Hey Forum! Long time, no see!

It'* been almost three years since I've fixed my Series 1 3.8 and now some new problems have arisen. Since then, I've had to replace the ECM, fuel pump, fuel filter, ignition coils, and MAF.

The current problem that I have now is associated with keeping the engine running for longer periods of time. For example, starting was a fuss usually taking more than a few tries to start it; replacing the ECM remedied that. Acceleration was also and issue; remedied by replacing the throttle position sensor and MAF. Now, I can't drive Ol' Roy (Olds 88 Royale) for more than 15 minutes or else it will start sputtering when accelerating over 2000RPM as in going from 1st to 2nd gear.

I'm starting to consider to replace both the harmonic balancer and crankshaft position sensor and seeing if that works. What do you guys think? Is there something else that I need to check? I'm at my wits end so any suggestion regarding fixes is greatly appreciated while ones that involve replacing the engine is out of the question.

Thanks again guys,
-Martin

icm and crank sensor are common ones for heat related issues. if you have a heat gun you can try carefully warming one and see if it goes bad

Clogged catalytic converter comes to mind as well.

Thanks for the replies guys. rjolly, I bought the Oldsmobile without the catalytic converter; it was emitting a rotten egg smell from what the original owner said. Justin, when I meant ECM I was referring to the ICM and I had replaced it; I'm now leaning towards it being the crankshaft position sensor and the harmonic balancer, both are the original parts. It might take me a while to replace them, but I hope this fixes the random stalling at stoplights and sputtering at acceleration.

thats a common one. now that i think of it i would replace the upstream O2 if it hasent been as well. the obd1 ones seem to be able to be bad without codes and of you dont have a live data scanner it would be hard to tell it is.

It'* not the crankshaft position sensor. When that fails it shuts your car down like flipping a switch. It doesn't cause you car to sputter at higher RPM'*. When the car sputters is the CEL lit and/or flashing? Did you check for Diagnostic Trouble Codes. I think you are OBD1 and can check with a paper clip.

Yes, my CEL has been flickering on and off for a while. Even before the problem, the CEL would cycle on and off sporadically and it never gave me an issue until recently. I'll take a look at the codes over the holiday since I'll have time to work on it. My Oxygen sensor was the first thing replaced when I bought it.

Do you know how to check codes with a paper clip? There is a write up in the forum for how to do that. Let us know if you can't figure it out.

Update:

I called a buddy of mine that owns a shop and he hooked up the computer to my Olds. It ruled out the crankshaft and harmonic balancer and displayed that my fuel pump is going bad (great to know I still have warranty on that). The Olds still runs strong, but I'm going to keep driving it until the end of the semester and then replace it.

Update:
I ended up replacing the Harmonic Balancer and Crankshaft sensor since my Oldsmobile died while driving it. Once that job was done, it started up fine and has ran quieter than before. When I pulled the balancer off, the crank sensor looked like it had seen better days. The gasket that goes between the balancer and crankshaft was also bad and there is where my oil leak originated from. All that was replaced and the leak stopped too.

Thanks for the help guys!
-Martin