okay, so the car would not turn on after pumping gas one day

replaced alternator, and ignition switch and it seems that something else may be wrong.

I was told that the key is not turning or making the car turn on- have no idea what that's called.

anyways- I was told that the steering column has to be taken apart and that there is a special tool necessary to get to the part.

what else is in there that would cause the car not to turn over- the starter doesn't kick on, but interior lights do work when the key is turned, but no resistance while turning the key

please help - this car has been down a month now

 

Go to GM, buy an ignition switch (what you put the key in) and replace it yourself. don't need any special tools to tear apart your dash, just remember to grab all of the screws before you start really yanking on it to get it apart.

 

that's what I bought- the ignition switch it's a 1995 monte so it may be different than yours if yours is a different year- the key part is called something else

 

it is called the tubler
Do your cars have fuseabel links in them?
Might have burned it up some how and therfore your not getting power threw the wires to the starter solinoid to get it to fire.

Also another thing .
have a frend help you on this one.
get a test light you know that works. Then go under the car and get tot he strarter wires. find the hot wire and the ground wires.
turn the key to the on position WITHOUT STARTING WITH YOU IN THE WAY!!!
Turn the strarter to START, See if the light lights up on it If it dose you will see it.
if it dose you know that you power at the starter from the switch.

Also .

check the grounds on the car and the starter. and clean all cabel ends. belive it or not i have had this happen over nothign more then a coroded ground on a monte. for some reason they like to have asolid ground more then anythign else.

 

Thanks for the advice- I'm going to have to check when I get a chance. It's too easy to overlook the simple things- Last month my other car was also down and aside from a bad fuel pump connection- it took me two weeks to find the blown fuse in the dash

funny thing is that both cars died that weekend, and both had identical symptoms- lights work, no cranking

does anyone have a link to a web resource like a pdf of the service manual?

 

I'm sure the place you took it was going to pull the steering wheel off to get to the ignition lock cylinder....which if that was the case, then yes, you do need a special tool. These guys are right...you can probably replace it yourself.

 

rysZ34

that's the issue for me right now

so far I purchased the car for 1100, had quite a few issues including big oil leak, and trans leak- I lose about a quart every 3 weeks and I don't know the condition of the tranny, but I know that something is wrong b/c at highway cruising speeds (55-65) the rpms are 3k or more....doesn't seem right (auto tranny)

new alternator plus ignition switch plus labor has me going way deeper into my pocket than I thought would be necessary- it's only been 8-9 months of ownership if that.

A new ignition lock may or may not be expensive, so I don't know what to do- especially if I don't have the tool to fix it at home

Can the ignition lock tool be acquired? What is the tool called? Is it worth repairing considering I just paid the above expenses to try and repair it with no success?

 

Man those are some issues that NEED resolved....I would say the torque converter control solenoid may be bad or 4th (also overdrive)gear is out on your tranny....I'm not sure what that tool is called, but I'm sure it can be acquired...Here's what you need to ask yourself: Is it a Z34 or LS? How many miles are on it? Are you going to spend more to repair it than what you could sell it for? I bought my Monte for $2,800, it's a '99 Z34 with the 3800 in it and it had 139,000 miles on it when we bought it....we just put $970 in repairs into it but bluebook for it is over $5,000 so we're still in the black if we sell it. Be patient and I'm sure some more members will respondwith a more thorough answer. Did you know about the oil and tranny leaks when you bought it or did this just develop?

 

95 Z34

oddly enough- it also had 139k miles

I don't think I'm going to sell it now that i've bought all these useless parts- it's either continue to repair it or junk it and keep useable parts for resale

I knew about the oil leak, not the tranny leak- I can chalk up a loss if I have to, but I'll have to find another car for my mom (she drives the monte) I'd much rather repair it, but at this point I need a plan of attack to diagnose the problem b/c I don't want to waste anymore money and 2 months later have the tranny die- which would not be worth repairing.

 

Ok, first with the ignition switch. I had a 88 gmc jimmy that needed an ignition switch. I bought one for around $25 and it was very difficult. I had to remove the steering wheel, remove a couple of c-clips and take out alot of screws. long story short I ended up messing up the column to get the switch out. I bought a new column with keysfor about $120 from a junk yard and it went in real easy. Not to discourage you but it depends one's skill level. Id buy a haynes manuel!!!! thats how I repair all of my vehicles. Try going to www.car-part.com they are a website that puts all junk yards together (US) and you can get the parts from therea little cheaper. I have bought ECM's, brake boosters, car door panels, bumpers, and not once had a problem with finding good parts.

OK now the tranny. Is the tranny slipping? if not I think you are ok on that aspect. Your Cat converter can be starting to clogg. Again my GMC jimmy cat converter was clogged and RPM,s were higher than normal. on a few instances if I stopped the vehicle it would cut off. As soon as I got to highway speeds she would stay close to 4000 rpms at 60 mph.I drilled a couple of holes in my cat and it took care of the problem until I could get it replaced.Have you tried changing your tranny pangasket? I had one fail on my 94 3.4l firebird.I know Im using examples with a totally diffrent year and vehicle but the problems sound the same. If it was my vehicle I would keep it unless it was major problem like Engine failure (head gasket) or tranny failure (major slippage)