GRR. I thought I had solved the stalling issue

[lsawicki]

i just swapped out the fuel pump for an airtex 3240. I just knew the fuel pump was on its way out (at 143k miles, it did pretty well). The idle is beautiful now, but after a trip to town she bounced around on the low end RPMS and stalled. If i fired it up again, it will idle normally for as long as I want it. I knew it was the fuel pump because my idle isn't at 250 anymore. The stalling however, is something different.

 

[joey]

Have you changed the fuel filter?

 

[lsawicki]

Yes, It has been changed. It was about 20K ago. Should it get a look?

 

[joey]

You should always change the fuel filter every 10k on a fuel injected vehicle.

Could also be fuel pressure regulator.... Remember the basics... fuel - air - spark.

 

[lsawicki]

Ok, I will change the fuel filter this week. Is there anyways to check the regulator?

 

[joey]

You should be able to check the fuel pressure at the fuel rail. This will tell you a lot.

 

[lsawicki]

Great, I think I will try to do that myself...what exactly do I need, and what are the basic steps for this.

 

[joey]

A good fuel pressure gauge (not a tire gauge), find the shradder valve on the fuel rail (looks like a tire fill valve). Start the vehicle, check pressure, let it run for a few, check the pressure, then shut it down and see how long it takes to leak down.

 

[lsawicki]

There is a new development....CODE 44! After I called my mechanic (@ British Auto Center...amazing mechanics and so much better than the stealer) to set up an appointment for diagnostic, the damn check engine light comes on. I don't know if this is a problem or a symptoms because:

a) it took a long time for the check engine light to come on, leading me to believe there is something earlier in the MFI/Emission control system that may have caused the left bank o2 sensor to finally foul up.

b) I replaced both my o2 sensors at 132k (about 10k ago).

c) Almost all of my engine compartment sensor connections were cleaned (by me) with electrical cleaner and dabbed with di-electric grease to protect them from the elements, so I'm pretty sure I can rule out corrosion of electrical components.

d) Once the o2 sensor code was thrown i was getting the typically symptoms, eg., black smoke, stalling, etc., but did not get the black smoke before...


I'm schedule for an appointment to test my amplifier module, check the fuel pressure at different points, swap the fuel filter, and check out my alternator. Hopefully it will throw them some codes.