'95 GT New Problem (Already!) Car dies - plz help

[Dr Fildo]

OK...I just finished the balancer install a few days ago. I now have a new problem - sometimes - when I try to start the car it cranks and cranks w/o even trying to turn over. Will happen for a few minutes, and then - only when it feels like it - it'll start. Hot, cold, no difference. Then just a few minutes ago while I was accelerating the engine just died. No sputter, all gauges dead, radio still working, hazards work. It started up a few minutes after sitting there (in the intersection, with people pulling behind me, even tho my flashers were on and the hood was up). :uglystupid2:

I read someone else's thread recently where his car would just die, and the advice I think was to replace the distributor. Stator actually. The hint was that the cap might have metal shavings on the underside. My old cap did not. It was pretty clean, actually.
I just replaced the cap and rotor probably 25 minutes before the car died on me (yes I installed them correctly). This problem was happening before the cap install, but it never died on me while driving. I do notice a whine under the hood lately. And I don't have a supercharger. Not a bad whine, but any unusual noise under there can't be a good one.

WTF??? :dunno:

 

[forcefed5pt0]

a fuel pump will make a whining noise if it starting to go out, and a hard to start condition...

 

[RJayLo]

have you tried cleaning the MAF and IAT valve? Cleaned mine this past weekend and it cleaned up my idle and it stopped the car dying problems.

 

[94kingcbra]

When it does run, does it run normal? It could be one of the accessories, take off the belt and turn each pulley by hand to see if any of them are seized, or tough to turn. Check your oil level. Check your grounds, and every other wire for shorting out that you think could kill the motor. Check your fuel pump too, by turning your key to on position and go back and listen to it. If it sounds like it's struggling that mightbe your problem...

 

[Dr Fildo]

Thanks for weighing in fellas. I thought about the fuel pump. but 2 things tell me it's not that. 1. The fuel pump sounds normal when I switch to the on position, and also when the car is running. 2. When the car dies, if it was fuel pimp related, the car would probably skip, or sputter as the fuel supply runs out and it does not sputter, it just dies. Dead. No warning. The tach goes immediately to 0.

I know it isn't a pulley b/c I just replaced the harmonic balancer a few days ago and I checked them all while the belt was off.

And yes, when it runs, well it hasn't run this well since the car was new. I can't remember when it ran so smoothly. When it decides to run, that is.

I'm picking up a new distrubutor first thing tomorrow. If that isn't it, It can't hurt to have a new distributor. The car has 144,000 on the clock and I don't remember ever having it replaced. I just hope that this is the problem.

I'm going to clean the MAF, but I'm going to see if the distributor licks the problem first. If I do them at the same time, I'll never know which one was the problem/solution - if either of them even turn out to be.