Hey everyone. I just rebuilt the engine on my 97 gtx and took it out for a spin the other day. Drove excellent. I did notice however a small drip from the top of the exhaust manifold from the water intake, but it wasn’t very much and I knew I could seal it. I had not put the airborne back on the carbs yet because I figured if I had to adjust them I didn’t want to take all that back off. Today I went to drive it and I got it running for about 30 seconds with starter fluid but it was hogging down when I started to go and eventually kicked off. It couldn’t turn over anymore form pressure in the cylinder. I was worried that this may have been from drops of water into the cylinder. I removed the spark plugs and then engine cranks nicely, and is not shooting any liquids out. However, when I put the spark plugs back in it will not turn over. Any ideas?
1996 GTX Engine trouble
- Thread starter gstew68
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You need to load test the battery first to see if thats the issue. Just because it reads 12v on a multimeter doesnt mean its a good battery.
If you rule out the battery, then its likely either the starter is going out or you have a weak ground. If its the starter you can rebuild it for under $30. Dont buy a cheap aftermarket starter, they are all terrible and will usually not last a season. You need to rebuild the OEM starter.
Make sure you have a good connection to the engine block with the ground cable as well. The battery cables are also known to rot from the inside now that these machines are 25+ yesrs old. It can be tough to spot sometimes since it may be inside the cable sheath but you can always use a jumper cable to create another ground to test out.
If you rule out the battery, then its likely either the starter is going out or you have a weak ground. If its the starter you can rebuild it for under $30. Dont buy a cheap aftermarket starter, they are all terrible and will usually not last a season. You need to rebuild the OEM starter.
Make sure you have a good connection to the engine block with the ground cable as well. The battery cables are also known to rot from the inside now that these machines are 25+ yesrs old. It can be tough to spot sometimes since it may be inside the cable sheath but you can always use a jumper cable to create another ground to test out.
GGuillot
Well-Known Member
Stay away from using starter fluid, you'll create more problems for yourself using that. Just spray some premix of fuel instead. As mentioned above, rebuild the oem starter, non of the aftermarkets hold up for long. You either have a weak ground (corroded cable) or a weak battery, or a weak starter.
Fix that exhaust leak. You are only seeing what is leaking on the outside. Water could be leaking into the cylinders. Stick a compression tester on there just to check what you have.
Starters are tricky sometimes. I just put my 1996 Engine back together, complete rebuild, and I checked and checked everything I took my OEM starter apart, cleaned it, checked it out pretty good, reassembled and resealed it, even took all the old paint off and repainted. It was a thing of beauty. That sumbish.... lasted about 20 seconds. I checked everything else first and the battery was weak.... I was hoping but.... one of the wires going to the brush separated. It looked OK previously but I guess a lot of the wires were broken and I couldn't see it. I'll put my glasses on next time or just replace the dang brush holder. LOL Good Luck man !!
Starters are tricky sometimes. I just put my 1996 Engine back together, complete rebuild, and I checked and checked everything I took my OEM starter apart, cleaned it, checked it out pretty good, reassembled and resealed it, even took all the old paint off and repainted. It was a thing of beauty. That sumbish.... lasted about 20 seconds. I checked everything else first and the battery was weak.... I was hoping but.... one of the wires going to the brush separated. It looked OK previously but I guess a lot of the wires were broken and I couldn't see it. I'll put my glasses on next time or just replace the dang brush holder. LOL Good Luck man !!
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