Regency

Can someone please send me some pics of the brackets that hold the throttle cables on a 3800 series 1?
It would really help tons. Tore the car apart in July and am just now getting around to fixing it but have no idea how to put it back together. I've been walking around town with a camera hoping I run into someone with a car like mine. lol

Allan R

Not sure if this will help you. I had a 95 Regency Elite with a 3.8. But it was the series 11. Don't know how much different the throttle cable routing or positions would be. I had to do some work on the car and still have these shots. Do they help?

Regency

Nope, it looks different. Thanks for replying though.

Allan R

Is it more like this?
P8100093.jpg

Regency

that one seems a little closer but not quite it lol. these pictures are great though if it were just the right car

Allan R

Sorry, it was a 3800 dropped into a Fiero. Maybe I'll find a pic one of these days.

Your dilemna is a really good reason to document your teardown with pictures as you go. Whenever I'm doing a major repair to my car, my camera goes with me. I also post pics of the progress on the site for others to follow or access when they run into a similar problem.

Regency

very good idea. I've definitely learned my lesson

Allan R

Just out of curiosity, what is it about the bracket that's causing the confusion? I found that my throttle bracket (although different from yours) was fairly intuitive to take apart and put back together. Didn't even use a manual...

Can you post a pic of the engine, and the cable bracket? Might be able to offer some assistance that way.

Regency

not sure, maybe all of the brackets don't go to the cables. i'll try to get a pic sometime today. thanks again

Regency

well I figured out the bracket situation. I was way off lol. So now everything is put back together but the car is idling weird. When I start it, it idles very high and then drops and almost stalls and then idles high again. Any suggestions?

Allan R

Very good chance your IAC is faulty. Easy to replace. Test it first to see if the resistance is good. When you had the engine apart, I'm going to assume you cleaned the throttle body? If you haven't you might want to do that first. The pintle seat on the IAC could just be badly carboned up.

Regency

I guess the full story would be appropriate. On a family trip in July the belt slipped off and I let it get too hot and blew the head gasket. I bought a Hanes manual and tore into it. I'm just now in the process of putting it all back together. I'm fairly confident that everything was put back together correctly.

Allan R

You can still have an IAC problem even if it's put back together. Lets go from where you did your head gasket. Hopefully you don't have any vacuum leaks or that could be your culprit. Next, check ALL your vacuum lines to make sure they are hooked up. Even if they are hooked up, check to make sure the lines aren't brittle or cracked. Since this is a 93 I'm positive the lines are both brittle and likely cracking. Just based on age, I'd replace them. If the problem is still there, then you can remove the IAC and bench test it for resistance.

About 3 years ago I had idle problems with my 98. Ended up taking the TB off and cleaning it, the MAF and replaced the IAC. I had brittle vacuum lines everywhere that wouldn't effectively seal when put back on. The IAC on your 98 should only be held on with 2 screws. It has an O ring to seal the port it sits in, so don't lose that. Also make sure you install it properly when you clean the IAC and pintle seat. Here's a neat "how to" video for GM IAC replacement: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=406BTo4JE3A. I'm betting it's a vacuum leak or your IAC.

Regency

That's really helpful. Thanks a lot. I hope to have this in driving condition tomorrow.

Regency

The idle problem is better but now there is a bigger issue. I started it up and let it run for about 30 or 40 seconds and then shut it off. there was some smoke coming from the back side of the engine bay and water running out from the bottom. couldn't see exactly where it was coming from. any suggestions?

Allan R

Smoke? or steam? Did you drip anything that might have gone onto the exhause manifold?

Water (coolant?) running out from the bottom of what? Can you post a pic? some total guesses based on not seeing what you're talking about?
1. did you change the t stat? is the o ring and housing properly seated and tightened?
2. If you had the TB off, the water jacket shares part of the passage where it bolts to the intake. the gasket there may be leaking or the bolts not tightened up.
3. your head gasket repair may need to be redone? Where is the leak coming from?? Post a pic. this is really hard to visualize

Have someone with you and start the car - you look and yell for them to turn it off it the leak looks threatening, ok? Try to take the pic while the car is running so we can see how much volume the leak is.

EDIT: for all I know one of your lower rad hoses could be loose enough to leak, have you checked that?

Allan R

Well, haven't heard back from this for a while. Did you find the source of your leak?

Rickman48

Don't ya just hate that???

Allan R

Not really, just a bump to see what's going on. For all I know Regency may be busy pre-occupied with home life this close to the Christmas season. The car may be just secondary transportation; since he says he originally tore it apart back in July I'm thinking this is not his daily driver/grocery getter. Probably more of a project when time permits. I'm sure he'll get back to us with something. Just I was curious to know whether any of my guesses were close to being right.

Rickman, You got any ideas what it could be? I know you have lots of knowledge in the mech/electrical area. More input would be great. Right now though without something back, including a helpful pic, it's kind of a crapshoot. I hope the problem is minor because these FWD big 98's were quite nice for comfort and performance.

Regency

well I haven't figured out where the leak is. me and a buddy jacked it up enough for me to crawl under but I couldn't tell exactly. It was dripping off of the oil filter but I don't know how it got there. But then something bad happened. it stopped running and when we tried to start again it won't roll over. you can tell it's trying to but the belt just won't move much.... I've been borrowing cars from people and bumming rides or walking but this car is my daily driver. hope i can get it figured out because it's a really nice car. less than 80,000 miles and perfect leather. this has been very depressing

Allan R

That's depressing!
If it won't even turn there's a good chance you got coolant in the engine oil. Can you pull the dipstick and see if there's evidence of coolant contamination? It would make the oil look more like chocolate than dark. Taking a stab in the dark with this...but it sounds a lot like the intake seal you installed wasn't done right and leaked coolant big time.

Check your rad and see how much coolant is left there. That will be a clue as to how much of a problem you might have. I feel for you, especially since the car is so otherwise cherry

jackedolds

water leaking externally and now it wont crank over? Make sure it still wont crank over then remove spark plugs (all of them at once) and see if it will crank over. If it does, look for the wet spark plug hole indicating that coolant got into a cylinder and hydrolocked the engine. If this is the case it could be one of a few things.

Before proceeding further, this would be my next step.

My gut feel is that a gasket slipped out of place during installation, but it could be one of many things.

Rickman48

I've not a lot of hands-on experience with the computer controlled, twisted, FWD injected motors, but I do know, all the above recommendations are something I'd do!
Also, I'd pressure test the cooling system - that'd let you know what and where things are leaking!
Disconnect the coil[s] while the plugs are out, and cranking the motor, will tell you which cylinders are affected - watch for the green mist!

jackedolds

If you don't have a cooling system pressure tester, many parts stores (I don't know what chains you have available to you) will "lease" tools. These typically don't actually require any money out, just a returnable security deposit to ensure that you bring the tools back in proper working order. If this car has the screw on "radiator cap" which is actually located on the pressurized expansion tank you will need to make sure you get the appropriate fitting as most standard pressure tester kits do not come with these. You may also need to make a block off for the overflow, which can be done with a rubber block off and a clamp.

Allan R

regency/Brion
Any progress on this thread?

Allan R

bump
Hate to see a nice car sitting for so long. Was the engine hydrolocked?