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1990 Buick Skylark Problems!


MarkV

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It pings, loss of MPG, loss of power, whats wrong? I will find out more tomorrow from my buddy (it is his car) I was thinking fuel injectors maybe dirty and maybe the air filter is no good? (he doesnt remember when it was changed). I was thinking some injector cleaner and a new air filter, he keeps the oil changed, etc. and then see what happens

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  • 3 weeks later...

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Barney Eaton</div><div class="ubbcode-body">If it is a distributor less car, there is a cam sensor that may have gone bad and the car is running in the "limp home" mode. </div></div>

If it is as Barney states, distributorless, the cam sensor could be it. If it's a cam sensor, the car should thow a diagnostic code and the check engine light should be on. Assuming it's a distributorless engine, it also could be a cracked crank sensor. A cracked crank sensor will likely make a ticking noise as the interruptors pass through the vanes of the sensor. It will exhibit these problems you describe. It will eventually break then the car will die and not run at all. Unlike a cam sensor, a cracked crank sensor will only show a code 13 after it's actually broken, and then it's too late to read a code to find this problem. I drove from Pittsburgh to DC on a cracked crank sensor. Mine had the ticking and the dealer said it was the water pump and to drive it till it began leaking. Well, it wasn't the water pump, and it finally broke on the DC loop in a traffic jam leaving me in a real bad spot. Best way to see if it's a crank sensor is by visual inspection. It should be solid and not move. It should also have the clearance of about a matchbook cover between the interruptor vanes and the sensor itself.

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Ok guys, here is what my friend put on my facebook today:

I had a different problem today. I was taking the car out on highway 37 just enough to reach 65 mph. It had a rough start and needed full acceration to reach past 60 mph. Before, it didn't need the gas all the way to the floor. Any suggestions. This new symptom might mean a different problem all together. Also, check engine light comes on.

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I think this car has the ingniton others have mentioned. It has a coil pak on top of the engine with 6 individual towers for each cylinder's plug wire. The coil pak screws to the ignition module.

These coil paks have paired cylinders and I would start by checking the resistance across each coil pak. The pairings are front to back. That is to say the 2 towers on the left are a pair the 2 in the middle and the 2 on the right. I can't recall the spec off hand but it will be obvious because the resistance on one pair will be much higher than the others. If that is the case replace the pak.

It could also have the configuration where there are 3 seperate coil paks mounted to the ignition module. In this case follow the same procedure as described above but replace only the individual bad coil pak.

Just something else for you to try but this would cause the condition you are describing. But then again so will many other things.

Good luck,

Rich

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See, he wants to drive it from Indiana to CA and I think even once it is fixed it wont make it. He has had a lot done, trannie, starter, alt, etc. but, it is stuff like this that scares me (especially since I will be driving along!). I'll try and get some more info... and it is the 4 dr model. Why are you interested in 2 door John? I told him, he ought to get rid of it, and buy something out here. There are a lot of cheap nice lat 80's buicks on craigslist for $900-$2000, lesabres, 4 drs. 2 drs, T-Types, etc. Once all that gas and energy and time along with the possibility of a breakdown is spent I dont think it is worth it for a 19 year old Skylark, I dont know, maybe you guys know better. It does hold sentimental value to him, but, he will have to get it registered again here in CA, and it is going to be a hassle!

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I just talked to a Reatta owner in California and their emissions are much tougher out there. He could spend some $$ on getting this thing to California only to find that he would then need to spend more to get it registered in California.

I think the overall solution is to move to Lousiana, Its warmer than Indiana and no problem with emissions.

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Long story, but, he has to move to CA, the emissions thing was one of my concerns as well, though the car was here in CA most of it's life. I have never had a problem with emissions on my 1989 Lesabre or the 1978 Mark V. What was wrong with the Reatta?

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