Fuel pump? Something else?
10-20-2016, 09:17 PM
#1
Fuel pump? Something else?
So my car has been giving me problems for a while now, and I'm getting frustrated. The car is 2001 and had just over 140,000 miles.
It started a few months ago when I ran out of gas driving home from work, and pulled into a Westar gas station or some other shitty gas station. The next day or so, I turned on my car to go home from work and the car start idling awfully and the cel would blink. I freaked out and turned off the car. I turned it on after a few minutes and it was fine.
I figured it was bad gas, and tried to wait it out. The car would start hesitating or breaking up with a bit of throttle while driving here and there. I changed the spark plugs and it kept happening. I changed all four coil packs and it kept happening. At this point, I figured it was no longer an ignition issue. Could I have missed something? Spark plug cables maybe?
Well, the hesitation while driving kept occurring and getting worse. 2-3 weekends ago, I changed the fuel filter (the floating sack at the bottom of the pump and the plastic assembly that the pump is mounted in). I did not change the pump unfortunately. I ripped open the filter sack that connects to the bottom of the filter and it was dirty and I found a nice chunk of dirt in it. I ran chevron fuel injector cleaner through the gas twice in a row (as in two fill ups), and the car was getting better. The idle was good, and the hesitations were getting less frequent, and I was able to give the car more throttle and reach higher rpms without hesitating (it had gotten really bad before with the hesitations before changing the fuel filter). I ran one tank of gas without fuel injector cleaner,, and though it was getting better, I was still wondering if I need to clean the injectors or change the fuel pump itself.
So I filled up with more chevron fuel injector cleaner either yesterday or the day before. I'm trying to leave the gym now, and the car began idling really bad, and the cel would blink after a few seconds. I tried restarting a few times to see if maybe its a chunk of dirt that has to pass through. No dice, I'm waiting for a tow. I tried whacking the sensor next to the throttle body, without removing it or anything. No help.
Ok, any ideas? I'm at a loss already. Thanks.
It started a few months ago when I ran out of gas driving home from work, and pulled into a Westar gas station or some other shitty gas station. The next day or so, I turned on my car to go home from work and the car start idling awfully and the cel would blink. I freaked out and turned off the car. I turned it on after a few minutes and it was fine.
I figured it was bad gas, and tried to wait it out. The car would start hesitating or breaking up with a bit of throttle while driving here and there. I changed the spark plugs and it kept happening. I changed all four coil packs and it kept happening. At this point, I figured it was no longer an ignition issue. Could I have missed something? Spark plug cables maybe?
Well, the hesitation while driving kept occurring and getting worse. 2-3 weekends ago, I changed the fuel filter (the floating sack at the bottom of the pump and the plastic assembly that the pump is mounted in). I did not change the pump unfortunately. I ripped open the filter sack that connects to the bottom of the filter and it was dirty and I found a nice chunk of dirt in it. I ran chevron fuel injector cleaner through the gas twice in a row (as in two fill ups), and the car was getting better. The idle was good, and the hesitations were getting less frequent, and I was able to give the car more throttle and reach higher rpms without hesitating (it had gotten really bad before with the hesitations before changing the fuel filter). I ran one tank of gas without fuel injector cleaner,, and though it was getting better, I was still wondering if I need to clean the injectors or change the fuel pump itself.
So I filled up with more chevron fuel injector cleaner either yesterday or the day before. I'm trying to leave the gym now, and the car began idling really bad, and the cel would blink after a few seconds. I tried restarting a few times to see if maybe its a chunk of dirt that has to pass through. No dice, I'm waiting for a tow. I tried whacking the sensor next to the throttle body, without removing it or anything. No help.
Ok, any ideas? I'm at a loss already. Thanks.
10-20-2016, 09:26 PM
#2
Btw, I changed my vtec solenoid about a year ago because of oil leaking, and then noticed oil coming from the timing chain tensioner, but it doesn't like I heard in videos online. Could that be the issue? There is no sound of mechanical smacking, just the idle sounds like the car is choking.
Also, Ive had a CEL since buying the car with 23,000 miles. The last owner changed the diffs final drive, and the two codes always related to evap. Also, I have a test pipe, no cat. However, none of this ever affected the drive quality. Im waiting for an obd ii scanner to make sure there is nothing new
Also, Ive had a CEL since buying the car with 23,000 miles. The last owner changed the diffs final drive, and the two codes always related to evap. Also, I have a test pipe, no cat. However, none of this ever affected the drive quality. Im waiting for an obd ii scanner to make sure there is nothing new
10-20-2016, 10:01 PM
#3
Changing out the fuel pump sounds like a good idea.
Or maybe start by measuring if the pump voltage on the fuel tank connector is stable, I'm thinking it could be problem with the main relay also.
Or maybe start by measuring if the pump voltage on the fuel tank connector is stable, I'm thinking it could be problem with the main relay also.
10-20-2016, 10:24 PM
#4
Thank you! I was looking at the aem 320lph along with the science of speed wiring kit. If I plan to do ecu and injectors down the road in a year or two (along with a turbo or a dry shot of 75-100, still undecided) would there be any problem using a high pressure pump until that time?
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