Hello Austin
I was wondering what the symptoms would be for the following problems: I was wondering what the symptoms would be for a bad crankshaft? I then was wondering what the symptoms would be for a bad crankshaft sensor. I then was wondering what the symptoms would be for a bad camshaft sensor?
I have the car at my local mechanic and he said it was one of those three things. He does not sound too sure of himself though.
I will tell you what the car was doing to see if you think it is one of those things. I was just driving down the highway at 65 or 70 mph and the car just died. No warning lights came on before it died. It was just like somebody turned the key off. I put it in neutral to try and restart it. It would not restart so I pulled to the side of the highway. It still would not restart. It just set there and cranked and cranked.
The engine sounded like it was not even trying to fire.  Also for the last month or 2 the car when the engine is cold would almost completely die and the car would jerk and then the engine sounded normal after a few seconds then the car returned to normal power. Also sometimes it would be hard to start the car because it was hard to turn the key far enough for the car to start. Please let me know what you think it could be. Thank you for your help. This advice will save me a lot of money because I can’t afford to be without my car much longer.
Sincerely,
Tom
Hey There Tom,
I have replaced many crankshaft sensors on these vehicles and would be a good guess. I have also replaced many ignition modules, which usually overheat when they fail and have to cool down again before they will work. They control spark and fuel control. Link To Ignition Module
Its an expensive part to guess at, the crank sensor is a cheap part but takes a little more labor.
Ask your mechanic if he can get another ignition module as a test, even a junk yard one just to test. Install it on your car and drive it for a while and see what happens. If he does not have one, or no access to a junk yard, try replacing the crank sensor and see what happens.
Austin Davis