everyone mentioned this in the beginning, but I think you really need to check out both the cam and crank sensors.... They are always an issue with these cars, and very tempormental...I would seriously give those a yank, slap a few new parts in and if the story does not change, return them and get cahs back....also, did you get a refund from the mchanic??? If the problem is worse than before, obviously they did not do what they were paid to do! When my buick was running, it was smoking a tad from the up-pipe, and I knew for a fact the turbo was loose and burning through...The idiot mechanic who looked at it told me that the car was not tuned properly, and that he wanted to throw 300 dollars worth in parts, without touching the turbo! i asked what it would cost to fix the turbo, and he told me, quite adamently, that the turbo was not a problem yet, and that it was all in the timing and injectors....
later, i found the wrong oil pan on the car, every single journal scored on the crank, two pistons detonated and almost rounded, onecylinder scored beyond .060, and lastly, a chewed up front cover.....So...i dont think timing was to blame....
if I sank that 300 in parts from the mechanic, I would have tossed it all away, and still ended up with no motor.
I reccomend, as I am doing now, selling as much as you can afford to sell without losing all parts you need, i.e., anything extra, and start from scratch. I got a .030 block with TRW's from turboregal84 after his car was totalled, I got a totally ported out intake, fully ported irons, a TA60 turbo on the way to be custom mounted to the intake (NO IC!), and alky, 60 lb injectors, ALL new sensors, 87 computer, lt1 maf, translator, 87 coil, adapter, and all that, and the biggest mods: dave weber custom roller set-up, including modded front cover, custom one off cam, roller rockers, roller lifters, and all seals....
I am starting everything from scratch....I dont need teh car running right away, and I cant wait to have it running, but I am doing it all new, all at once, and if I have any problems, I have direct scan, with custom chips out the wazoo, and best of all, I have Jim Testa around the corner from me, as well as Dynotech just 2 hours away...If I have any huge problems, I can simply tow it wherever I need to (bill anderson, jim testa, stage 1, so-on), and I can trouble shoot for free, without throwing money at the problem....The most it will cost me is 60 bucks an hour for a good mechanic to look over, and the towing costs.
What you need to do, is contact anyone in your area, or within 100 miles, that is knowledgable in the field of our cars, and get as many hands in the engine as possible, until that motor is torn apart and put back together...
Im sorry for the deep read, but I have seen it so many times, that vacuum lines are off or missing, or a cam sensor is faulty, that a simple phone call to someone who has been there before, could have spared all the time and energy.
good luck to you, and remember....It's a hobby and a passion...take your time, and go over everything!!!!!
john
