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Buick Park Avenue Engine Problems
raelayotte
Member Posts: 2
in Buick
i have a 94 buick park i am getting a noise from the front of the motor. the noise is at idle and it will go away when u up the idle
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Comments
How many miles on the car?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
If it sounds like a bearing, it could be idler wheel bearing on the serpentine belt, the air conditioning compressor bearing, or one of the others.
If it' a knocking erratic sound, it could be the crankshaft balancer moving in its rubber mount. Some of those loosen with age and give a heavy knock. Speeding up the motor spins things faster and reduces the uneveness of the crank's turning with the pistons firing and that might make the sound go away above idle.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
but maybe an aftermarket could be better since GM didn't get this part right.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Also when you turn the key to "on" do you hear the fuel pump in the tank run for a couple of seconds? If it doesn't prime when the key is turned, the car has to crank long enough for oil pressure to build up and that turns on the main switch to the fuel pump. But that's not 20-30 tries; it's more like 5 seconds or so to build up oil pressure for the switch to trip.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I didn't understand that your starter wasn't turning.
Check the connections at the starter for corrosion also.
Starters do fail. If you see a lot of oil drips from the oil pan bolts, the oil drops that accumulate over miles can get into the starter and cause contact problems.
If you do get under the car, use jack stands..., but tap the starter with something heavy like a ball peen hammer or heavy screwdriver handle to see if that improves the contacts.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I removed the starter again to try to find the problem. I tried to turn the engine at the fly wheel and found that the engine was locked up. It will not turn over at all. Can you give me some ideas as to what could have happened and what I can do to correct it? Thanks Bunches!!!
Had the car done any missing or skipping before shutting down? Has the coolant level needed refilling in the overflow reservoir?
If you find you were hydrolocked, change the oil immediately to get out the coolant. Do not drive it with coolant in the oil; it will corrode the bearings and you'll say bye-bye engine.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I have taken out all of my spark plugs and no coolant was present. I put a socket and breakover and an 18 inch cheater pipe on the front nut on the crankshaft and the engine would not budge in either direction.
Yes, my water pump went out and the car heated up a little. The guage did not get into the red zone and the idiot light light did not come on, but the engine did steam some.
I replaced the water pump, changed the motor oil and filter and the transmission fluid and filter, and drove the car for about two weeks after that (about 1000 miles) and it worked O.K. except occasionally I could hear a noise that sort of sounded like tappets rattling except I did not think it was regular enough to be the tappets. Also, the sound was a lot more tinny sound that a tappet rattle.
This is way about my pay grade and skill level. I might not be too serious and could be a disaster. Running right up to shut down and failing to restart sounds suspicious.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Also, it was not hot when I shut the engine down. I had only driven it about 300 feet to get it into the garage out of some bad weather we were expecting.
I have seen some mysterious things, but never anything like this. Thanks for your help anyway.
remove negative battery cable and check for corrosion. Remove positive cables and if you have the double cable-one on top of the other check between them. Some people recommend slicing into the plastic covering below the connector to look at the copper cable. Funny problems happen when one of those cables doesn't make a good connection.
A move remote place might be the ground buss which is inside the car and some functions from the dash ground through it. Are you a in a wet climate where salt and snow and lots of moisture track into the car and the carpet stays wet?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
You are going to have to find out what's happening. I suppose it's possible the intake manifold just decided to leak at the time of overheating. And that can put coolant into the cylinders and oil.
If you have a knocking, your motor may be past tense already--not to scare you too much.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Joni
When my 98 had it's last plenum failure, I would attempt to crank it with no luck, and after I turned my key off the gauges would jump up and down for a second or two. After pulling the plugs, I tried the starter again with the same results - no crank even with a jump. I then put a breaker bar / socket on the end of the engine to make sure it would turn over and it did. I then pulled the two starter bolts, and backed the starter out and then put it back in place and it would then crank again. I'm just guessing that the solenoid or bendix was stuck. I believe what happened was the starter may have jammed against the ring gear in the extended position, draining the battery.. but that's just a guess. :confuse: Ended up with a weakened battery that had to be replaced, which again makes me think something was shorting it out with lots of amperage ability like a starter.
Would like to know how your's went, Joni. I'm guessing starter related issue. Your answer may help someone who reads these forums in the future.
I'm thinking it may be the fuel pump? Any other thoughts, anyone had similar issues with the 3800 engine.
:confuse:
Check the FPR (fuel pressure regulator). It looks like a top hot with the fuel line coming into it and it sits on the fuel rail on the front of the motor. Another line goes to the front of the throttle body; it's a vacuum line. Pull off the vacuum line at the FPR and see if there's liquid fuel in it. There shouldn't be. The FPR still could be defective.
Also try turning the key to ON without cranking after the car sits overnight. Then to OFF and back to ON for a few seconds. You'll hear the fuel pump run for about 2 seconds and turn off. That's what it's supposesd to do to prime the pressure if there's been a drop in the line pressure while standing. Do that a total of 3 times. On the third time crank the motor and see if it starts quicker. That could indicate the pressure valve that doesn't let fuel back into tank is leaking and draining the pressure.
