1997 Buick LeSabre Stutters


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Old 07-11-08, 05:06 PM
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1997 Buick LeSabre Stutters

In CT here and I have a 1997 LeSabre 3800 6 cylinder. The check engine light has come on and in the last month or so I have had a quickly developing and rapidly deteriorating stutter. While the car idles, you really cannot tell there is a problem, though recently it has been a little bit rougher. However, as soon as you push the gas, there is no power and there is a noticeable rattle coming from what sounds like under the passenger seat. For the most part, it drives well once you get it up to speed and if I step on the gas, after an initial studder, it will lower a gear and I get more power but I am wasting an incredible amount of gas that way. It cruises pretty well but again, if I just push lightly on the gas, there is no power. Does this sound like a catalytic converter issue? Thanks for any help
 
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Old 07-12-08, 08:28 AM
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That doesn't sound to me like anything the catalytic converter would do.

I have a 1998 Olds 88 with the same engine and some years ago it acted up similar to what you describe (not sure exactly what you mean by stutter) and it turned out to be the ignition spark plug wires (diagnosed and repaired at a mechanical shop for way too much money!). The wires were installed at the factory too close to each other and were sparking from one to another causing misfires. If you have the wires touching and crossing each other, look for burn marks. If you see any burn marks on them replace them yourself - that may solve your problem and save you a pile of cash.

I also installed plastic tubes around all of my spark plug wires to keep them apart a bit more and haven't had any problems since. Another design flaw by GM fixed.

QC
 
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Old 07-15-08, 10:29 AM
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I checked the wires and I do not see any burn marks, however, when I checked the connections to the distributer I did notice that the 1 wire terminal and the male end were covered in a black substance.
 
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Old 07-15-08, 12:58 PM
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Try a set of spark plugs and wires. The black stuff you describe sounds like carbon. and it only takes a little bit to cause a misfire. Also you may be on the right track with the converter, if your car has a honeycomb style converter the insides can break and pieces can rattle around, when this happens the exhaust becomes restricted which could result in your loss of power at speed.
 
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Old 07-15-08, 08:53 PM
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If you can get the trouble code read, that may help. Code readers have gotten quite cheap lately.
 
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Old 07-16-08, 08:01 AM
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Second that; read the codes (AutoZone will do it for free) so you at least have a starting point.
I wouldn't completely rule out the converter, either, or a combination O2 sensor bad that destroyed the cat, but you need the codes.
 
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Old 07-21-08, 07:38 AM
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Just got back into town. Okay, will do, will check the codes and get back to ya'll. Thanks for the help.
 
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Old 07-21-08, 08:07 AM
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I had a 90 lesabre that would sputter and not run well at start up, and it turned out to be 1 of the 3 ignition modules (regulates spark and fuel) was bad. A little over 100 bucks for the part but it fixed the problem. I've also seen this behavior caused by arcing spark plug wires but you seem to have ruled that out.
 
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Old 08-02-08, 09:28 AM
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Got the codes

Okay, so I did the obd-ii and I got a p0300 random multiple misfires and p0336 crankshaft position sensor. I have the CPS but I am not sure where it is on the engine or how I replace it. Looking online but have not seen anything very usefull yet. Any help would be very appreciated.
 
 

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