My neigbor has a 97 LeSabre with a 2000 3.8L engine in it. What he says is happening with it is this: If he goes out to start the car there is a reasonable chance it will start normally and if it does, he is confident that it will drive normally for as long as the fuel lasts. However, should he stop somewhere along the way and shut the car off, this is where he rolls the dice. He never knows how it''s going to re-start. If it''s one of the bad ones, it will crank, and crank and finally get running if he can keep the RPMs up to about 3000. Obviously, with his foot mashing the gas, he can''t shift the car into gear. He has told me that on many occasions he will go out to his driveway and try and start it and it will behave this way. Yet, the following day, he may go out and it might start normally and run normally.


He has changed the fuel pump and this hasn''t seemed to help. Any help on this matter is appreciated. Thank you.

 

First things is welcome to the board, does he have any codes? I mean is the check engine light lit up? Might take it to Autozone and have them plug it in. when he has trouble does it not run at all, other than just having to hold the throttle open? Does it smell rich when it is running rough?

 

Okay, sorry for the long delay. I talked to my neighbor (he''''s seventy-six years old) he said when it''''s running well, no check engine light. When it''''s not running well, he thinks it might come on. Doesn''''t remember the smell of it running rich though. As far as the codes. I know he had a mechanic out to his house twice, or three times. Evidently, on one of these occasions (probably his first visit) he DID take codes off of it. My neighbor doesn''''t remember what they were but says that they perplexed his mechanic and eventually the mechanic gave up working on the car not knowing what was wrong or how to fix it.Edited by: Franklin_Phil