Hey all, my neighbor has what I'm assuming is an early 90'* Cutlass Supreme (I think).. with a 3300 under the hood... and his car was stolen but recovered over Christmas.. now he has a problem..

The car wants to turn over, but doesn't seem to have enough power to crank... even when trying to boost it... what could it be.. ignition? battery? alternator? starter? .. I'm not a chevy guy, so I don't know these engines well, and I know there are alot of knowledgable people here... if someone could help out it would be really apreciated..

just a slight fyi, the 3300 is a trimmed down version of the 3800.

now when you say it dosent have enough power to crank, do you mean its not turning the engine or its turning just not firing?

Has the car started since being recovered? If not I would check the state of the battery. Also the possibility that the motor was beat badly and possibly blown. That would be worst case.

It gets enough power to turn over once, then quits.. it reminds me of when my starter went on my ol Tempo.. I thought it was a dead battery, but it was the starter...

As far as I know, the car hasn't been started since it was recovered... thats why I think it might be something electrical... if it was mechanical, I'd probably have heard something else when it was turning over...

I knew that 3300 looksed way too much like the 3800 in my SSE

Having sat this long, I may suspect the battery...however anything is possible.

Battery, corroded cables, starter damage (due to being stolen). Kinda hard to narrow it down without further investigation on your part I'm afraid. But those would be my guesses.

I would add possible motor damage... you have no idea what was done before they dumped the car.

They could have held it at redline all day.

try putting the battery on a overnight charger and try to start it again in the morning.

Ok, I looked at the badges today on his car.. its a Cutlass Cierra.. just for technicallity...

When we were trying to start it, he was trying to boost it off of a late 90'* Escort wagon.. plenty of power to boost it...

I'm not sure what to make of his situation.. the car has only sat for 2 weeks or so... so the battery shouldn't be the issue.. I'm wondering if its the ignition or the starter.. or the regulator.. I dunno... I don't see him often, and I was trying to be a good samaratan and help him out...

On a semi-side note.. I got keys for my Bonne today... so I can sleep easier at night now that I know she'll atleast make noise if someone tries to take off with her..