My Problem Child....95 Cutlass Supreme 3.4L

[lifeblows10]

Let me start out with the car's specs, then move down to the issues and what has been done to her so far, and a list of things she needs... and maybe someone can point me in the right direction. (NOTE: This is my girlfriend's car. A new car is out of the option at the moment. I know this thing is worth next to nothing, so I figure it would be wise to keep her running, at least for a little bit.)

 

1995 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme SL Coupe, with the 3.4L engine, with about 164,000 miles on the odometer.

 

Problem(s):

-Currently has a starting issue. It takes 15-20 cranks before it will turn over, and it seems to be choking (200-500 RPM) on itself but eventually surges to 1,200 RPM and then slowly drops to 1000 or so RPM.

-Oil Leak, from where I don't know. I know it is leaking into the spark plugs (which has slowed since I have been using Maxlife in her...) and around the drain pan...

-Horrid MPG, she is getting 10 MPG average around town. I drive a small SUV that I drive like a maniac and still manage 18 MPG....

-Suspension, yeah, it needs replacing.

-Filling up problem, won't fill up normally. Triggers the cut-off at the pump every half gallon or so.

-Reoccurring ABS light (which since a new battery has been put in has yet to reappear.)

-Super harsh shifts between Park/Neutral into Drive and from 1st to 2nd: I know it needs a fluid swap... but I am afraid to since I know it probably hasn't been done in a very long time.

-Very VERY rich fuel smell at the exhaust.... that will eat up a catalytic converter quickly. (Thankfully a new one is cheap... if it causes problems)

 

What has been fixed/replaced/touched/looked at:

-Power Steering Pump and Lines (I broke the EVO sensor... was able to use one from a 3.1L pump... thankfully...)

-New Battery

-New Fuel Filter (When the car was attempting to start up, it actually started to produce engine knocking, which it has never done before. We use 87 Oct. Shell as an FYI)

-New Radiator, Thermostat, and water pump (had a heating problem, the water pump was shot and the radiator was leaking.)

-New Spark Plugs (A/C Delco Rapidfire I believe, set the gap to .45 as stated.)

And.... I think that is about all that I can think of.

 

Parts I am going to replace:

-PCV Valve. Which is caked in oil and I know is probably not helping things AT ALL. Tried to take it out and it looks like I'm going to have to use some serious force to get it out of there.

 

That's what I am dealing with. I am hoping to at the very least get this puppy to get slightly better MPG and to actually start up correctly (because that starter is probably going to die shortly if I don't fix the problem.) Throw out all the recommendations you guys have. And any shortcuts/things that make it easier to do. At the moment I think the car's fuel pressure regulator is shot, causing the gas to flood the engine thus making start-up extremely hard to do.

 

Thanks in advice for any/all advice!

Edited October 30, 2013 by lifeblows10
Added transmission issues/rich fuel smell

[scottwhite98]

Did you replace the plug wires as well? How about the air filter? You probably need to pull the snorkel off the intake and clean the carbon off the throttle butterfly...excess carbon buildup will cause the throttle to hang open. It wouldn't hurt to pull the Idle Air Control (IAC) valve and clean it, and the Exhaust Gas Recirculation valve (EGR) and clean it. Making sure all those passages are clear. Buy yourself a bottle of Sea Foam or GM Top Engine cleaner and run it in a tank.

 

I had a bad fuel pressure regulator on a 3.1 and it acted different than this. It would stall at stop signs.

 

The oil leak probably comes from the dummy oil drive. This engine is based off of one that once had a distributor that also turned the oil pump. No need for a distributor, but it still needs a shaft to turn the oil pump, so basically the lower half of the distributor is stuck in the engine sealed with a gasket that has dried up and is now leaking. There's a sticky on this page on how to replace it without pulling the head off.

 

Not sure about these, but most vehicles have a screen "sock" to collect any debris that might come in with the fuel in the filler neck. It sounds like your sock is full of crap.

 

ABS sensor is part of the wheel hub. Probably just a bad sensor. Ignore it until the wheel bearing goes bad.

 

This should get you started.

 

Is your check engine light on? Seems odd that you'd have such poor performance and not have the engine set a code.

 

If your engine is knocking it will activate the knock sensor, retard the engine timing and turn on your check engine light.

 

Scotty

Edited October 31, 2013 by scottwhite98
Thought of more crap.

[lifeblows10]

Did you replace the plug wires as well? How about the air filter? You probably need to pull the snorkel off the intake and clean the carbon off the throttle butterfly...excess carbon buildup will cause the throttle to hang open. It wouldn't hurt to pull the Idle Air Control (IAC) valve and clean it, and the Exhaust Gas Recirculation valve (EGR) and clean it. Making sure all those passages are clear. Buy yourself a bottle of Sea Foam or GM Top Engine cleaner and run it in a tank.

 

I had a bad fuel pressure regulator on a 3.1 and it acted different than this. It would stall at stop signs.

