Thread: 3.8L SC Random stalls, faulty intermittent start!

agentbluescreen,

Thanks so much for all of your posts. They're very helpful to all of us - and our mechanics! - who are having the same woes.

This is such a simple question I'm a bit afraid to ask it, but here goes: since the cars having these elusive problems typically have many K miles on them, and since you say gunk and corrosion are major culprits, would having the engine compartment steam-cleaned solve part of the problem, apart from the high-heat issue? I'm just thinking that these cars ran fabulously for sooo long, even with all of the high heat, so I'm wondering what has developed, and, since so many of us have replaced parts 'til our wallets are blue in the face, it doesn't seem old, worn-out parts are the whole problem....

Also, it's been 1.5 weeks since your last post - - how's it going with your car now - - is it still stall- and non-start-free? If so, you seem to be the only one who has conquered this gnarly beast!

P.S. My 98 Grand Prix 3.8 V6 SE, with 205K miles, does the stall thing (on and off the highway) & the not-start thing (for varying amounts of wait-time), for the last four months. It of course seems to be, like agentbluescreen's, after short stops (like going to lunch) and when the weather is warmer - and during the later evening after a warm day.

The dash lights I have on are: ABS, Non-Trac and intermittently (like on one week, off the next) the Service Engine Light (That light has been doing that for literally years, with the car running beautifully).

We've replaced: CPS, wiring harness, fuel filter, fuel relay, fuel pump, ICM, plugs and the 2009 Recall wire "channel" or whatever it's called.

We've checked: plug wires/boots, battery connectors, MAF and EGR.

The codes have repeatedly been checked and cleared, and currently there's only CPS "A" and EGR. The first is new, the second was examined and OK.

That's my story an' I'm stickin' to it.

Oh - and tach needle dropping to zero & staying there 'til next start - and this still happens, even though we just replaced the ICM - and it usually happens soon before either a stall or a non-(re)start.

'Interesting thing: The car usually does better when the gas tank is full... maybe something to do with the gas staying cooler and so keeping other things relatively cooler?

Man, I keep thinking of more things to say!...

I have also smelled the strong smell of gas after a stall with non-(re)start. We haven't replaced the fuel pressure regulator yet, but we've already spent over $2K without success, and replacing parts doesn't seem to be doing it, and others have replaced that part & the problem remained....

OK, another thing:

agentbluescreen also mentioned vacuum leaks, and I know there's a crack at the back of my manifold cover (I don't get how this works, but my mechanic replaced the part of it -?- that fixed a crack at the front, that was letting major exhaust into the cab; there's still some coming in now when I'm sitting in my driveway idling, but when I get moving it blows away behind the car).

Could a small crack in the manifold cover be the stalling/not-starting culprit?