Topic: Stalled on side of highway earlier today... fuel problems?

[sharpxmen]

Well its between that and a pinched fuel return line (testing the pressure sometime in the next few days) so I might try to get the exhaust off this weekend, temporarily gut the cat and muffler, and put them back on and see if that helps at all.

if you take them off i would just replace with new, probably not worth the effort to do it twice, something like $40 each for generic ones or even less if you shop around.

[dwtaylorpdx]

My jeep started cutting out randomly last year, it turned out to be the filter screen on the fuel pump was clogged and the tank had shrunk with age and was pressing too hard on the pump pinching the inlet.

Replaced the pump and screen (200K miles on the pump what the heck...) while I was at it I shortened the pump bracket about 3/8 inch so it would not hit the bottom of the tank as hard. Problem seems gone now... It was worse on hot days than cool days and seldom happened with a full tank, had to be down to about 1/2 tank.


Dave

[calvinh]

Went under the jeep today to check out the condition of the fuel lines, everything looks fine under there. Fuel lines are still pliable and don't appear to be pinched.

The gas tank is plastic and looks to be in good condition

Although it sounds like theres a loose baffle somewhere in the muffler, I wasn't able to replicate the problem by kicking the muffler while it was running.

I think the poster above me might be right about the clogged fuel pump inlet.. Since the fuel pump still seems to be priming/working, can I just drop the tank, clean the inlet/screen out and put it back together?

[sharpxmen]

Went under the jeep today to check out the condition of the fuel lines, everything looks fine under there. Fuel lines are still pliable and don't appear to be pinched.

The gas tank is plastic and looks to be in good condition

Although it sounds like theres a loose baffle somewhere in the muffler, I wasn't able to replicate the problem by kicking the muffler while it was running.

I think the poster above me might be right about the clogged fuel pump inlet.. Since the fuel pump still seems to be priming/working, can I just drop the tank, clean the inlet/screen out and put it back together?

it's a lot easier to measure the fuel pressure than to drop the tank, i would start there just so you don't do unneccessary work

[calvinh]

it's a lot easier to measure the fuel pressure than to drop the tank, i would start there just so you don't do unneccessary work

Autozone wants a $150 deposit to rent their fuel pressure gauges, is there a cheaper place to rent from?

[grumpygy]

Harbor Freight and buy them.

[sharpxmen]

Autozone wants a $150 deposit to rent their fuel pressure gauges, is there a cheaper place to rent from?

you get it back when you return it, or like he ^ said. You need a long hose one though to monitor while driving and you experience the problem, otherwise won't be relevant

[calvinh]

This weekend I took apart the entire throttle body, air control valve, fuel rail and injectors and cleaned everything out and replaced all the o rings and gaskets to see if the problem was something in there... still not fixed. I was impressed at how simple these cars are to work on though. Only took 2 hours to take everything apart and replace everything, and this was without any manuals or instructions. Anyways...

I'm 99.9999999% sure the problem is somewhere in the fuel tank. Since the pump still sounds healthy when it primes, could I just clean out the pump inlet and strainer and put everything back together? If you haven't been able to tell so far, I'm kinda strapped for cash. Just dropped over 2 grand on college tuition for this semester, as well as over $500 in parts for the jeep already so my bank account balance is pitiful. So I'm hoping to do this job for free and just reuse old parts.

I tried taking off the fuel tank, but the bolts above the real axle are rusted on. REALLY rusted on. So I have to cut them off somehow. I have a sawzall, angle grinder, and a drill, but I don't think that any of those tools will fit in there. I'm also concerned about sparks, considering the gas tank is a few inches away. Would a dremel with a cutoff wheel do the trick?

[sharpxmen]

Calvin,

before you do this make sure it is the fuel tank and/or the pump, it's a big job to take the tank out if you never done it before - like i said, check the pressure first, that might not be it and if it is fine then the tank job is redundant - unless the bottom of the skid is bent I doubt that's your problem but you never know. Fuel pressure should be 31 at idle with the vac line connected, 39 at wide open throttle or with the vac line disconnected, when you drive it should not go lower than 31 unless you're engine braking, when it starts to do the problem you're having floor it (and i mean literally, pedal all the way to the floor) and read the pressure, if it's not 39 or close by then your problem is fuel pump, tank, filter, lines in that order. Could also be electrical fuel related (relay, wiring) so keep that in mind as well, less likely but still possible.