Unless the tank has been run low on fuel a lot, below quarter regularly, the chances of a pump failure as low.
Report back with any observations you make for me.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
The FPR does sometimes get replaced even if it's not leaking fuel into the vacuum line controlling it. But I'd want to know it's bad before doing that. It can be replaced at home if you have some mechanical skills.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Wornslick
Also I'd check the fuel pressure regulator FPR. There were recalls on some of those and they apparently do fail from the chatter I read on several forums about 3800 motors in H bodies. You can check one way for failure of FPR by pulling off the vacuum line from the FPR and looking for gasoline leaking into it. It sits right along the front of the fuel rail for the injectors and has a fuel line to it and a single vacuum line.
You can also check for bleedback of pressure into the fuel tank (or through a rusty fuel line) by turning the key to ON and then off afteer 3 seconds when the fuel pump turns off; repeat two times. Then start the car. This pumps up the pressure.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Thank you
You don't say what year your car is.
The security light may be something related to an intrusion sensor. The trunk is a common problem. Disconnect the wire to the latch assembly for the theft sensor.
a first check is the battery cables. If there are two or more cables on the positive, separate them and check inside the plastic by cutting back looking for corrosion. Funny things happen when corrosion builds up inside and affects the connections. Also check connections at front of ESC plate under the coils.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
No fuel to the cylinders as evidenced by gas smell in the exhaust pipe after cranking... check injectors for pulse--put in a 194 type light bulb by straightening the wires to check for electrical pulses. Other obvious check is for fuel pump running at all; but it may be giving low fuel pressure.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Is the car's engine not turning over at all now? or turning over normally and just not firing anymore? obviously it must have been turning over if it ran for 10 sec then died. Have you tested the fuel rail to see if you have fuel and it is pressurized to the correct pressure?
I don't know how to test the coil pack & module, but I think they are pretty reliable. I don't have a '91, but guess the coil pack is made up of 3 separate coils that each control 2 plugs like the later models? I doubt all 3 would go bad at once.
Of all the parts you've replaced, I would say the crank position sensor would be the part most likely to be a bad replacement part. Sometimes they are just flaky out of the box. Or that's what I've read a few times. Whether that means someone put their bad part in the box and returned it to the store, I don't know. Normally electrical parts are no return, but it happens. :mad:
Take a 194 little light and straighten the prongs and plug them into your injector. Does it flash while you crank to show the injectors are being pulsed?
Does the fuel pump prime when you turn the key to ON? Listen at the tank while someone turns the key on to check for pump running. But it can still be bad.
Then try a fuel pressure gauge (I think local box stores loan those out) to see what the fuel pressure is.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
2nd issue is when the noise started the oil pressure started fluctuating goes up when you acc and drops when idling, the rpms do not fluctuate when idling, but also when driving about 1/2 hour or so when i hit the brakes now the oil light dings and comes on, then goes off, I keep a constant eye on my oil level but it doesn't go any where. No leaks or anything, Anybody help please
Sometimes the bearings go out and that is a little more difficult to replace.
Search eBay for Eaton supercharger coupler kit.
Since the problem happens at idle, you should be able to use a mechanics stethoscope (about $15) to listen to different areas of the engine compartment, while the engine is running, to try to isolate the sound. If you don't have access to a stethoscope, you can use a short piece of hose instead. Be very careful with the engine running. No loose clothes, coats, jewelry, and watch your hands and hair.
Could be several things, bearings in power steering, bearings in alternator, bearings in A/C. Fan noise due to broken blades, shroud, etc. Maybe something stuck up in the fan area. Water pump failing... Leaking any coolant?
How low does the oil pressure get when it's fluctuating? It is normal to be lower at idle, and higher at higher RPMs.
While the engine is off, can you depress the idler tensioner enough to remove the serpantine belt, and then spin the different pulleys by hand to see if they make any noise?
I'm sure someone else will have more ideas, but that's a few of mine.
Im not leaking any coolant or anyother fluids (whew!) Ive checked just about everywhere that i can see and feel.
The oil pressure on the digital guage on the car drops down to about 20 at idle and at higher rpms it runs about 40 stays in the normal, the pressure used to fluctuate on my old Bronco too like i said before maybe im just noticing it now that something might be wrong.
I havent removed the serpentine belt either cause it looks like a job with the SC belt and pulleys in the way, but im sure that me and dad could tackle this in the spring.
Im not looking to put a ton of money into this car, its my commuter anyways but i would like to hear the radio at the stop lights LOL, My last Park Ave was a 89' and we had 305,000 miles on it and the only thing we put into it was an alternator great car
I really appreciate the reply and the help.
Thank you
I have an 89 Buick Park Ave Electra that is not starting. (The battery is fine) The car will begin to turn over, but doesn't fire. I replaced the solenoid within the last year due to non-start problems and it's been great until now!
Tested the #1 spark plug wire to metal and it does not get a spark.
Other info- In the last few months the engine light would come on while the car idled. Once the car was in drive, the light would go off. Also, me dash is all electric and the temperature control lights and display would flash very insanely. The numbers on my temp display would jump (like a fried alarm clock). Not sure if it's related...
Any help is appreciated : )