Please Help?

[NOS2006]

So my dad takes my car out for a test drive and notices a whining/long-clicking sound. Weird. Coming from driver's side (he says top, I say bottom). Engine's running and we're checking it out. He pulls the throttle cable a little and engine dies and won't start again. It cranks a little, but not enough to get her going. Alternator and battery were just checked and perfectly fine.. WTF?!

[UpOnGaMe]

Re: Please Help?

i hope i'm not out of place but please read the stickys i sugest you edit it bcuz your not supposed to put just need help titles for your topic

[98Camaro3.8]

Re: Please Help?

What year car do you have?

What does the noise sound like? Does it change with RPM?

What do you mean by "cranks a little"? Does it crank too slow? Just need a jump start?

[NOS2006]

Re: Please Help?

1998, same as you. I just put in the GT2, TSP send in tune, oil-restricted pushrods, 105 lb springs, steel mod'd retainers, headers.

It did it idling and was a little worse with throttle pressed.

Cranks too slow.

Sound is creaky/whiny.. hard to explain..


*I'd change the title, but it won't let me. I hope this doesn't get deleted. Sorry for disobeying the rules unintentionally..

[TealV6]

Re: Please Help?

Where is the creak/whine coming from? top of the motor? bottom? Drive/passenger side?

You just put those mods in and then it started having this problem? Is that correct?

Steve

[NOS2006]

Re: Please Help?

The cam/headers/pushrods/springs/retainers/tune have just over 200 miles on them. The 3.73s/LSD only have about 70 on 'em, but those aren't the problem.

The sound came from somewhere between the middle and driver's side of the engine. I thought it was lower on the car, but my dad thought it was closer to the throttle body.

[AZ3.8Camaro]

Re: Please Help?

Power steering pump?
Check to make sure nothing no accessories the belt have seized up and still spin.
Then if it "won't crank long enough to start" you need more power (battery is dead).

[TealV6]

Re: Please Help?

Pull the valve cover. Verify everything is to spec and not in trouble. Did you do a break in with the new cam?

[NOS2006]

Re: Please Help?

Power steering pump?
Check to make sure nothing no accessories the belt have seized up and still spin.
Then if it "won't crank long enough to start" you need more power (battery is dead).

Battery was tested to not need a charging at the autostore.

[NOS2006]

Re: Please Help?

Pull the valve cover. Verify everything is to spec and not in trouble. Did you do a break in with the new cam?

Yeah. It was a used cam, so it already had a few miles on it. I believe the earlier owner had crashed his car and just took the cam back out. I broke it in though, taking it easy the first hundred-150 miles and gave it an oil change soon after finishing it all and getting some miles on it...

I'm pulling off the valve cover right now though. If not that, I'm going to the timing chain.. Blah.

[NOS2006]

Re: Please Help?

Driver's side valvetrain looks good. No bent/broken rods or anything. Everything's tight, too. Haven't checked passenger side yet.

Timing chain seems good. How do you test the tensioner? Maybe that's a little too loose? It seems kind of loose.. But I could be wrong.

[NOS2006]

Re: Please Help?

How much would you guys guess it at if I had spun a bearing and maybe cylinder damage prevailed? I have a feeling it's something like that. :(

[slow6]

Re: Please Help?

why do u think that?

[TealV6]

Re: Please Help?

Yeah.. what would give you the idea you spun a main bearing?

[NOS2006]

Re: Please Help?

Well the one mechanic said that it may be a possibility. I don't know.

My cousin is a head engineer at his company and creates the actual parts for engines, drivetrain, suspension, etc etc. He's like a genious. But he coincidentally came over (he knows a heck of a lot of mechanics, too) just to say, "Hey," since he was in the area. He checked it all out and said he couldn't find anything wrong (manifolds, valve covers, and waterpump/timing cover all off). Engine cranks fine using the crank bolt, too. So we're throwing it back together tomorrow. Maybe something was loose before and it now isn't? Who knows. We'll see what happens. Once it's together, I'm getting the starter checked no matter what. Then, if it runs, my cousin said he'll come back over and give it a compression test...