have a 04 monte ss with the 3800 seriesll engine.came back from car show[220 mile trip]car ran fine.stop to eat.got in car to leave and wouldn't start.it would start and die instant.tried pumpming gas at same time and car act like it was trying to run longer that way but wouldn't stay running.left car and got ride home.went back in about 5 hours later and started up and drove home[22 miles]park it.restarted 3 times after shuting off.got up next day and car started up and died once.restarted and ran good up to coffie shop[2 miles]got in car 1 hour later and same deal aGAIN.WOULDN'T START OR STAY RUNNING..DID NOTICE when trying to start and was stinking real bad[rooton egg smell]and was smoking out of exhaust.left car again came back 6 hours later and it started up.started driving home and it dies half way home again with no start again.coasting it rest way home.sit for 3 days.put new fuel filter in it.started up move about 50 ft. died and no start again.today i got a fuel pressure gauge.turn key on and showed 50lbs.car started and ran for 15 min. at 50lbs pressure still on gauge.car died but gauge never drop.

need help bad.only car and on disabilty.got to go to doctor ever 2 weeks

 

sounds like a catalytic converter problem??

 

First thing you should do is scan it to see if there are any trouble codes stored. Sounds like your fuel pressure is OK. I have seen a mass airflow sensor cause this condition. Get the engine to quit running and unplug the MAF and see if it then starts. Another thing that can cause this is the crankshaft position sensor. You would need a scan tool to help diagnose the crank sensor.

 

one other thing that i forgot to tell everyone is after i did the fuel pressure check i pulled a spark plug out of engine..it was black and had a gas smell on it.car has 54000 miles on it.
where exactly is the mafs sensor at?

 

thanks bowtietech;;;i did as you said with the MAF;;it showed bad with this way of checking.replaced the MAF and car has ran now for 2 days so far with no issures..
thank you for your help.
don

 

Glad to hear it's running. You can get a can of MAF cleaner and try cleaning the sensor cheaper than replacing it, but then again, no guarantee it's not just bad. Not many miles on it to go bad. Was it just the connection?

 

i tried the check you told me to do servial times with same results evey time..i did check connection first before trying it..it was cliped in tight.matter-of-fact the first time unpluging it i had a very hard time getting it unpluged.i'll get myself some cleaner in case this happens again i'll try recleaning..the MAF wasn't cheap.they wanted $400.00 at one place and other parts store sold me a rebiult one for $114.00 plus a $60.00 core charge until i took my old one back in to them.