sphippler

thank you for the all the advise. i still havn't figured out the problems though. i guess my most important question is; what would cause pressure in the crank case. first the oil pressure sensor started leaking, i replaced it. two days later the front main seal started leaking. this could be a coincidence and there may not be a crank case pressure problem. ive also replaced the pcv valve. the engine runs very smooth a few seconds after starting so i dont think there is a blown head gasket or cracked block or head. on a side note, ive debated connecting a vaccume hose to the crank case vent tube on the tappet cover to give a little more vaccume to the crank case, at the very least i dont think it will cause any problems ( well maybe it could cause a small amout of increased oil consumption. any thoughts, let me know.

YOU GUYS WERE TALKING ABOUT MAYBE I UNPLUGGED SOMETHING OR INSTALLED SOMETHING WRONG BUT THIS ISSUE DIDNT START RIGHT AFTER ANY REPAIRS. IT WAS MONTHS AFTER ALL OF THAT. ANOTHER ISSUE THAT MAY BE RELATED IS THAT THE ENGINE IS DEVELOPING OIL LEAKS (I KNOW IT SOUNDS REDICULOUS). ABOUT THE SAME TIME AS IT HAD ITS NONSTARTING ISSUES, IT DEVELOPED AN OIL LEAK THROUGH THE OIL PRESSURE SENSOR. I REPLACED IT AND IT QUIT LEAKING. THE VERY NEXT DAY IT STARTED LEAKING OIL FROM THE FRONT MAIN SEAL. THIS SEEMED LIKE A STRANGE COINCIDENCE SO I THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE DUE TO A CLOGGED PCV VALVE. I REPLACED IT BUT IT DIDNT HELP. I DID HOWEVER DRIVE AROUND WITH THE OIL FILLER CAP OFF FOR A WHILE TO SEE IF I WAS GETTING PRESSURE BUILD UP IN THE CRANK CASE. IT SEEMED TO HELP THE OIL LEAK. MAYBE IT IS GETTING SOME BLOW BY FROM A CYLINDER OR MAYBE THE TWO OIL LEAKS WERE A COINCIDENCE. I HAVNT FIXED THE FRONT MAIN SEAL YET SO I DONT KNOW IF THERE WILL BE A THIRD LEAK. IVE NOTICED WHEN I FIRST START IT AND ITS RUNNING POORLY THAT IS HAS A VERY LOUD CLATTERING NOISE (SOUNDS LIKE ALL OF THE LIFTERS ARE CLATTERING DUE TO NO OIL PRESSURE)FOR A FEW SECONDS. IM NOT ALL THAT FIRMILIAR WITH OVER HEAD CAM ENGINES (IVE DEALT MOSTLY WITH OLD CHEVYS AND JEEPS) SO I DONT EVEN KNOW IF IT HAS ANY TYPE OF LIFTER OR ROCKER ARM. SO MAYBE IT IS LOOSING OIL PRESSURE OVERNIGHT (POSSIBLY DUE TO THE OIL LEAK) AND THEN WHEN I START IT THE DEFLATED LIFTERS ARE CAUSING IT TO RUN POORLY UNTIL THEY FILL BACK UP WITH OIL. HOWEVER THIS DOES NOT EXPLAIN THE HIGH IDLE. IM GOING TO GO OVER THE VACCUME LINES AGAIN THIS WEEKEND AND LOOK AT THE THROTTLE LINKAGE. ILL PULL A FEW OF THE PLUGS AND EXAMINE THEM. ILL TRY A VACCUME GUAGE TOO. I GUESS THEN ILL CHECK THE CODES.

i have an 88, 4wd, xe. it runs very rough upon starting. it usually starts right up and runs very rough for about 3-5 seconds and then smoothes right out. it also runs at a high rpm. when its cold it'll run about 1300-1900 rpm, when it warms up it's about 800-1200rpm. ive noticed the idle also pulses a little (50 rpm). once the engine runs for a few seconds it actually runs very smooth and does not stall or hesitate or have a lack of power or anything like that. all of these problem started in the last few months. a while back it had another issue for about a week and then it went away (i dont know if its related). the issue was that it would start right up and then die within about a second when it was cold (once the engine was warm it did not do this). it would not even try to start up after that. it would crank and crank like it wasnt getting any spark. i finally discovered that if i held the gas pedal to the floor and cranked it over for about 15 seconds it would start to fire and then start. once it did start it would puff out a giant cloud of white smoke and smell like gas. so i dont know if the engine flooded and caused the starting problem or if the cloud was a result of me holding the pedal down. either way this problem lasted about a week and went away. i have checked all the vaccume lines. the plugs, cap, rotor, and fuel filter have been recently replaced. the tin foil tube going from the exaust manifold to the air cleaner housing is connected. the choke "appears" to be functioning corrrectly. i ran a can of seafoam down the brake booster vaccume line added fuel system cleaner to gas tank i havnt checked for codes im about to the point of just taking it somewhere and paying a bunch of money for them to diagnose it. if any one has any ideas let me know.