle position sensor? That wouldn't explain the burning oil smell though. Perhaps he caught the burning oil smell from some POS in front of him. That's happened to me on occasion. I smell it and think "Oh shit, what happened" then I see the 92 Saturn puttering along ahead of me. I know when the TPS died in my '91 CS, it would start, and then die. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lumineer Posted June 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2009 Well, my friend got towed to some shop out in the middle of a cornfield, according to him He described the mechanics as hillbillies. I don't remember the details, but I guess he got the A/C fixed the other day before the trip and I can't remember if it was directly related or perhaps the previous mechanic(s) forgot something, but he told me something to the effect that his air intake or something was screwed up somehow, and that the MAF sensor also ignited somehow. I can't remember the details, but they fixed it nonetheless. Although, he says he feels like he's lost some low-end power, but that his top-end speed is higher. He also noted that it idles higher than before, around 1000-1500ish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SigEpCutlass Posted June 18, 2009 Report Share Posted June 18, 2009 If the car starts and immediately dies I think of a few things: 1. VATS (try another key if he has one). You can also search for one of the many threads about bypassing VATS. 2. Check for loose or disconnected vacuum hoses 3. Spark 4. Fuel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1990lumina Posted June 20, 2009 Report Share Posted June 20, 2009 The higher idle is probaby from a vacuum line that is disconnected when those gguys were digging around in the engine bay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy K Posted June 20, 2009 Report Share Posted June 20, 2009 I thought about it some more... i bet it wiped a lobe! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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