Need some advise/help please

Went to start my 98 SSE - was ready to turn-over, then I heard like a whistling sound- then- when I tried to start the car again- it cranks and cranks but will not turn -over.

Is it possible that I got a fouled spark-plug?- the plugs were changed July 2005- 1 year ago- approx 95,000 miles on the car- I now have about 101,000 miles- so I just put on only 6,000 miles in a year- also had new wires put on this Feb.

The plugs in the car are A/C Delco- #12568387 1TR4A 15


If it is bad plugs- use the same kind again or switch to Auto-lite or NKG ETC?

also- how hard is it to get at the back 3 plugs? should I remove the cross-bar for more room?

Last question- would a bad coil pack be the problem?



Any help is again appreciated as usuual.!!!!!!!



Chuck.

well theres a few things you can do before the "pros" chime in.

First I assume you have a multimeter, if not head to the local harbor freight and get one for like 5 bucks or home depot for 10 or 15 bucks, hell even walmart has them. You can test the coil pack resistance by putting the leads on each coil pack, it should read 5000-7000 ohms I believe.

Even if something was changed recently dont rule it out.

you could test to make sure you are getting fuel the redneck way if you dont have a fuel pressure gauge., get a small screwdriver or somethign and hit the schrader valve on the top of the motor (looks like a tire fill valve, just bigger).make sure fuel sprays out..also make sure you put paper towels or rags everywhere so fuel does not spray out..

if one spark plug dies the engine will usually still start. however it would not hurt to pull all of them to find out. at least pull the front bank, they are easy to pull. make sure all plug wires are tight.

i'd also reseat all the connections you can find on the throttle body to make sure everything is tight. however I'm concerned you might not be getting fuel if we are getting spark, however if you have a coil pack that failed completly that would probably cause a crank put no start situation as well.

It could probably be a number of things, usually when a crank sensor fails it will not crank at all I believe, same with other sensors, what if you punch the gas a fuel times while you are cranking (dont reccomend this too much but its how I have to start my car a lot of times)

Let'* assume just for a second that it is not ignition related based on what you posted about the new plugs & wires. Do like Hans said and ascertain whether or not you are getting fuel delivery to the fuel rail. Also pull the vacum line off the fuel pressure regulator, if fuel pours out, (assuming you have adequate pressure head on fuel rail) you have a ruptured diaphram in the fpr and will require replacement. Additionally, if the crank sensor has failed, the engine will turn over, but will not get the proper timing signal to fire the ignition coils.

OK- followup- I only pulled the front middle plug late yesterday afternoon and re-set it- I also opened and reclosed the gas-cap since I realized I just had filled the car yesterday just prior to coming home- thinking maybe the cap was not tight enough-
I did not make any attempts to start the car yesterday after I re-set the spark plug etc. I let everything alone over-night- i was going to change all 6 plugs this morning if the car still did not start.

I got in the car this morning - turned the key- Started right up!!!- all gages etc working fine!
One thing I did notice- when the car started- for about 10,15 seconds some BLACK smoke came out both exhaust ends- then completely clear.

Now I'm more confused than yesterday- I'm thrilled that the car started right up, but what caused the car NOT to start yesterday??

Thanks again for all responses.

Chuck.

When you say clear, you do mean normal exhaust that you can't see and not white?

Maybe the engine was just flooded?