So yesterday I was driving my car for awhile and me and my girlfriend were going to the mountains that day. So I had just under a half tank of gas so I decided to stop and fill up, with 93 of course. I reset my trip at the gas station as I always do when a fill up. So we get to the mountains, and we are stopping to take pictures here and there. And I am in the habit of turning the car ON to let the fuel pump kick on and cycle. This time though the fuel pump whines louder than I had ever heard it before. Almost a squeal. So I started it anyways because we were on a one way road scenic tourist loop lol. I notice as we are driving through, no more than 15-20mph, that the pump is a little louder than usual. Sure as hell a little ways down the road it got louder and then I hear it shut off and the car dies. I let it cool for an hour assuming it just overheated, It runs for five minutes, and dies again. This happened only ~36mi after getting the full tank of gas. After a long day yesterday I got the car home last night on the bed of a tow truck and started to check it out this afternoon. Assuming I got bad gas perhaps, I put in two bottles of gas treatment and let it sit for 45 minutes or so. I then let it run for 45 minutes, occasionally driving up and down the street. It wont make the noise any more, idles fine, and it wont stall out. The pump that is in it is comparable to a Walbro 255 or it is one. I cant remember sorry. The pump and filter have less than 10k miles on them so I see no reason they should fail already. I never run my tank low. What could it be? What should I do? Should I be cautious about driving the car? Thanks guys!

 

Just checked my fuel pressure. 41-42 in the ON position. 36-37 running. 34 @ ~3k rpms. Does that sound right?

 

Correct way to test pressure:

At idle, remove the vacuum compensation line from the fuel pressure regulator (cover the end of the line to prevent a vacuum leak). "Correct" pressure is 43.5psi. GM accepts anything from 41-47psi. That range produces an injector fuel flow ranging from -3% to +4% compared to the correct pressure.

Reattach the vacuum line to the FPR. Pressure should drop proportional to intake manifold vacuum. As much as an 8psi drop with a stock cam, less drop with a more radical cam.

At WOT/max rpm/max load, the fuel pressure should not drop below 40psi.

While driving at part load, the fuel pressure is going to be moving around as the intake manifold vacuum changes.

 

Thanks Fred. Im gonna check it as soon as I get home. the only problem is I don't have a fuel pressure gauge mounted in the car or an aldl cable to log any information. Slightly off topic, but where would I be able to get a cable?

 

Get a test pressure gauge with a hose, and tape it to the outside of the windshield.

Cable:

http://www.akmcables.com/

Free Software (TTS only good for 20 free uses):

http://www.andywhittaker.com/

http://www.ttspowersystems.com/