sungar78
New member
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2025
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- Buick Ownership
- 2017 Buick Regal 2.0L
Brief history, bought this car at auction a couple months ago, have driven it <1500 miles, has 186k. Was purchased with a large oil leak from the valve cover gasket which has now been repaired. shortly after repair the vacuum pump went out and brake assist failed, brake assist has now been restored. I did both repairs. I'm not a trained mechanic but I do take my time and have been working through car repairs on various cars the past 5 years. I do as much research as possible, I had the Chilton Repair Manual to help me.
This week directly after switching out the vacuum pump I've had serious engine problems accompanied by a check engine light with codes for Oil Pressure/Sensor and Camshaft Position Sensor. In response I threw in a new Cam Shaft Position sensor as there was a minor oil leak near it prior and thought this was just a decent idea. These sensors say they need a re-learn and that hasn't been done yet.
The car began dying at low RPM/ idle and running rough. Took to the mechanic today and they're now saying I have a compression issue and that I need a new motor.
I've had a ton of stress with cars lately and I'm just trying to figure out whether this was likely an existing issue or if I should try and do a few things to see if I messed something up while doing repairs. I know that the vacuum pump has an "L" and "R" on it and is connected to the camshaft. I looked in Chilton and online, and also looked a ton on the actual camshaft but couldn't find any way at all of knowing where the L or R should go. The vacuum pump did fit well when I put it in, but I'm wondering if having these reversed would cause an issue/what issues would be caused. Also wondering if possibly not having the camshaft position sensor re-learned could do this. The car did bounce between 2-3 small car shops in the months before it was auctioned. I'm wondering if it's likely they put something in the engine to hide the compression issue and if it's now coming to light.
I'm very confident that when I did the Valve Cover Gasket I didn't drop anything outside of very small debris from cleaning inside of the motor. The car DID run well for about a week after the valve cover gasket was replaced and before the vacuum pump was.
Thanks for anything, can really use the help.
This week directly after switching out the vacuum pump I've had serious engine problems accompanied by a check engine light with codes for Oil Pressure/Sensor and Camshaft Position Sensor. In response I threw in a new Cam Shaft Position sensor as there was a minor oil leak near it prior and thought this was just a decent idea. These sensors say they need a re-learn and that hasn't been done yet.
The car began dying at low RPM/ idle and running rough. Took to the mechanic today and they're now saying I have a compression issue and that I need a new motor.
I've had a ton of stress with cars lately and I'm just trying to figure out whether this was likely an existing issue or if I should try and do a few things to see if I messed something up while doing repairs. I know that the vacuum pump has an "L" and "R" on it and is connected to the camshaft. I looked in Chilton and online, and also looked a ton on the actual camshaft but couldn't find any way at all of knowing where the L or R should go. The vacuum pump did fit well when I put it in, but I'm wondering if having these reversed would cause an issue/what issues would be caused. Also wondering if possibly not having the camshaft position sensor re-learned could do this. The car did bounce between 2-3 small car shops in the months before it was auctioned. I'm wondering if it's likely they put something in the engine to hide the compression issue and if it's now coming to light.
I'm very confident that when I did the Valve Cover Gasket I didn't drop anything outside of very small debris from cleaning inside of the motor. The car DID run well for about a week after the valve cover gasket was replaced and before the vacuum pump was.
Thanks for anything, can really use the help.
