Hey guys!
I am new to this site and I am a huge Vibe fan! my whole family is currently driving Vibes (5 total)
I recently purchased an 06 FWD that had hit a deer, taking out radiator, hood, grill, fender and even knocked the ABS block loose. When I purchased the car, it fired right up and ran like a champ! I only let it run for a couple min, long enough to put it on the trailer. When I got it home it fired right up and pulled it off the trailer and parked it. Approx one week later, I went to pull it in the garage to start working on it and the battery was dead. I tried jumping with no success and it seemed to roll over a little slow so I put a new battery in it. The car still rolled over fairly slow and did try to start, but was unsuccessful. I ended up towing it into the barn and tried to diagnose the issue. (I consider my self an 'old school backyard mechanic' so please cut me some slack with this newer computer stuff.) I pulled the plugs out and they were wet, so I put in a new set of NGK's. I hit the key and it tried to start,spit and coughed and then just continued rolling over. I checked the fuse block under the hood and everything there looked good.The radiator was close to the intake so I decided to remove the radiator, pull back the bent metal, remove the intake and inspect thoroughly for cracks or thought maybe the gasket started leaking. I couldn't find anything, so I put a new intake gasket on and bolted it back together and still the same issue, acts like it wants to start but doesn't. Can anyone help an "old school" guy like me get this car running again? I will add that there was no signs of overheating and did still have a little coolant in the radiator when removed. I am stumped, it ran perfect a week ago.
Thank you
Joe