TexasJohn55

Bob, I agree. One would think that the big phone companies have bigger fish to fry. I don't think we should flatter ourselves thinking we are that important.

Yep, that too.

Well there is an old sayin' : He went to sh-t and the hogs ate him!

Voltage is the "pusher" in an electrical circuit. Double the voltage and only half the amperage is required. Amperage requires larger conductors to carry the power which in turn builds heat. The higher the voltage, the lower the amperage and thus the conductor size. Consider our AC power grid with voltages exceeding 30,000 volts and how much "power" is transmitted thru those battery cable size wires. Power(watts) = volts x amps .....ie: 30kv x 1 amp = 30 kw , thats alot of power for a 1 amp circuit.

Thanks for that Mc. I don't recall for sure, may have been 10A #17. I remember checking voltage at injector or a sensor and finding no voltage so I assumed the ECM was not powered and started checking fuses. If that is the case, it could have been any of the injector hot wires or sensor circuits. Maybe not. I am certain from memory that several wires had deteriorated insulation. My owners book does not show fuse usage data and my sticker is gone from the drop down fuse panel cover. TJ55

Food for thought: I have an '88-98 with the vin c 3800 that all of a sudden would not start. My daughter had driven it to Waco from Dallas and parked in her driveway. Next morning she called and said it would not start. This car ALWAYS started and was trouble free. So I drove down there to check it. It spun over fine, fuel pump powered and good fuel pressure and had spark but would not fire. That only left the injection system so I checked all fuses and found one blown, replaced it and blew again. I knew this could take a week to track down so I reached down by the alternator where the main harness crossed over the top of the engine, grabbed the harness and gave it a good pull to lift it off the engine, installed a new fuse and cranked it up. Drove it back to Dallas without even a hiccup. I drove that car on a 1500 mile round trip the next day and still running fine. I know that I have some bare wires that had rubbed and shorted, I had noticed deteriorated insulation on several wires before, the insulation simply rots and crumbles away. It is my backup driver and someday I will have to fix it. If it fails before I get to it I will just give it another yank! The point is, it may be a common problem with these engines with old age and alot of miles.

If mounting and input shaft are same and overall length are same ............ you may be able to swap over the rear ujoint. You could swap them on the dynaflow, don't know about the manuals.

Although I am not familiar with that particular design, I will offer the obvious. The transmission input shaft must be free to spin independent of the flywheel to disengage the transmission. Could the input shaft be stuck in the flywheel bearing or bore?

As mentioned earlier, the park/neutral switch is a monitoring device, not a control switch. The trans shifts hydraulicly, not electrically except for the TCC. If you did not reconnect the trans electrical connector and then clear the codes, then code 31 would still show up and was likely generated while it was unplugged. EDIT: I do not know for fact how this trans shifts, only going on what others more knowledgeable have posted.

Home | Get Help at BAT Auto | Get an ALLDATAdiy Repair Info Subscription GM 88-90 3.8L VIN C Trouble Code Info GM 88-90 3.8L VIN C 13 Oxygen sensor voltage stays between 0.35 and 0.55 volts for 30 seconds when the TPS signal was above 0.55 volts. The engine had been running for at least 40 seconds at normal engine temperature. 14 Coolant temperature sensor signal indicates a temperature of over 282° F for 0.4 seconds after the engine had been running for at least 10 seconds. 15 Coolant temperature sensor signal indicates a temperature colder than -40° F for at least 2 seconds. 16 Charging system voltage was above 16 volts. 21 TPS voltage was above 2.5 volts for 5 seconds when engine was running and air flow was less than 15 gm/sec. 22 TPS voltage was under 0.2 volts for 4 seconds when the engine was running. 23 Manifold air temperature sensor signal showed an air temperature of 40° F for 4 seconds. 24 Vehicle speed sensor signal showed less than 3 MPH for 40 seconds when vehicle was in 4th gear. 25 Manifold air temperature sensor signal showed an air temperature over 283° F for 16 seconds when vehicle speed was greater than 35 MPH. 26 Quad-Driver sense voltage shows a low voltage when battery voltage should be present, or if the sense voltage shows battery voltage when a low voltage should be present for at least 5 seconds when the engine was running. 27 2nd gear switch was closed or grounded when vehicle was in 4th gear, or 2nd or 4th gear switch was open when engine was first started. 28 3rd gear switch was closed or grounded when vehicle was in 4th gear, or 3rd or 4th gear switch was open when engine was first started. 29 4th gear switch was closed or grounded when vehicle was in 4th gear, or 4th gear switch was open when engine was first started. 31 Park/Neutral switch was grounded when vehicle was in gear, or Park/Neutral switch was open when vehicle was first started, or the 4th gear switch has an intermittent open. 34 There was no MAF signal for over 4 seconds while engine was running. 38 Vehicle speed went from above 35 MPH to 0 several times without a brake input signal. 41 Cam sensor signal was not received by PCM for the last 2 seconds while engine was running. 42 The EST signal did not change when the ECM applied bypass voltage to the ignition module. 43 Knock sensor signal was either above 3.5 volts or below 1.5 volts for at least 5 seconds. 44 Oxygen sensor voltage was under 0.2 volts for up to 4 1/2 minutes of closed loop operation. 45 Oxygen sensor voltage was over 0.7 volts for 30 seconds in closed loop operation with a throttle angle between 0.54 and 2.08 volts after engine had been running for 1 minute. 46 Power steering switch was closed for 25 seconds or more when vehicle speed was above 40 MPH. 47 Momentary loss of power to Body Computer Module (BCM). 51 MEM-CAL error. 58 Security system pass key signal was out of range when the ignition was turned to On or Start position. 63 Incorrect EGR operation. 64 Incorrect EGR operation. 65 Incorrect EGR operation.

