3.1L Sudden Power Loss and Won't Stay Running

[SuzukiGhostRider]

Wow. Another broken cam. This will add fuel to that discussion,lol. Sux bro, I hope you didn't punch a hole in that #6 piston w/that pushrod. Unlikely,but...Looks like it's time for a rebuild or a reman,eh? GL man. You guys are starting to make me paranoid about MY 3.1 now. But it's only got 2000 miles on the clock, so hopefully...... (crosses fingers)

[powerdoctor]

"Removed valve cover and manually checked actuation of valves and springs: all moved fine and appeared lubricated. Removed rockers from cyl 1 and 5 "

Ummm ... now I'm confused, i was going on the assumption that all the valves were " moving fine "

Cyl 1 rockers may have moved o.k., but cyl 5 was going no were like that....

This also explain's why all of that air was "rushing out" ....

It would also explain the "missfires" ....

At least you found the problem and you can fix it......

A little better " diagnosis " and facts next time, ehhh ?????

A last thought though, why would you take it to a shop if you are able to tear it down yourself ???

Am I smelling a possible troll, sniff, sniff, hmmmm ????? lmao.

J.K....

[gpse3400]

There is a lot of sludge on those rockers and rocker cover...Questioning the previous owner's maintenance. Wonder if he/she let had a bad LIM gasket at one point. Being a '97 I'm sure the dexcool had its way with it..

[dsonyx650]

Reassembly now.

Glad new camshaft ($203.00) appears solid, and machined, vs hollow and pressed! Had to make retainer for camshaft.

At least I've replaced all the gaskets, belt, and plugs!

BTW, took car to shop to deduce what I thought was an electrical problem. Turned out to be mechanical, and I have a few wrenches laying around.







More pics here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7430539@N07/2429828627/in/photostream/

Thanks again for all the help. Hope to be firin' er up in a couple days.
Aaron

P.S. Where do I send my letter to GM thanking them for cramming this size of a motor into a midsize car?

How could you have loosened the belt tensioner without removing engine?
How can you check rear spark plugs without removing coils and half of wiring harness?
How do you remove camshaft without completely removing engine?
What happened to cars that are fun to work on ?

[Superdave]

Did you replace all the bearings in the engine?

[dsonyx650]

I put everything back together along with assembly lube, new plugs, belt, new oil, and all gaskets.

So I started engine and it idles perfectly. Maybe even smoother than before. NO indicator lights are on at all.

There is a mechanical tick coming from the engine, but it has slowly been getting quieter. I figure this is from the new valve put in, or a lifter?

Drove it slowly up and down our street progressively faster - no problem.

HOWEVER, took it onto highway and worked my way up to highway speed. This is when I noticed a loss of power under load. The engine was having to downshift sooner than normal for small hills. I verified this by a couple hard accelerations from stop. Engine starts to bog above 3500rpm, and doesn't recover until letting of the gas. NO engine light on

This problem seems to be accentuated when the engine is warm.

Thoughts??

Thanks, Aaron

[bszopi]

Loss of power at higher RPMs sounds like a failing coil pack to me.

[dsonyx650]

Is there a way to test the coils?

Would a dash light come on if the coil(s) were going bad?

TX

[IanSzgatti]

Is there a way to test the coils?

Would a dash light come on if the coil(s) were going bad?

TX

i would think yes.. some kind of multiple misfire code...