My car broke today on the drive home from work. Now, mind you, I'm supposed to be a mechanic so by rights I ought to know what's wrong with it. The way it died doesn't really match up with what I think is wrong with it, so I'm a little confused.
Now, things being what they are I don't have access to my tools (except for a few basic hand tools) until Monday and I would like to know what's wrong with it at the beginning of the day so that I can order any needed parts and have them delivered by evening when I can use the garage. I suspect my fuel pump [censored] out on me or perhaps the wiring to it corroded through, but it just doesn't feel like the way an electric in-tank fuel pump should die. It was a slow, gradual death with no suddenness about it at all.
My car is older and pretty simple with no modifications:
Engine: 2.8L Chevy 60° V6 with iron heads
Ignition: distributor type, HEI, module under cap
Fuel: MPFI type port fuel injection using 2 circuits and speed density logic
Trans: 3T40 automatic
Here's what happened: Today was the warmest day we've had here since the start of winter. It was warm enough not to need a jacket. About 2/3 of the way into my drive home, so maybe 16 or 17 miles in, it started bogging out as though it had a restricted fuel filter. Too much throttle or too much RPM and it would hit a wall and bog down hard.
Being closer to home than work I continued on by journey and things got worse. The threshold before bogging got lower and lower until I found myself feathering the throttle to keep it going above idle speed. It got worse and got to sputtering as well as bogging. With the fuel gauge reading just over 1/4 and the car being so old I decided to add fuel to the tank without stopping the engine but this did not help at all.
About 3/4 mile from home the car decided to stall and not restart. I found that I could let it sit for a few minutes and then get it to start, but it would run for less than a minute. I repeated this three times, then gave up and pushed. That only worked for about a half mile (I'm getting older and not aging well) before the legs ran out of steam, so that left my walking.
Now, I really don't want to leave a car on the side of the road overnight and pray that it won't get smashed up in a hit-and run as tends to happen so I had to get it home. I called AAA to confirm that I have an active membership, but I plan to use their towing to get to work on Monday. I dug up a half-full gallon can of xylene paint thinner and enough scraps of vacuum hose to plumb it to the vacuum port for the fuel pressure regulator. This worked well enough to drive home. This tells me that I have spark.
Other observations: With the engine stopped and the key on the SES light illuminates. With the engine running the SES light stays off. I do not hear the fuel pump running, but can't be sure I've ever heard it running in this car. I can hear the fuel pump relay and the oil pressure gauge does climb while cranking.
I want to call it a dead fuel pump but think that it's more likely a corroded connection at the top of the tank unit or on the wires from the tank unit to the pump itself. What says BITOG?
Now, things being what they are I don't have access to my tools (except for a few basic hand tools) until Monday and I would like to know what's wrong with it at the beginning of the day so that I can order any needed parts and have them delivered by evening when I can use the garage. I suspect my fuel pump [censored] out on me or perhaps the wiring to it corroded through, but it just doesn't feel like the way an electric in-tank fuel pump should die. It was a slow, gradual death with no suddenness about it at all.
My car is older and pretty simple with no modifications:
Engine: 2.8L Chevy 60° V6 with iron heads
Ignition: distributor type, HEI, module under cap
Fuel: MPFI type port fuel injection using 2 circuits and speed density logic
Trans: 3T40 automatic
Here's what happened: Today was the warmest day we've had here since the start of winter. It was warm enough not to need a jacket. About 2/3 of the way into my drive home, so maybe 16 or 17 miles in, it started bogging out as though it had a restricted fuel filter. Too much throttle or too much RPM and it would hit a wall and bog down hard.
Being closer to home than work I continued on by journey and things got worse. The threshold before bogging got lower and lower until I found myself feathering the throttle to keep it going above idle speed. It got worse and got to sputtering as well as bogging. With the fuel gauge reading just over 1/4 and the car being so old I decided to add fuel to the tank without stopping the engine but this did not help at all.
About 3/4 mile from home the car decided to stall and not restart. I found that I could let it sit for a few minutes and then get it to start, but it would run for less than a minute. I repeated this three times, then gave up and pushed. That only worked for about a half mile (I'm getting older and not aging well) before the legs ran out of steam, so that left my walking.
Now, I really don't want to leave a car on the side of the road overnight and pray that it won't get smashed up in a hit-and run as tends to happen so I had to get it home. I called AAA to confirm that I have an active membership, but I plan to use their towing to get to work on Monday. I dug up a half-full gallon can of xylene paint thinner and enough scraps of vacuum hose to plumb it to the vacuum port for the fuel pressure regulator. This worked well enough to drive home. This tells me that I have spark.
Other observations: With the engine stopped and the key on the SES light illuminates. With the engine running the SES light stays off. I do not hear the fuel pump running, but can't be sure I've ever heard it running in this car. I can hear the fuel pump relay and the oil pressure gauge does climb while cranking.
I want to call it a dead fuel pump but think that it's more likely a corroded connection at the top of the tank unit or on the wires from the tank unit to the pump itself. What says BITOG?
