New Issue With '89 Olds Delta

[Al]

Hello all!

My 1989 Oldsmobile Delta 88 is acting strange.

It recently had a low oil and low coolant situation where it overheated and made lots of noise. I replaced the radiatior and fixed a few leaks, solving both fluid loss issues.

The new issue is intermittent.
Sometimes, the car drives nice and smooth, makes full power and idles like new. Other times, the engine hesitates, cuts out briefly and runs rough. I have engine code "48," which is a misfire code. I replaced the ignition control module (warranty part), but this did not solve the issue. The issue seems to go away at higher rpms or it is just more noticeble at lower rpms.

My friend assumed it was a bad coil, so he pulled the wires off the coil packs one-by-one (with car off), looking for one that did not fire. All of the packs fired. I am not going to rule out that the car has no coil problem at this point and I intend to check them with a multimeter tonight.

The wires and spark plugs are relatively new.

One of my battery terminals is also "kinda" loose. The bolt or the threaded hole is partially stripped on the ground terminal. This could be the issue but it has stayed in place for 500 miles now. I am thinking about finding a piece of soft metal to fit into the hole to improve contact.

Any ideas?

-Al

[theavenger333]

coil packs, right? either way, when you replaced the ignition module, i'd bet you didn't use dielectric(sp) grease. take it all apart and grease it up.

[Al]

coil packs, right? either way, when you replaced the ignition module, i'd bet you didn't use dielectric(sp) grease. take it all apart and grease it up.

It didn't look like there was anywhere to put that grease between the coil and icm. There is a gasket between the coils and the icm.

Was I supposed to put grease between the ignition module and the bracket it mounts too?

[PB86MCSS]

Yup! I forgot to do it once on my LeSabre and it died while in a drive through while in the Dells a week later. Fortunately I had spare modules/coilpacks and one of my best friends was at his parents vaction place in the Dells with tools .

I'd recommend upgrading to the newer 3800 module/coil pack setup if you are ever bored, direct swap just take a couple of each from a junkyard car that the engine doesn't look like it's been sitting in the elements. The coils are not all together like the Magnovox design our cars had stock. The new style is called Delco II, where each coil pack is seperate (2 cylinders per coil). Improved design and my LeSabre had zero issues starting when it was 0 degrees out in winter, where every other year since I had it it would have issues on the few worst days temp wise.

[Al]

Just to be sure we are on the same page, we are talking about putting the grease between the ignition control module and its mounting bracket, NOT between the ignition module and the coil?

[theavenger333]

dude, you put the stuff on electric plugs to keep the connection tight. the module has leads made of metal, that you plug the coil packs into. call them the "male" connectors. put the grease on the little prongs. then you put the coil packs on top of the module, lining up the "female" connections, to put the "male" connections into the hole. dielectric grease you put it on electric connections to keep out moisture. why would you grease between the module and the bracket?
i'm speaking if you have the delco style ignition. even if you have the crap ass one piece magnavox, you can still grease the connection. its the same thing you SHOULD do with spark plugs/wires

[Al]

Mkay. I'll do that.

[PB86MCSS]

I put heat sink grease between the module and bracket, I'm 99% sure you are supposed to...the bracket heats up and can burn out the module or cause issues, as it did for me.

[Al]

The car seems to run better when it is cold. We will see if this works the next time I go for an extended ride.

[Al]

The car seems to run better when it is cold. We will see if this works the next time I go for an extended ride.

...that is, it runs better when the engine is cold. Anyway, I greased it up, including the heat sink grease. I also noticed that the engine runs best for the 10 milles after I disconnect the battery and reconnect it.

I used a laser temp guage to check manifold temps. My center cylinder on the rear of the car is about 200 degrees hotter than the rest (500 vs 300). Could this be due to bad wires/plugs? What is the normal resistance for a plug wire?

[PB86MCSS]

Do you have a spare ECM? If it changes after 10 minutes, might have some ECM issue once in a closed loop, although it probably only takes a few to get there.

[Al]

The car seems to be running better in thee cool weather.

Another symptom: the engine ticks when the engine is cold. As the car warms, the ticking gets quieter and barely noticable. The noise is also 10x louder when I open the throttle. What I mean by this is that it is very quiet, even at startup, when the throttle is closed. Could be a valve tick.

I don't have a spare ECM right now and that would push the $ i want to spend right now. I am currently waiting for the reimbursement check for my motorcycle. When that happens, I am going to trade in my Olds as my dad buys a new (used) car . He will then give me a major deal on his Exploder Sport Trac. Till then, I'll do my best to keep my Olds running but not spend too much.

[Prince Valiant]

valve ticks usually don't care what the throttle/power setting is...

[Al]

New engine code: OBDI 41 & 48.

[DirtyMax]

41 might be a cam sensor which could very well make it run as you have describe. That could be a ping you hear upon acceleration too. Could also be the cam magnet that fell off in which case, it probably isn't worth fixing because you kinda have to really tear into it to get at that.

[Al]

Cam magnet is not where it should be.

[Al]

New question: where did the old magnet go? If I'm lucky, it is stuck to the block somewhere safe. If not, I need to go in there and get it.

There are alternative methods of installing the new one which involve JBWelding the new one in from the front. Many people out there have done this and had long lasting results.

Right now, my car is on jacks and I can see where the sensor should be. I expect that the hardest part of the repair would be removing the harmonic damper/pulley. After that, it should all be downhill.

[Al]

I just finished doing this:

http://bellsouthpwp.net/p/a/padgett46/cammag.htm

[DirtyMax]

I hope it works. You'll have to report back. Kudos for being ambitious enough to take that on!

[PB86MCSS]

I had that link saved, fearing the day it might happen to my 3800. Something do-able but not fun looking, I wouldn't swap the motor just because that occured. I even thought about getting in there and doing a new chain, cam magnet and cam sensor as a pre-emptive measure. Definitely keep us posted.

This is how I got my balancer off a year ago when doing the crank sensor (seriously, worked like a charm):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_-FsVvNr40