Hello, new here and have an issue with my girls car and hope someone can help. Hope this is the right place to post this....


1992 Plymouth Acclaim with the Mitsubishi 3.0 V6, 3spd auto

1) would start the first try after all the cleaning/treatments
2) then got progressively harder to start but ran perfectly when it started.
3) NOW it sometimes will start & sometime just crank & no start - mess with the distributor some & can get it to start eventually.

-New fuel pump relay (it did go out).
-New CTS.
-New battery terminals.
-battery's decent but even with a jump & changing out to a good battery = still the same thing.
-has spark.
-gapped sparkplugs.
-clean air filter.
-fuel pump works & it's getting fuel (has pressure).
-timing belt intact & is moving.
-disconnected MAP with same results.
-tried starting in Neutral with same results.
-oil looks/smells good and as it should.
-coolant looks as it should.
-IACV & PCV cleaned
-MAP & TPS connections has been checked & cleaned
-does have compression pulses (at the end of the header, since cat is off for now)
-checked ALL sparkplugs again, they all have spark.
-can smell gas when plugs are removed after cranking for awhile.
-sparkplugs did have fuel on them.
-have tried everytime (past & present) flooring the gas pedal (per during starting will actually shut off the fuel).
-distributor cap & rotor look fine (no cracks, no discoloration or corrosion).
-when cranking it doesn't sound any different from before (when it does start).
-tapped distributor (since CPS is inside it) while cranking with no change.
-tapped starter & solenoid while cranking with no change.
-NEW headgaskets.
-NEW NGK plugs (& gapped) & wires.


I have checked CEL codes & it's only throwing 12 = "battery has been disconnected within the last 50 key cycles" (back when it was getting hard to start).

Have dropped the gas tank (it was clean), checked the fuel pump (works), and fixed the float while in there.
Have also added (when it was running) Seafoam to the engine & via the brake booster line, Lucas Transmission Fix, Lucas upper cylinder lubricant & Injector cleaner & engine Restore with a fresh oil change (Castrol high mileage 10w40 w/Bosch Premium filter after the Seafoam of course).
Took Cat off (in case it was clogged) and it does have an oily goo substance in it, it's possibly clogged so busted its guts out.
Found a little coolant seepage on firewall side below the head gasket seam. So NEW headgaskets.
Valve guides look good. Valve seats & seals look good. And piston rings look good, with tight clearance.
Haven't had it long & haven't drove it much. But never had any overheating issues and just a small amount of whiteish blue (smelled a little like oil) smoke out of the tailpipe.


But this random starting issue is driving me nuts. Like I said it will start if you mess around with the distributor and starts fine a few times then back to crank but no start. We've done timing & all that.
So what else could it be?

TIA

 

It sounds like your timing is off. I would check your cam timing for starters. If everything is lined up as it should be, check the distributor timing. With the engine at TDC (all timing marks up) the rotor should be pointed at the boss on the back of the intake plenum.
You may also have an issue in the distributor itself.

 

My bad, I see that I failed to mention in the 1st post that we had done all the timing stuff.


I am afraid this is the issue especially since they're over $100.
It's not my car, it's my girls 1st car and since she doesn't really have a reliable car quite yet she can't get a job to pay for a dizzy.

 

I was referring to distributor timing. AKA Ignition timing. If the distributor is a tooth off it will run, but not well, and will have issues starting.

Being that you/someone did the timing, that would be where I would start. I had a good/reputable shop do the timing on my car, only to discover later they had both cams off and had moved the distributor off a tooth so it would run, surprisingly it ran ok. I found out when I did headgaskets later and couldn't get it started. Checked and rechecked cam timing and it was dead on. Checked the distributor with all the timing marks lined up to find it was off by a tooth. Got it where it should be and all was well.
I have never had a distributor go bad on a 3.0, not saying it can't happen, but it's not likely. I've had 5 of them, they've all made well over 200k.

It is also possible that you have the cam timing 180 off. They will start and run with the timing 180 out, although not well, and not long.

I run 10w30 conventional in all my 3.0s with the exception of the one I built, that saw 5w30.

 

It goes out of timing between starts without removing the distributor. When I go to start it I have to move it over a tooth (distributor) & then it runs fine, the next day I'll go to start it & it's off by a tooth again. The teeth are whole, no chips, breaks, etc and the distributor is flush & I couldn't find any missing pin and there is no play either direction in the shaft.

Has 264k mi on it.

 

Can you see the gear on the cam with the distributor removed? Check that for missing teeth. If that is good, I would change the dizzy.