This is getting so frustrating. I had this problem with my Iroc where the car would gradually "run out of gas", ya know, kinda stall on the interstate on the way to work, just as I'm almost getting to work, I drive about 30 miles each way, so it drives just fine for most of the trip. Anyways, long story short, the fuel pump was making lots of noise, so I assumed it was the pump. Well guess what, I replaced the pump and in-tank filter and all was good for MOSt of the trip, pump was nice and quiet, and right at the same exit on the way to work today it started to run out of gas again and the pump is making noise just like the old broken one!!! WTF!!!!!! I swear I'm this close to selling this piece of ****.

 

I'd rig-up a fuel press gauge and tape to the windshield so you can monitor the fuel press when it starts dying.

I saw you mentioned replacing the in-tank fuel filter, but did you replace the regular fuel filter too?

Ignition modules can do all sorts of wierd things if bad, especially when hot.
The last one I had fail, acted kinda like no fuel. Surged real bad. I could just barely keep it running.
Might wanna check that if the fuel press turns out to be ok.

 

test the pickup coil inside the distributor..........infact if its got more than 80 thousand miles on it replace it..........this little 15 dollar coil can cause some very strange problems,surging,shuting off,drivability problems.If you look at the module inside the distributor you will see a small two wire connection,this is the wire connection coming from the pickup coil.I've replaced alot of these that were shorting when hot causing some very freaky problems.

 

I was under the impression that an ignition module with a go or no go part....either it works fully or it doesnt work at all.

 

The "common" ignition module death goes something like this:

Motor runs great when it's first started (and cold)
Motor heats up, ignition module heats up, car stalls
Car won't re-start
Car sits for an hour or so and cools down
Motor starts up and runs great
Repeat until frustrated

 

I had a problem with an ignition module, driving like a champ on the highway, then shuts off all of a sudden with no warning, and would not start back up, had to be towed home... but would not start up after it died, trust me, stuck for 4 hours waiting for my tow

 

The problem is definitely fuel related, because after I've been driving the car for more than 10 minutes, if I try and romp on it, the O2 guage I have in my car goes all the way lean and it feels like it lost 100 HP. This car SUCKS. I replaced the ext. filter yesterday, btw, it ran good for exactly 5 minutes.

 

Are you sure that you didn't drop or somebody didn't drop (maybe not by accident) anything inside your gas tank ?
Even small pieces of anything can slowly choke your fuel system and then when your car has had enough it will shut it off completely. My friend's ex put a small piece of rubber hose (only a 1/4 inch long) in his tank and his car had the same syptoms.

 

until you actually test a few things........you might as well throw darts at the car

 

I am continually testing it. Fuel pump=new. filter=new. Coil=good (tested today) I have had a holley fuel pressure guage on permanently mounted on teh car, but it doesn't really tell me much since I can't see it while driving....can't really afford all the stainless hose and **** to mount it while driving. however I can say that when the car is running crappy, when I go under the hood and check the guage while revving up the car, it goes up and down a little bit..........that normal?

 

you need to see the gauge when all this is happening.......pressure should go up as vacuum drops...i believe gm specs call for 38-42 psi at idle......my GTA runs at 43 idle...47 WOT and its quick...runs nice

 

I'd be willing to bet it's a mostly-clogged fuel tank vent. Easy to test: wait until you're at a half-tank or below, and do your regular run with the gas cap off or loose (be careful, please). If the problem goes away, voila.

This is a fairly common syndrome on cars of a certain age, and ours are getting about there.

 

There's an idea I never thought of........

 

Sometimes they do die all at once. Sometimes they act like TomP said. Sometimes they just plain act wierd.

A rubber "extender hose" for your fuel press gauge should be ok for a quick test drive. Just route it carefully so it doesn't get burned or pinched when the hood is closed.



It's starting to sound like the "sock" has fallen off the fuel pick-up tube and you have a bunch of crap in the fuel tank (not all that uncommon).

Pull off the new fuel filter (external one), pour out the fuel, wipe it off good and try to blow thru it. You should be able to blow thru it with virtually no effort at all. If it's plugged up, you definately have crap in the tank and it will need to be removed and flushed out.

 

Im with ryiroc13 ...when my module died...it just died without warning....then it wouldnt start..........****ty ****ty