I have a 1997 Oldsmobile eighty-eight with 95,000 original miles. let me start by saying the car has been well taken care of and always had proper maintenance. It has never caused any problems at all until this past Saturday.
Scenario:
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I was driving the car for less than 3 minutes since I had just left the driveway and it started to sputter as if it had bad gasoline which immediately struck a chord since I had recently changed brands of gas. However I should note that I quickly disregarded this since I had almost a full tank when I fueled up and was only getting rid of some spare change. I drive about another minute or so and it felt like it was going to die and then my engine light came on (blinking). So I immediately pull the car off the road to a safe clearing and let it idle while I dug out the manual. The car quits only after a minute or so in park position and furthermore the manual suggested restarting the car to see if the engine light stayed solid rather than blink. The light did in fact stay solid this time upon restarting and the engine also died again shortly after, this time however it ran for only about 30 seconds. It did not make any clank sounds or rattles, just a simple sluggishness and would died. Upon restarting for the 3rd time I noticed no attempt for the motor to turn over. I heard no starting/turning sound. At this point I was just simply putting the key in and turning and when I did the gauges and lights would flicker and no sound whatsoever from the motor. It sat overnight, and I tried to start again the next day and almost seemed to have no battery as the lights/interior/gauges were not even coming on now when opening the door or inserting the key. A buddy and I tried to jump it for the hell of it and nothing. Upon the wiggle of the battery cables however the lights did come back on but quickly went off along with some funny gauge movements and flashes. Had it towed to a local garage after making sure my battery cables were securely connected and a few more attempts to start it.
~(2 hours later)
What the mechanic said:
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The first thing the two mechanics said upon putting the key in the ignition is my battery was dead. One of the mechanics immediately pops the hood and checks the battery and it was fine. He cleans the connection and reattaches the cables and my lights and starter work again and they try to start the car. This time the motor does sound like it wants to start but wouldn't. So they test a few more things and clearly showed me, taking off the belts and checking the oil. The oil level did seem a little high which to them indicated possible water contamination. Upon removing the belts they tried to start the car and told me that it was seized and tried to show me a "pulley" that was supposedly stiff to rotate into a starting position and upon turning the key would rotate slightly and lock. I went for a snack and when I returned asked them if they had hooked it up to a computer since I wanted to know what code it was reporting. They told me there is really no point in hooking it up to a computer since its obvious my engine is locked up and also informing me that "it does not look good at all". They said I may have thrown a rod and asked me again if I heard any clanking sound or odd noise, again I told them no. They had not taken the covers off yet since the car had basically just arrived. They pretty much assured me that I am going to have to be looking at getting a new motor. I was hesitant, and said I would call them back on what I want to do and that my father would probably like to talk to them first before we start talking "new motor". *Nothing further has been done at this point.
My Question(s): (and know I am not mechanic savvy)
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1.) Does this sound like a load of crap?
2.) Does the problem seem to be electrical considering its at 95,000 with the 3800V6 in well maintained condition and driving beautiful the night before?
3.) Could bad gas cause this?
4.) Could it be the starter?
5.) Could it be a sensor?
6.) The distributor cap?
7.) Some secret "lock the motor up" security feature?
Help