I have a 1988 Bonneville LE....

recently I was driving and the car just shut down. I checked if was getting fuel... it is. I checked for spark...it does. I try and start it and it cranks but will not start. I pulled off a valve cover(the one closest to the front), tried to start and saw that half of the valves were cranking and the other half were not. A friend suggested that the camshaft cracked in half? Does this sound accurate? If so can somebody guide me on how to change it myself?

Also I should say that this car had been sitting for nearly two years. I had put a battery in and it started right up. I did have a rebuilt trans put in and was driving it around without any problems for over a week before this happened.

I have been reading alot of posts and it sounds like alot of these cars have cam/crank sensor problems....could this be the problem?

Let me know if you need any more info....

Thanks

I am not an engine expert but if some of the rockers arn't moving, then you've got a big mechanical problem on your hand. The camshaft may or may not be the culprit of this, but it sure is in the valvetrain.

Did you hear any knocking, loud unusual engine noises, or when the car died, did it make any loud noises from the engine?

Yes, your friend could be very correct on his guess of the camshaft being cracked in half.

I personally don't think it would be the cam shaft though, because the way these things are built, they just don't break. It could be the rods though.

I do not want to comment on how to fix this, somebody with a little more 3800 engine knowledge will be better suited for this.

-justin

Which half still work? Pulley end?

while looking at the engine the right side still work and the left side does not.

Odd, if the camshaft were broken, say in the middle, the left side would work. Because the cam is driven from the left. Can you tell if the non working valves are open or closed? Maybe they are stuck open, which would do bad things to pistons. Or you have some bent/broken pushrods. Take off the rockers that don't move and pull out the pushrods. How do the ends look?

my mistake....

The left side work and the right side does not. If this is the camshaft, is this a difficult job to do?

It is pretty deep in the motor. Several hours, and the engine may have to come out to get the cam out of the block. Take off the non working rockers and check out the pushrods first. Did you take off the rear valve cover, also? What'* it doing back there? If it'* the same story, it is the camshaft.