I don't have access to the logic conditions of setting that code so this is only a guess. If the trans had a failure that won't shift into 3rd and that failure dropped the pressures in that circuit so low it could not engage 3rd, that condition might conceivably activate the park/neutral switch. That would be in conflict with the speed sensor data showing road speed. Would that set a code? Just a lot of speculating. Can someone find the logic and conditions for that code to set?

Remove the main power wire from the alternator or remove and have tested. Shorted diodes can kill the battery.

What a p---ing contest! With my aging equipment, I can't compete. Reminds me, time for a PSA check.

The chart shows them to be 6v, these cars are 12v.

Ha! Pic makes your hips look big Eric. Those wheels are a whole lot of red, do you paint the backside black or were the originals all red?

Throw-out as in clutch release bearing? If it is not 18 or 21 yrs old, it ain't legal for it to smoke.Like electrical components, they are sealed units and are no good after all the smoke leaks out.

Excellent idea John F. !!

Mud, do you oven bake any parts that you paint?

I doubt that any of those smaller companies have their own refineries, there is not one on every corner. You would have to do high volume business to have your own oils blended. Do you think they just pick a blend and additive package and relabel it for sale under private name? Food for thought for those that have more insight into the market place and distribution aspect.

After further consideration of your broken tap issue, I have seen them broken up and dug out in pieces but that also is a hit or miss deal. I assume those are small bolts around 5/16" size, that makes it more difficult as well. I have seen bolts removed from holes with a small tipped cutting torch but I never was that proficient at it. The idea is to heat it very quickly to the melting point and then blow it out in a molten state. The trick is to heat it very quickly while the block is cold and acts as a heat sink and does little damage to the cast iron. Again, the small size makes that difficult unless you have a very small cutting head. If you find a bit or cutter that will cut the tap material, bore dead center of the tap body and remove enough material that the flutes can be broken off. But oh yeah, you already said the block was "kaplewy" didn't you? I am surprised someone else has not chimed in with ideas on the 2 engines.

I will take a shot at this. First of all, your block with the tap broken off in it is salvageable unless you really did a number on it. Get a high speed die grinder with a 1/8th collet. Go to Handy Dan or comparable place and find the Dremel bits. You need a carbide cutter with fluted straight sides and rounded on the end also with flutes. That bit will cut nearly anything and should be small enough to work on that tap. If you can get in the flute cavity and cut it into pieces you may get it out. If you grind straight in and cut out some threads, it will not substantially weaken the bolts clamping ability. When you get the tap out you can helicoil the hole if you like. I recommend you buy at least 2 bits as you will break one if you are new to this operation. I have successfully salvaged many heads that had exhaust bolts broken off this way. If you used a carbide tap, that could be a problem. High speed steel is somewhat softer. Those dremel bits are around 8-$10 apiece. Secondly, if that #5 cylinder had no compression but looks ok, have another look at the valves. Pour some thin liquid in each port and physically check them for leakage or warpage. As for pushing that piston out, why not? New rings will seat in a good cylinder but a light honing would be preferable. You will know if you have a problem with the rings when you push it out, but you still have an issue with 2 head bolts to get out. That is a drilling job and get dead center and sized for a big eazyout. You will still have to soak it to get it to turn. An alternate method would be to super heat it and it might loosen. If the top is exposed above deck level, you can weld a big nut to it for leverage. I like the idea of salvaging the first block if possible. Remove head bolts from second block as a back up if the valves are bad in #5. Good luck.

I will chime in on the springs. They do go behind the door panel and are to keep the panel snug to the window crank handle. My 69 Pontiac has them.

I would recommend turning the engine through 2 revolutions by hand with a socket on the crank center bolt. This will allow you to feel any hard resistance when turning which could be stuck valves. If you use the starter and a valve is stuck open, you can easily bend valves.

Even a washing machine needs an agitator.

James, I don't see the harm in that unless you leave it in Park. Dynaflows have that rear pump, should be safe at any speed in Neutral. Put it in drive if you want to spin the engine for Power steering and a/c! John