My dads 89 chevy pickup is having issues. It starts and runs for a few seconds and then quits. Or if he pushes on the gas pedal it will quit. Fuel is spraying in the whole time, and if I spray starting fluid in it will keep running. It has a new distributor, cap, rotor, plugs, and we tried another tbi from another truck and it still does this. It's been sitting for 6 month because it wouldn't start at all. Now it starts but won't stay running. I'm thinking it's bad gas. We were told it could be the tps or fuel reg, thats why we tried another tbi unit. But the problem is still there.

 

Good troubleshooting so far, keep going, don't give up.

If you suspect bad gas, why not drain the fuel tank and put fresh gas in? I'd do that before anything else.

Since you mentioned the starting fluid, it sounds like fuel starvation. Have you checked fuel pressure yet? The injectors might be spraying but not enough to start cold or even keep elevated idle. A dying fuel pump is one possibility. Fuel pressure spec is 9-11psi at idle.

Let us know what you find.
Lou

 

Alright, that was the plan. We will probly check fuel pressure first, I have a guage. Just have to figure out a way to hook it to a tbi.

 

TBI fuel system unfortunately doesn't have a dedicated fuel test port (like TPI and newer fuel systems). So you will need to insert the T fitting that came with the gauge (hopefully) into the fuel supply hose and hook up your gauge to that.

Hope this helps
Lou

 

We checked the pressure today and got............................................... ... 0 psi. Looks like a bad fuel pump.

 

How old is the fuel filter? I've seen some that were pretty plugged up after the years. Make sure you are getting full voltage to the pump while it is running. If all else fails, it's likely the fuel pump.