Hi guys,

I changed the radiator out on my C70 with 295,000 miles. In the process, I cleaned up the ground connections where ever I could find. Now that everything is in, the car wont start!

It will crank but the engine barely catches on and then dies. Trying to press the gas pedal while cranking didnt do anything. I had to send the car to the local Pep Boys to get the top part of the radiator done since the hood cable decided to split. They started the car today after banging the gas tank.

Anyways, before I changed the radiator, I had noticed that the engine was fluctuating between 800-900 rpm in idle. And in drive, if I accelerated it - there was some hesitation below 1500-1800 rpm (when the turbo kicks in).
Now the rpm fluctuation is worse - varies from 600-900 rpm! But the hesitation part below 1500 rpm hasnt worsened. I had cleaned MAF with the CRC spray but that hasnt helped.

I also cleaned out the throttle body and idle control valve when i had taken the radiator out.

There was no sign of starting trouble before this. I would greatly appreciate any advice from you guys so that I can start the car.

Thanks in advance!

 

Are there any engine codes present? Did you actually take the ground wires off when cleaning? Or just hit them with a wire brush? Perhaps you made a bad connection when putting them back on... As a side note, it's awesome that you have so many miles on your car. It gives me hope...

 

haha yes. I bought the car about 8 months ago and taken her all over East coast from Moosehead Lake, ME to Key West, FL! 14,000 miles since then. Dont want to put too many miles on my 240 . And as a student, I cant afford to have 2 cars repaired by a shop/stealership.

Here is how i went about solving the problem(s) -

Initial Symptoms - car struggling below 1500-1800 rpm but only under gentle acceleration. If I floor it, the car ran just fine. I took the MAF out and cleaned it out. The car ran better but not perfect. There was about 6 gallons of gas in the tank.

I changed the radiator out over 2 days thanks to silly rust. In the process, I cleaned up engine grounds, negative terminals and whatever else I saw was rusted. I then went ahead and cleaned up the idle control body and throttle body. Put in a new air filter and whatever other stuff.

Aftermath - Car cranks, barely catches on and then dies. No amount of gas helped.

Solutions - I went ahead and changed the spark plugs (note: single point for 2.3L and 3 point spark plug end for 2.4L). No change. $3.29 ea

So I went ahead and bought an Airtex fuel pump ($126) and Purolator fuel filter ($28). I confirmed that it was fuel pump by having my wife crank the car while I used a rubber mallet to hammer the fuel tank. The car started and idled terribly (varying between 600 - 900 rpm).

Changed the pump and filter. The fuel pump is easy and is below the car towards the rear. Both the sides are connected by quick release fittings (unlike the one's on my 240 which were a pain). Make sure that the arrow points in the right direction.

The fuel pump is at the end of the trunk right by the rear seats. Disconnect battery and take fuse out. Crank the car till it dies. Pull out the carpet in the trunk and get to the access cover. Remove the screws and the electrical connector. Then take a nice long sturdy screw driver and hammer out the covering ring. After that is out, remove the pump assembly half way. After this, you will need to turn it half way to get the remainder out. Check on the o-rings and make sure that they are not too squished or cracked.

Result - The car runs fine. It does have a very mild variation about 50 rpm occasionally in "P". I am not sure if that is normal or should I pull the MAF out again and clean it (it was sitting outside on the floor over the 2 days).

The fuel filter on my car was dated 9/2001. So it was about time the thing was changed. Also, a clogged filter will kill your pump sooner.

I hope this helps whoever has similar problems/symptoms.
Let me know if you guys have any questions/suggestions.