98 Expy just died

[hades02]

Here's the scenario: Expy was running fine. I stopped
and filled up with 93 octane fuel at a gas station that
gets heavy traffic. Left the gas station and less than
a mile later it started to bog down when I stepped on
the accelerator. Made it home, shut her down and then
she wouldn't start. She cranks and makes an attempt to
start and then just stalls. I checked the fuel pressure and
there was less than 10 psi with the key turned to on. When
cranking it shoots up to 35 psi. The relay is good and so
is the fuse. I replaced the fuel pump thinking that was the
problem and still have the same issue. Checked the fuel inertia
shut off unit and that was not the problem. Anyone have any
ideas?

 

[JUST4FUN]

the fuel pressure sounds too low hows the pressure regulator .its in the fuel rail
has a vacuume line going to it

 

[hades02]

Haven't checked that. After checking the relay and fuse, I assumed
it was the fuel pump. Especially since it just died so quick.

 

[Stoned06]

Just a thought, but how low was the tank when you filled it up? Maybe a bad tank of gas that had quite a bit of water in it. Was the delivery truck still there when you filled up? If they are there, you shouldn't fill up as when they fill the tanks they are stirring them up and mixing the sediment and water.

 

[hades02]

That was my first thought especially since
it happened immediately after but it is a high volume gas station so
the chances of bad fuel are very slim.

 

[outkast]

i'd look at the pressure reg, and the fuel filter

 

[TxOutlaw]

My mechanic changed the fuel filter along with the pump on a Jeep I own for that reason... Its a cheap easy fix on our Fords... That jeep was a nightmare to get to!

 

[hades02]

Ok, so the relay is good, the fuse is good, put in a new fuel
filter and fuel pump. I can hear the fuel pump when the
key is turn forward. It cranks, starts for about
a second and then just dies. Kind of does the
pppfllllllttttttt sound. Like it is starting and then
just dies. Any ideas anyone?

 

[hades02]

Just an update. I first felt that the problem was bad fuel but
some of the people that I know and are knowledgeable convinced
me that the chances of that were slim due to the high traffic at
the station where I fueled up. After replacing the fuel pump,
fuel filter, making sure the relay and fuse were fine and it
still not fixing the problem, I decided
the pour in a bottle of dry gas. Let it sit for a few hours and
now she starts up and runs rough for about a minute and then
dies. I added another bottle and will let it sit until tomorrow
and see if she runs. Looks like I should have gone with my
first instinct since the issues started immediately after fueling
up and was running perfect before that. Will let everyone
know tomorrow. Maybe we should start a sticky on this problem and
it should read
1. If problem started immediately after fueling up then culprit
is probably contaminated fuel. Pour in dry gas and wait a day.

 

[Stoned06]

Hopefully the second bottle will fix it. Just an FYI...High traffic stations do not mean you won't have issues with bad gas, actually it can make it worse. If it is a very high traffic station, the tank will be drained quicker and has a possibility of the water level in the tank getting to the fuel pickup line/pump. There is no way to fully prevent water getting into the ground tanks. It's just a matter of time until enough gets in and causes issues.

 

[smo0othride]

Is your ECU tuned to take 93 gas?

 

[hades02]

Don't know if the ECU is tuned for it but I've been using 93 octane since I purchased the vehicle brand new in 1998 and have never had a problem.

Doesn't look like the dry gas is working. Next will be to siphon out all of the
fuel and add new fuel.

 

[Stoned06]

Just a thought, if it's cold where you are, the water in the fuel is most likely frozen and the gas isn't getting to the engine. If you can, get it in a heated garage and let it sit overnight to see if that will help unfreeze everything and get flow again.

 

[smo0othride]

Don't know if the ECU is tuned for it but I've been using 93 octane since I purchased the vehicle brand new in 1998 and have never had a problem.

Doesn't look like the dry gas is working. Next will be to siphon out all of the
fuel and add new fuel.

Putting 93 octane into a car tuned for 87 is going to decrease your gas mileage and decrease your power, so why would you put 93 in (especially when it cost more)? I'm just curious.

 

[hades02]

Just habit from having high compression engines in my vehicles. For instance my motorcycle is bored out with 11.5:1 compression. Low octane fuels are bad for those engines.

 

[smo0othride]

You should get it tuned to take the 93 since you're already used to paying for it.. you will see a nice increase in acceleration.

 

[hades02]

Ok, so I shot some starter fluid through the TB and she fired up
beautifully for about 10 seconds (til the starter fluid was burned up)
so I know it's definitely not the spark side. I have replaced the
fuel pump, fuel filter, and fuel pressure regulator. The fuse
and relay are good. I can hear the pump whine and it being
new I know it's good. I lit some of the fuel from the tank with
a match and it lit well so the fuel seems good.

Does anyone have any other ideas?

 

[JUST4FUN]

i wonder if the ijectors dont know when to fire,like a cam or a crank sensor is bad
they make a tool to check the injectors(pulse with ) they are called noids

 

[tonydiv]

A trick that a mechanic friend of mine uses, is to put a propane torch (un-lit) in the air intake (by the filter, so the mass air is in place) and run the truck on the propane while you test the injectors with the noid lights. It will also let any bad fuel in the fuel rail pass through the system.

If the truck runs ok on the propane then the crank and cam sensors are probably ok, since the computer knows when to fire each cylinder.

 

[JUST4FUN]

as stated before the truck ran on ether so we know it runs it just wont run on the injection system so what controls this system ? it has to get a signal from someplace to know at what time to fire the injector.