Please Please Help ! ! ! !

I have a 1985 Olds 98 Regency, it has the rare 3.8L.

On my way home from school today it stalled out. I had it towed and cleaned the throttle body and checked a bit here and there.

Found the fuel filter clogged and nasty, had a replacement laying around and swapped it.

It would start then stall after 10 to 20 seconds.

Now it will run smooth for over 3 minutes, but it "boggs" down when I give it throttle, if I shift it into reverse or drive it shudders and will stall. I have the knock sensor disconnected because it looked loose (the ceramic top where the lead plugs into is crunchy sounding and sloppy, still firmly mounted in the block). If I hard throttle it; it will pop and "bogg" down.

It is the only car we have and I need help from you Wrench Guru's. I have experience in repair but not in diagnostics. I also have a Sociology test tomorrow at noon, so I'll be getting dirty in the morning if I get some advice.

Thanks a million in advance....

Brian

P.S. I used the "wire" method to check for a code, just got the 12 diagnostics mode stuff.

If your fuel filter was that bad, maybe your sock is plugged as well. Check the bowl and see if the injector is spraying uniformly. I"ve often replaced the fuel injector and got good results.

I really don't know what you mean as far as "Sock", it's multiport injection. Could you specify?

Thanks...

The sock is a prefilter on the end of the pick-up of the fuel pump. You will need to remove the fuel pump from the tank to replace this sock.

I figured that's what you meant...

I had the fuel pump replaced last month by a pro mechanic who would have told me if anything else was wrong. I finally got a 34 code, telling me the MAF sensor was bad. I cleared the codes and started it up again but could not get the code again. I ordered a sensor anyway...Great many thanks to all who are helping...by the way...should a Knock sensor be loose? the o-ring is gone and the ceramic-like top spins in the sensor body.

Now occasionaly I can get a good running idle, but the throttle responce studders in the middle range, at low and full throttle it purrs.


Thanks again....I got the car 6 months ago with 82K on the ticker. I love the car and hope to restore it when I have the $$ and time.

No the knock sensor should be tight or it will not read knock as needed. You will probably need to replace it with a new one. As for the stuttering check the throttle position sensor to make sure it is within specification.

You said that your fuel pump was just replace. I would assume if your mechanic was worth his money, the sock was replaced also. Check with the mechanic and you can probably disregard that symptom. Did they do a pressure test on your fuel system?

Well the MAF sensor was not the problem. I don't have a fuel pressure tester but releasing pressure from the end of the rail sprays out strong. How do I test the TPS? I have a Haynes manual( I hate Haynes) and it doesn't say much, I have a digital multimeter and know how to use it. I actually drove to a convinience store at 20-25 MPH. If I touch the gas it boggs, but drives. When I am in neutral or park I can get a higher rpm. Lots of places closed due to a massive storm here and the President's day weekend.

I greatly appreciate all the help!!!

I know I keep saying this, but you guys need a FACTORY SERVICE MANUAL to do work on late-model cars with fuel injection! A Haynes or Chilton manual won't cut it. Your problem could be mechanical or (most likely) an electrical issue such as a bad sensor or wire which requires the trouble charts and procedures you can only find in the factory service manual.

Fortunately you can get many of these on CD now. I don't know if yours (85) is available on CD, but check eBay. . . The factory service manual was produced by Helm, Inc. and you can also check their website to see what is available. These are not cheap but I can't stress enough how valuable this info is unless you intend to pay a pro $80+ per hour to do it for you. . .

http://www.helminc.com/helm/homepage.asp?r=