 

The oil leak probably comes from the dummy oil drive. This engine is based off of one that once had a distributor that also turned the oil pump. No need for a distributor, but it still needs a shaft to turn the oil pump, so basically the lower half of the distributor is stuck in the engine sealed with a gasket that has dried up and is now leaking. There's a sticky on this page on how to replace it without pulling the head off.

 

Not sure about these, but most vehicles have a screen "sock" to collect any debris that might come in with the fuel in the filler neck. It sounds like your sock is full of crap.

 

ABS sensor is part of the wheel hub. Probably just a bad sensor. Ignore it until the wheel bearing goes bad.

 

This should get you started.

 

Is your check engine light on? Seems odd that you'd have such poor performance and not have the engine set a code.

 

If your engine is knocking it will activate the knock sensor, retard the engine timing and turn on your check engine light.

 

Scotty

 

I forgot to add the fact that it is NOT throwing a code and I have replaced the air filter. I did not replace plug wires, which could/could not be the issue. (at 70 bucks I kinda wanted to pass... but I might do it just to get that out of the way.)

 

I guess I'll start out by doing those few things to see if anything makes a difference. I assume carburetor cleaner would be the best thing to use to clean all the suggested components out?

 

One other thing, I can't seem to get the PCV out... it should just pull right from the block correct?

 

Thanks for the info Scotty, I'll start looking at the book tomorrow and gathering parts (or supplies) to knock some of this out.

[scottwhite98]

It should just pop out..but even if it's stuck it's not the cause of your problems. Carb cleaner is different than throttle body cleaner. For the EGR and IAC passages you might try Sea Foam Deep Creep.

 

It sucks, but plugs & wires need to be replaced together. Good plugs don't work right when the energy charge can't get there. They rub on different parts under the hood, are exposed to oil and grease, not to mention the heat...they do wear out.

 

You didn't happen to put in a much colder thermostat when you did the radiator/water pump, did you? Heat helps atomize the fuel and if the engine is cold all the time you will get lousy fuel economy.

 

Scotty

[cutlassdude96]

an O2 sensor needs replace too

[lifeblows10]

It should just pop out..but even if it's stuck it's not the cause of your problems. Carb cleaner is different than throttle body cleaner. For the EGR and IAC passages you might try Sea Foam Deep Creep.

 

It sucks, but plugs & wires need to be replaced together. Good plugs don't work right when the energy charge can't get there. They rub on different parts under the hood, are exposed to oil and grease, not to mention the heat...they do wear out.

 

You didn't happen to put in a much colder thermostat when you did the radiator/water pump, did you? Heat helps atomize the fuel and if the engine is cold all the time you will get lousy fuel economy.

 

Scotty

 

Thermostat is the standard temp for the car, not a colder one. The plug wires are probably part of the problem (if not the coil packs themselves) because that entire part of the car is covered in oil. Go figure. I really don't want to attempt to pull out the packs and such until I try everything else, simply because I'm going to have some cleaning on my hands. (Gotta love that oil leak.)

 

I'll buy some seafoam deep creep and some throttle body cleaner for the parts you suggested to clean, along with a fresh gasket to replace on the EGR valve, pull the PVC by force and replace it and see what does/doesn't improve. Hopefully I can get to it within the next few days (fingers crossed.)

 

I'll post back when I have done those things... I'm hoping it's the EGR valve to be honest...

[scottwhite98]

On a series II 3800, you can tell if a fuel pressure regulator is bad by pulling off the vacuum tube. If there's gas coming out it's bad. Not sure about these earlier ones. Coil packs usually fail in one of two ways...die suddenly or cut out when they get heat soaked.

 

You can test spark coils by pulling the pair of plug wires off and cranking the engine. If electircity arcs between the terminals it's still good. I doubt you'd be able to drive this thing with a bad coil pack.

 

First, eliminate the obvious. Replace the plug wires. Clean out the throttle body, AIC passages and EGR. Pour in some GM top engine cleaner and drive it around. I guarantee you'll see a dramatic improvement.

 

Scotty

[lifeblows10]

UPDATE: Slapped a new EGR valve and PVC valve, no dice. Same starting up issue (although it fixed it temporarily, but after the third starting up it did the same thing.) Now I guess onto the plug wires and cleaning.... Kinda hoping something works.

 

One thing I have noticed is that the car (today for example) will sometimes start up and idle hard then stop. Then you have to crank the sucker for 40 seconds (I did it in 10 second burst, I know the starter is going to go sooner than later if this keeps up) and it will finally start and surge to about 2K RPM and slowly come back down.

[rich_e777]

First I`d take a can of degreaser and spray down your engine and engine bay then hit it with a pressure washer, run sea foam through the engine. That will take care of a lot of dirt so you can tell for sure where your oil leak is, being a dohc I don't know if you have a distributor plug or not like the 3100 engines do but it would be underneath your throttle body on the engine block and is about 3 inches across, remove bolt and bracket and vice grip to get out, also would use vice grips on your pcv valve. Kind of thinking fouled up IAC valve or a failing fuel pump. You can test your plug wires with an ohm meter as well as coil packs.