20 Most Recent 1988 Chevrolet Celebrity - Page 4 Questions & Answers

My car is not starting is has an engine stutter and power but no start?

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2.6?

First, check your fluid level and quality and transmission throttle linkage adjustment.

The torque converter clutch solenoid may be hanging when it gets hot. Find the connector on the transaxle, unplug it and put some kind of cover on it to keep dirt out of the connector. If the problem goes away, that's your problem. However, you will see a significant reduction in gas mileage.

It could also be as you surmise, that it's getting stuck in overdrive. You can test this by shifting into the highest gear before Overdrive, instead of Overdrive, before the car gets warmed up (observe engine RPM limits). Once again, you're sacrificing gas mileage to test for the problem.

My Chilton book lists 3 V6's for that year. Check your VIN number. The eighth number or letter in is the engine code. This will give you the firing order.
If the letter is an X or Z or W the firing order is1-2-3-4-5-6. Standing in front of the crank the odd numbers are on the left and even ones on the right, front to back. #1 on the distributor is at 4-5 o'clock position and it turns clockwise.
If the letter is E or L or B or a 3 then the firing order is 1-6-5-4-3-2. Standing in front of the crank the even numbers are on the left and the odd ones on the right, front to back. #1 is at 9 o'clock on the distributor and it turns clockwise.
You probably will be using the first order I put in but I'm not 100% positive on that. That's why I gave you the other one. Hope this helps.

lets start simple.get a can of silacone spray oil and spray into the switch and keep moving key and you will find this will reliese the key,if you need to remove the ign switch dont panic as its a simple enough job.Forget about steering wheel and whatever,simply remove the outer plastic cover then this exposes the switch at the back of switch is a plug with wires pull it away ,then below the key you should see a tiny screw undo, and make sure the steering lock is not under pressure,ie steering wheel free,when trying to remove switch move steering wheel back/forward and switch should pull out.good luck.adrian,,,,

With the hood up and you standing to the side watching the engine have someone hold their foot on the brakes firmly and put the engine in gear. If the engine **** or slams into gear it more than likely the very top engine stabilizer mount. If so there is an red ignition running around the air compressor that sometimes starts to wear this wire into which can cause several problems among them the engine can stall at anytime, not start, but it can be a fire hazzard especially if there is fuel or oil present. Hope this helps.

You probably got something wet, or you may have knocked something loose (especially if you poser-washed it). Let it sit for 24 hours to dry out, then try starting it again. If it still doesn't start, you probably broke something, and its time to start trying to figure out what.

ok if the car ran after it got wet then its not the problem engines can get wet and be fine sure thats not the problem they burn of the water anyway check the plugs and see if fowled out and check wires for cracks if older wires when you got them wet they might have got hot then cold then cracked from age check and see if they need replaced hope this helps

remove the door panel and replace the inside door handle dealer part

These are pretty basic set up fortunately. First thing to check is the catalytic converter. You do this by simply running the ngine til operating temperature is achieved and looking underneath the car for any component of the exhaust system that may be glowing red. If nothing is found there, check and replace your fuel filter which is underneath the vehicle usually right around the axle area. Blow through it and if you really have to try, it is plugged. Just that easy. The other thing it can be is the coolant temperature switch, which if not operating properly, can tell the engines computer that the system is still cold and will try to inject more fuel causing the odor and can melt the "cats" insides together causing a restriction in the exhaust and an extreme lack of power. Try these basic items first and let me know what you find. We can move forward from there.

Unless it has a diesel engine, don['t remember there ever being one on there. If you are looking for an air pump (has nothing to do with vacuum) likely on one that old, it seized and was removed a long time ago.
On a gas engine, the engine itself makes the vacuum which is then routed from the intake or carb fittings to where it is needed.

There is no adjustment for the serpentine belt.It has a belt tensioner and is self adjusting.If the tension is loose then you have to replace the belt tensioner.Hope this helps.Good luck.

That year celebrity used a 15 gallon tank for the 6 and 4 cyl. vehicles. Hope this helps.

If you haven't solved this problem yet, here is the answer. You have to remove the cigarette ashtray and the mounting bolts, to include the mounting screws that hold the fuse box in place. disconnect the rear defogger from it's wiring and then remove the cigarette clip which is held on by a plastic shielding. It fits on the back of the lighter and can be easily rotated. Then there is a shielding on the cigarette lighter tube that just unscrews. just hold what you think is the cigarette lighter tube and try to unscrew it...it will work. (I just did the same for my car today) then you should be able to remove the grey molding that covers the radio and you will see that it only has 3 screws holding the radio in. I know it sounds like a lot to do, but it's much easier once you see how things work. I hope this helps you out. By the way, I just removed my radio on my 88 Chevy Celebrity, 4dr, 2.5

without starting the engine position the key to the on position.
you can hear the fuel pump operationing for 4 to 6 seconds upon having the key on.
if not heard running check the fuel pump fuse, the fuel pump relay, and the engines oil pressure switch.
they all work the pump you see
the engine oil pressure switch runs the pump untill the engine reaches normal pressure
once the pressure is reached to the normal range the computer shuts that circuit off and turns the fuel pump relay on

the plastic clip has probaly broken off the end of the rod

Faulty fuel delivery. Bad fuel pump? Super dirty fuel filter?