I'm sorry my first post had to be a tech question, thats not what I intended.

Bought a white 89 IROC 350 TPI today. Body is in great shape w/98000 miles and the motor was rebuilt about 2000 miles ago. I drove this car practically all day yesterday and it ran great! Anyway, tonight I'm driving home enjoying my new car when the car started sputtering really bad and finally just died... I managed to safely coast into a parking lot.

Thinking to myself it felt like I was out of gas... I looked at the gas gauge and it was sitting on E. I was so excited about getting the car, I forgot to check the gas So I walk about 200 yard to a gas station and buy a gallon gas can and a gallon of gas. Walked back to my car, put it in and it still won't start. Thinking maybe this wasen't enough fuel to get it going, I walk back and get another gallon. Still won't start. So WTF? I'll give it one more gallon for good measure. 3 gallons and it still won't start. I damn near drained my battery trying.

It was starting to get dark, and I was getting frustrated so I called a tow-truck (I was only about 2 miles from home.)

The tow-truck driver told me that when you run out of gas, you run the risk of frying your fuel pump. Huh? Never heard that before But it almost seems like hes right. I mean, I turn the key and listen for the fuel pump to kick on and nothing. Anybody got any ideas? Could it be a relay?

I was looking foward to driving my car this weekend, instead it appears I'll be working on it

Sorry for the long post and thanks in advance for any advice.

Greg

 

Yep sound like the fuel pump, but you might want to check the fuse in the fuse box to make sure its not blown.

SSC

 

And check the 20amp fuse by the battery. Then the relay.



:hail: IROC-Z

 

You do know that you spelled CHEVY wrong on your name right?







:-) Jesse

 

If you did run out of gas that puts a strain on the fuel pump. Plus aren't you supossed to prime the fuel pump or something like that, not sure. I would definately check out the pump.

 

if its the pump youll be working on it all weekend. the first time isnt fun at all. i think i could do it again in 4 hours or so but the first time took me a day and a half

 

Mark A. Shields- Your thinking of a engine with a mechanical fuelpump, they suck to run out of gas with because you have to suck gas all the way from the tank before the thing will light off.

 

LOL... that is the kind of day I had yesterday... couldn't do anything right including spelling my own screename that I use on every car site I will re-registar when this thread dies.

UPDATE:

I checked the fuses... they're okay. So I figured I would try and start it up again just for the hell of it. As soon as I turned the key, I heard the fuel pump starting to prime and bam... IT FIRED RIGHT UP!!! Now I'm really stumped

Is it possible with the little bit of gas I put in just took a while to work its way through the system? Maybe I'm grasping at straws, dunno. I'm just confused as to why the pump wouldn't prime last night, and now after sitting for about 20 hours it appears to be working.

 

hey i havent had to do my fuel pump yet , people make it out to be a real nightmare whats up with that. it looks easy

 

There are 2 kind of fuel pumps, one in the gas tank and the mechanical kind. The gas tank is the hard one.

 

My car had exactly the same symptoms as your's and it turned out to be a dying fuel pump. It worked intermittently and left me stranded twice. Make sure you check the relay and all the connections before proceeding to change the pump. It's not easy - believe me. I tried and quit when I discovered I would have to hack half the exhaust system off to remove the fuel tank. The best way to check whether the fuel pump is getting any juice from the relay is to get under the car, disconnect the pump's wiring harness and probe the terminals with a test light with the ignition on. If the test light lights up then your culprit is the fuel pump. The pump was $65 from Autozone and my mechanic charged $150 to change it out. Not a bad deal considering the work involved. And yeah, the part about burning up the fuel pump by running the tank dry is all too true. Being low on gas alone will cause fuel starvation in turns.

 

What probably happened is the pump got hot when it ran out and wouldn't work. After it sat for awhile the pump cooled back down and started working. I wouldn't count on it lasting for too long after this though, once they start they generally don't last long.

 

You should check your oil switch, it controls power to the fuel pump and if it's wiggin' out it might cut power. I'm not sure how to check it though... anyone know?

 

Ive heard that when the pumps run out of gas there is no lubricant for the pump and many people have to go underneigth and smack the tank hoping to loosen it back up when gas is back in the tank.

 

Mkos got it right...

All fuel injected thirdgens use in tank fuel pumps. The gas flowing thru the pump lubricates and cools the pump. When the gas level is lower the pump is hotter, when it runs out they frequently stick. All it takes is some good jolts and it'll pop loose. A good tow truck driver will know this and will pop your fuel tank with a rubber mallet a couple times and save the time of towing the car. I ran into this with my 92 S10... made 300+ miles out of the tank, ran out of gas a block before the gas station. After that it worked fine for about 2 months then the fuel pump died completely. The gas in the S10 is now moved by a fuel pump from a 87 fiero 2.5L.

Suggestion: start saving your cash and reading up on fuel pump swaps, chances are its on its last leg.

 

fuel pumps are a PITA !!!!. $150 sounds good to change it. if yours goes you have 2 options: drop the tank (and the rear end) or cut the floor (a hack yes but it was done to mine when i got it)

 

Now ya tell me

Well, after looking at what I was up against in getting to the fuel pump, and the time I had to do it in, I just had to bite the bullet and pay to get it replaced. Oh well...

Today I had to re-route some plug wires that were grounding out and causing it to misfire badly. I also found a puddle of transmission fluid on the garage floor this morning. Nothing a few cranks of the wrench didn't fix.

Now the car is running great! What I like about this car it is SO much more nimble than my 2001. It corners better with stock suspension and crappy tires than my other Z does with a somewhat modified suspension and 285/40/ZR17's. Its a blast to drive (oh, and did I mention its beautiful?)

Anyway, just wanted to thank everybody for their help!

Greg

 

Can you put a fuel pump on the line and turn off the pump in the tank?