A water pump hose was leaking which cause my car not to run. so i had it towed to a dealership.(it's a ford dealership, cuz i heard the chevy dealer here sucks....along w/ everything else in this town) well anyways they looked it over found the leak coming from a water pump hose. They fix it and try to start it and it didn't fire. They also scanned it and came up w/ a crankshaft sensor code. So they replaced the sensor, it started and ran great they said. Then while they were driving it (got it to running temp) it started to sputter and run like hell. So anyways they want to put on a new distributor, cap and rotor, and ignition modual.

what should i do? the opti was replaced last May. Shouldn't they just replace the cap and rotor then test the ignition modual?

Thank you

 

Any more codes come up after it started running badly? They're just trying to get you to pay as much money as possible by throwing parts at it.
Unless you feel like paying for something that's not guaranteed to fix the problem I'd get your car out of there ASAP. My guess is that your opti is still wet and needs a few days to dry out. I would doubt it started to run "great" and then run like crap.
You need to do the basics... check your fuel pressure for starters. If you don't have a fuel pressure guage then get one from a parts store.

 

sounds to me like they are just throwing parts at it because they dont have a clue what they are doing.

Sorry but a leaking hose will not make a crank sensor just go bad. Just because they had a diagnostic fault for the sensor does not mean the sensor is or was bad. They threw a sensor at it because they didnt want to, or worse didnt know how to follow the t-shooting procedure for the particular fault it had.

Now suddenly its not running right again and they want to throw a cap and rotor at it... Tell them to put the old crank sensor back on and your not paying for it. Then tell them to put that cap and rotor on but if it doesnt fix it you are not paying for that either. Or just take it to someone else who knows what they are doing

If not make sure you get the old parts back. Then you can swap the sensor back in later and if its fine go back and demand your money back again.

 

i'd love to take it somewhere where ppl knew what they were doing! but this town sucks! i asked around and no one had anything good to say about anyone. This is the biggest dealership in town so i figured they would know something...i guess i was wrong

 

Now is a great time to jump in and start learning about your engine.

 

Believe me i'd love to! but i don't have any tools or a garage to work on it!

 

First mistake - taking it to a Ford dealership!
Even with a bad reputation, a Chevy dealership is much more prepared to handle your problem than Ford.

But if you say you had a leaking coolant hose, I would definitely check the opti. Get your car out of that dealership before they own you. Take a look at it yourself from underneath and see if the opti cap is all wet. That is your most likely culprit. But of course, check all your other stuff too! I had a burned plug wire and it resembled a bad opti.

As for not having money for tools, I hear Autozone loans out certain tools for a deposit, fully refundable when you turn them back in. You can check out local auto parts stores and see if they have this program. Good luck!

 

K well i think i'm gonna have them put back in the old sensor and see what happens, then i'll have it takin to a chevy dealership. i just want my car up and running again

 

Get some tools and work on it in a parking lot. That's what I do.

 

So what should i do? have them put the old sensor back in? to see if it runs right? then have them install just the cap and rotor? not the opti or modual? i just want my car running right again

 

I would take it to another shop. Each time they guess parts, you are paying for it.

 

Well it has to be in the opti somewhere...i think it's just the cap and rotor personally, that's what i guessed in the first place. Or would the opti really be fried? it was installed last may. i just don't know how to get my money back for that sensor they put in when it's not really that.

 

I once changed out the heater core on a 95 firebird in the snow in my old college parking lot with very limited tools