According to the Cadillac dealership here in town, the problem turned out to be not with my ignition system, not with my fuel system, but rather an internal engine problem. I have a dead miss on all cylinders, and loss of compression on all cylinders. The technician suspects a worn camshaft which causes the valves not to open and close fully, but without more $$$$$ for teardown time, can't say for sure.
They'd be glad to fix it for $4110, tax included. Then I'd have a newly rebuilt engine in my car. Wonderful! But, I don't have that kind of money, and if I did, I probably wouldn't put it into an 18-year-old J-car.
What I want to know is if this is the most likely prognosis, and what, short of a rebuild, can be done to get a few more miles out of this car? Will driving it in this condition do any further damage? Does further damage matter when it's in this shape? Is there some "shady used-car dealer" trick I can do to temporarily restore the performance of the engine until I can afford a replacement?
Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!
"The technician suspects a worn camshaft which causes the valves not to open and close fully..."
If the truth was known, that "technician" should have
said, "I think your timing chain is worn and has jumped
one tooth on the crankshaft sprocket." (This is what
I think.)
One thing about timing chains and sprockets,
they wear faster with low speed driving. The
faster the engine turns (and spins the chain)
there is less stress.
Since the Cimarron was purchased from a
little old lady, that timing chain was probably
subjected to unusual wear.
Put engine restore in it, go through the bandaid aisle at the aut parts store and start dumping, lol.
I would say just go to a junk yard get a 3.1 or 2.8 and replace it. You could get one for checp due to age, replace the gaskets on it while it is out and swap it in.
http://members.cardomain.com/vertz24 1998 Z24 Convertible
I couldn't look a man in the face and tell him it'll cost $4110 to replace the motor in a car that's not worth half that. A running engine out of a junkyard would be less than a thousand easy.
I would get another compression check if I were you. Take it to somebody you trust or get the kit and do it yourself - it's not that difficult. Take out all the plugs and screw the tester into one, rotate it 5 times and check your reading. Repeat on the rest of the cylinders and check your readings. If you have bad readings (under 100 PSI means that cylinder won't fire) then put about a tablespoon in each cylinder and test it again. If the reading goes up then the rings are worn, If not then it's in the top end. If the test results come back bad then I'd definently go with a used engine than a rebuild. Good luck.
You can't outrun the radio.
94 Red Bird wrote:I would get another compression check if I were you. Take it to somebody you trust...
As a matter of fact, I am taking it tomorrow for a second opinion.
Quote:
If you have bad readings then put about a tablespoon in each cylinder and test it again.
A tablespoon of what?
Quote:
If the test results come back bad then I'd definently go with a used engine than a rebuild.
What if the cost of a rebuild beats the cost of buying and replace the engine? (Not likely, but sounds possible based on what I've seen and heard.)
Quote:
Good luck.
Thank you! I could use it!
Tablespoon of oil. It'll help seal up the rings to the cylinder walls.
Guess I missed a word, oh well. Thats great you'll be getting a second opinion. Any decent mechanic should know how to compression check like that and should be able to give you a better answer than "uuhhhh... your camshaft might be worn or something." If it's cheaper to rebuild then go right ahead, but I've heard of some great deals on junkyard engines. If the car is old then just go the cheapest route. Check out that timing chain like one guy said above too, it could be that instead of worn engine parts.
You can't outrun the radio.
FROM NOW ON I don't think my car will be going to that dealership. They did all this crap and still couldn't tell that the only significant problem with my car and the determining reason I was having problems was actually in
THE IGNITION SYSTEM just like I had originally suspected. I have replaced all three coils and the control module and now I have the
best running car I have ever had!
Thanks to everyone for the help, though. I find it odd, though, that even AutoZone could not tell me that was the problem when I took the whole thing in to them and let them test it. Apparently the ohmmeter test isn't helpful when the circuitry has been
ZAPPED BY WATER which is what I actually suspect happened and not thermal deterioration. As for any compression problems, I don't know if there are any. Sure, the thing is 18 years old, but I'm still getting the EPA's fuel economy numbers, so I'm not concerned about it.
