Help! My Festival died on me tonight

[J Eric]

Hi guys, tonight on the way home from work, my festive decided

To die on me and I am at loss as to what broke. Let me try to

Explain what happen....

I was pulling away from a stop sign, shifted through first, second and

Then third. When all of sudden the cat started making this noise.

Almost like valve rattle drum roll noise but louder. I pushed in the clutch and it died.

When I released the clutch it started but still made the noise. Pushed

In the clutch and it died again. I pulled over and was unable to get it to fire up.

I got it home, checked the timing and it's getting spark and fuel. Pulled off the

Valve cover and the rockers are going up and down so I am thinking it maybe the

Bottom half but will have to wait to tomorrow to check it out.

If anyone has any idea as what to check or what to look for I would greatly

Appreciate it.

[lessersivad]

Oil?

[Movin]

Lifters still tight and pumped up if hydraulic ? Cat ? Maybe the belt jumped a tooth and you are mostly firing out the exhaust?

[WmWatt]

Your pronouns all have ambiguous antecedents. That'll do it.

[TominMO]

Air, fuel, ignition, timing (ignition and valve).
You say it is getting fuel and ignition, and presumably it's getting air too. Is it getting spark at the plug, or did you check it farther upstream, like the coil, and assume it's getting to the plugs? I see you have a carby, so maybe the module inside the disty failed.

If it is getting spark to the plugs, that only leaves timing, both valve and ignition. Ignition timing doesn't just slip unless the disty bolts aren't tight; but you might have slipped the timing belt by a couple of teeth or more, which would affect valve timing. Obviously the belt isn't broken since the rockers are moving. So like Movin said, check the timing of the crank and cam gear. I'll bet you find a worn timing belt, maybe with teeth missing.

The bottom half is pretty buttletproof (as long as it gets oil). And the oil pumps don't seem to fail much either. How many miles on your car?

[1990new]

Help! My Festival died on me tonight

Yo just described to a T what happened to my 1990 when the crank nose keyway slot and woodruff key became worn past the point of no return.. If that is your problem, it means replacing the crankshaft.

[J Eric]

Thanks for quick replies.

It has oil and timing belt is new and the timing marks line up. I get spark at the plug.

The distributer hasn't moved.

[TominMO]

Check the three fusible links on the driver strut tower. Look for corrosion in there.

Or it may be the cat is totally clogged, but I doubt that would do it. I once had a cat on a gen1 MR2 that only showed a pinhole of light when you held it up to the sun and looked thru it! It still ran, and got 25 mpg hwy. When I replaced the cat, the motor had noticeably more power and got 35 mpg hwy. If you still suspect the cat, pull the midpipe off and look in there with a flashlight. If it is clogged, you can use a portable drill, bit extension and a wood-boring bit to clear the obstruction. With the pipe still off, start the motor to clear out the loose cat material. This should at least tell you if it was the cat being clogged.

If it's not either of these, maybe it's the keyway slot as 1990new said. Hopefully not tho.

[1990new]

Thanks for quick replies.

It has oil and timing belt is new and the timing marks line up. I get spark at the plug.

The distributer hasn't moved.

This was all true in my case. My timing marks lined up, no change to the distributor, spark to the plugs and no fuel issues.
And I had recently changed the timing belt. You have an 88 so you have the smaller crank snout, same as my 90.
The problem was that the crank shaft timing belt sprocket was not in the correct position in relation to the timing mark shown on the alternator/water pump pulley.
If this has happened in you case, there is no way to fix it but repair or place the crank shaft, and if the engine has lots of miles on it it would be better to replace
the engine (that's what I did).

The only way that I know of to confirm this diagnosis is to remove the timing sprocket from the crank shaft.
You might try loosening the distributor and advance and retard the spark to see if it will crank at an extreme position. This might give you a clue.

[J Eric]

Thanks. I will be have to check it out tomorrow and let everyone know what I find out.

[Movin]

^^^ just pull #1 and use a wire or something to feel the piston move. You should be able to feel the highest point pretty accurate. Turn the engine by hand back and forth. mark on the pulley both sides of "just barely moved" then move to the middle of the two marks. The cam timing should be right on. If not pull it down to see why.

[J Eric]

Afternoon update....

I checked the crankshaft gear as 1990new suggested. Everything looks ok.

[1990new]

Afternoon update....

I checked the crankshaft gear as 1990new suggested. Everything looks ok.

That is great news.

To eliminate the possibility of this being an engine grounding issue.... connect a jumper cable from you battery ground to your engine block and then try to start.
Corroded ground points can cause all kinds of problem. (Much rust on the car?)

[J Eric]

No there is no rust on the car any where which is good for an '88 with 202,252 miles. I even pulled the head after checking the crank and it looks good. Not much carbon gunk. How ever, when i started to rebolt the head down, the middle intake bolt hole is stripped and will not tighten. So i am looking for a new engine. I know it can be fixed, but a b6 was the plan from the beginning.

[J Eric]

Small update.....

I have found a good b3 from 93 with a five spd. I plan on swapping the fuel injected intake with mine and run my weber on it.

The only concern I have is the transmission input shaft from my 4 spd fitting the clutch.

Does any one know if the 5spd clutch will work or will I have to get a 4spd clutch. Rock auto

Says they are the same clutches, just wanted to make sure.

Thanks!