Hey guys,

Waiting to get off work to work on my car!! Great way to spend the weekend!! The car won't start but I can hear the fuel pump come on when I turn the key in the run postion. I was wondering if the fuel pump could still be bad?? I am going to check the fuel PSI after work and change the filter. But just wanted to check and see if the fuel pump could still be bad. The car does have a 118,000 miles on it will stock pump.

Thanks
Brad Goins

 

And also...

No fuel came out when pressing the shrader valve...


Billy

 

I would look into the fuel filter first, sounds like it's totally clogged with crap. If you don't mind making a mess(can alway get a bucket of some sort) just disconnect the fuel line after the filter and see if anything comes out when you turn the key to the ignition. If noithing comes out you can bet that the filter is clogged. Just to make sure, now disconnect the line before the filter and do the same. If fuel comes from the pump, then your pump is good and your filter is bad. I hope I helped you out a litltle bit at least.

-Rick

 

Well after a weekend of headaches trying to figure this problem out, here's what we've got....

Changed the fuel filter, cranked right up....cut it off, never cranked back up...

Changed the fuel filter again......nothing....

Checked the fuel pressure at the shrader valve, after priming it several times to get the pressure to around 40-50 it will almost crank but QUICKLY loses pressure when trying to crank, thus no firing up on the engine's part...

Here's my question.....Why did it fire up fairly quickly when we changed the first filter, and now we can't get the pressure to hold?

No leaks what-so-ever, so I'm not thinking of a hole in the line...we only changed the filter, and I know we didn't create any problems there...

ANY help??

Confused,

Billy

 

ttt.....Need some help please!!

Brad

 

You might have a leaky injector that is flooding your car. The possible reason it cranked up after changing the filter is that the car had sit long enough to dissipate the flooded condition. That's just a theory.

If you have good pressure, but it won't hold, there are a few things that could be wrong.
-fuel pump check ball
-leaking fuel pipe (you may have ruled that one out, already)
-regulator leaking internally (look/smell in vacuum line for evidence of gas)
-leaking injector(s)

 

hey shoebox....since this coincides with my problems, maybe you can help both of us. you mention the possibility of the leaking injector, is there a way to specifically check that?

bgoins..does your oil smell like its got fuel in it? mine does, in another thread I was talking about my hard starting problem. I was thinking all that good fuel pump problems, pressure regulator problems, opti problems....etc...etc...etc but those could get expensive replacing them just to guess. Mine came out with fuel pressure just a little low, but still pretty close.
does it start eventually? mine was only not starting for the first start of the day, but since I did the normal maintenace this week(oil change/plugs/wires/fuel filter) now the first daily start is perfect, and the rest of the day is hard...

 

When you have a gauge connected and the pressure looks initially good and then bleeds off quickly, you can do a couple of tests to help you figure out where the pressure loss is.

What the factory manual says to temporarily install, is a set of "fuel line shut off adapters" (probably something the normal guy is not going to have available). You remove the fuel lines from the rail and connect these valves in between. This lets you shut off either side of the lines for testing.

You can do the same thing by pinching the flexible line to shut it off, but risk breaking it. You could probably do it relatively safely (your risk) by using a needle nose vise grips and putting some scrap hose as cushions on the jaws. Then use that to clamp off the line just enough to seal it.

You can use the fuel pump prime connector for pressurizing the system (jumper 12v to it to run the pump).

Watch you gauge as you jumper the prime connector. When you have good pressure remove the jumper and clamp off the fuel supply line (3/8 pipe). If pressure holds, you have a leak on the feed line somewhere before it gets to the clamp or at the check ball in the pump.
If it still goes down, release your clamp. Pressurize the system again, then remove the jumper and this time clamp the return line (5/16 line). If pressure holds, then the regulator is faulty. If pressure does not hold, you need to locate leaky injector(s).

If you can't tell a leaky injector from reading the plugs, you can look and see if injectors are leaking by removing the fuel rail screws and pull the rail and all the injectors up a little. Leave them over the injector ports. Pressurized the system and look under the injectors to see if any are dripping.

 

Kadah440,

I'm not sure if we have the same problem or not. My car just will not fire up. It turns over and over and over. I already had a bad valve in the pump that was causing it to be hard to start. So I'm thinking it just has went all the way out.

Shoebox,

Thanks for the help. I already have a pump at the house and going to try that first. If that doesn't work, I will try you testing. One more question, how do you get the steel fuel lines off the pump assy? I will be cutting a hole in the hatch and I'm not really sure how you get the lines off the pump assy.


Brad

 

yeah you seem to have been working with this problem a little longer, mine came with the car (bought last week), and mine is just a hard start problem I guess, it starts, but it may take a few minutes. and when it does start it smells like it was flooded. I started out trying to prove it was the fuel pump, but after changing the oil and finding it to smell like fuel, have extra thin consistancy, and seem to have accumulated more oil through the week, I have recentered myself on prooving (or disprooving) leaking injectors or bad regulator or something before I jump on buying more parts.
I dont want to push the luck with the wife and say "mmm sorry hunni, I know i just bought a 300 dollar exhaust, a 280 dollar fuel pump and a 70 dollar regulator, a 60 dollar fuel pressure gage this week.... but NOW can I have 250 dollars for new injectors too?"
Shes really nice, but I dont think her sense of humor can last much longer, and my cuda doesnt even get this much attention in a week, and its 30 years old

 

yeah, I haven't the problem with smelling gas in the oil yet!! :knocking on wood: If I were you, I would get a fuel pressure gauge on there and see what its doing. Let me know what you find out.

Brad


Still looking for someone to tell me if I need to remove the fuels on the pump install and what I need to do it with.