Need some help...
 

I have an 86 Monte Carlo SS as a "project". I bought the car, and alot of **** was unplugged and disconnected or whatever. Supposedly, the guy broke a connecting rod and started getting ready to do an engine swap. Who knows if its true or not, but I did manage to get the thing started up, and it sounds ok i guess. I'm not an engine mechanic, so I'm hoping maybe somebody here wouldnt mind taking some time to help me out with this thing.

I promised myself I wouldnt give up on this car, and I'm hoping to get it drivable within the month of september. I dont know if I need a new engine, or where I'm at or anything. I'm simply lost.

soo he said it has a bad connecting rod, and you have it running?

Yeah, that guy was full of it. Bad connecting rod means windows in the oil pan, or block if its real bad ass.

Steve does it look like all of the wiring harness connections are connected? If the engine runs smoothly then there probably isnt anything wrong with it, though you'll want to check the various gaskets / seals for any obvious leaks. If all the vacuum lines are connected then you're probably ok. What do the gauges say?

If a rod was bad, you would know it. Trust me.

Best of luck with your project!

- Justin

NJ85Z28
I'm local to u PVL
I can take a quick look to see what you got

Yes I've had it running, the first time it fired with only 4 plugs and wires. I started to put some things back together, and still have to bolt the one header back up to the drivers side. the car fires and runs, but i want to make sure the engine is mechanically alright, before i decide what to do next. I plugged in the sensors that I could find.

fleetwiz, if your free sometime in the nice weahter, please let me know asap.

bolt that other header up before you fire it up again...if i was closer id swing by

nj58z28
I'm around all weekend, where in Vernon are u

Highland lakes. its supposed to rain all day tomorrow im pretty sure though, but im also off monday

ok i'm off mon also

mapquest has 2 vernon NJ. One in sussex county and one in camden county. Im willing to be your in Sussex county ... :)

hi, do a compression test before any thing else. this will tell you some thing about the health of the engine before you spend any more time or money. if you dont have a comp tester i will lend you one, i'm oak ridge

yes im in sussex county, and any specialty tools or anyone willing to show me how to use them would be greatly appreciated!!

call me any time, i'm right down the road from u. steve 973 697 9558

Thanks everyone! Looks like next weekend possibly? Saturday morning? Anyone up for it?

ugh sorry guys, my modem took a ****, its still acting funny so i couldnt get the word out about working on the car. updates though, i bolted the header back up and got that all buttoned up, the car runs and idles, but drives like ****, and it seems the harmonic balancer isnt balanced at all, its spinning sort of ****ed up. any suggestions>? anyone free int he next few days?

If the balancer is damaged, I would get a new one ASAP

- Justin

could it be a bent crank or something else making it spin all weird? i hope its only the balancer, but how do i know?

If the crank was bent, I think the motor would be knockin' like a sonofabitch. Could be a bent pulley, and it's making the balancer look funky.

eh i think im going to just swap the engine out. seems like there is something messed up somewhere in that mess.