Was warming car up and it died. Tried to start a couple times, but won't start. spark is good. Looked at the fuel rail in the chilton manual and on the fuel block it shows the fuel pressure connection. I put a pressure guage on it and primed the system (i can hear pump running), but there was no pressure. Then my dad cranked it and the car started and ran for about 4 secs until he shut it off, but there was still no pressure.

I just read the post on replacing the regulator, so i'll go out and see if theres fuel coming up into the throttle body.

I'm also gonna try seeing if there's any codes being set off. It doesn't run long enough to tell if the light was staying on.

(well no codes) I also remember on monster garage when they had a 2.8 firebird. wouldn't start so someone pulled what i guess was that little cap and fuel shot about 5 ft in the air.

 

you kinda answered yourself in that post.

you said you had no/or very low pressure. if there is nothing from the tank, nothing can be regulated.

I would take the regulator apart and look for damage, but odds are your looking either at COMPLETELY shot fuel filter, or a pump, or more then likely a combo of the two.

 

yeah i'm getting worried it might be the pump. Even though I can hear it, doesn't quite mean it's working. it gave out quick though, was running normal for about 3 mins then shut off. no sputtering or anything.

 

that just means it can only keep pressure for that long. But if you have below 33 PSI on the rail, you have a bad pump, or a completely clogged filter.

and yes, they are a BLASY to replace!

 

well, i loosened the input line at the filter just enough for it to drip a little, and when it primed there was fuel spraying everywhere. But i guess even then there just might not be enough pressure. The filter was replaced awhile ago, but it should still be good. I could try replacing that again i guess.

Anybody remember where to cut in the back to get to the pump to avoid removing the tank, shock, axle, muffler etc etc (yeah i know it's a bad idea)

i guess i should get my 66nova registered and insured, at least on that there's nothing that takes more than an hour to replace.
(20 minutes for intake/exhuast gasket....i love the inline 6)

 

You probably shouldn't cut back there, if you send sparks around gasoline........boom?

 

They are a BLASY to replace?......hmmm never heard that term before.
I wouldn't worry too much about fuel in the throttle body either since its not supposed to be there.

Anyway now that I'm done being a smart@**, I would go ahead and replace the filter first, its pretty easy and cheap. Just make sure to spray it with some GOOD penetrant, (i.e. not WD-40) my weapon of choice is PB Blaster, and let it sit for a while.
For the pump, as far as cutting it goes, I wouldn't cut it unless I needed a quick fix so I could sell it.

 

Also remember to remove the gas cap first to relieve the pressure that is built up in the tank so you won't get your saturday night bath with gas. Try doing this with just the front wheels up on a set of ramps.

The Trickster!!!!!!!!!

 

i think i'll try the fuel filter tomorrow. i just don't get how there was enough pressure when it primed to spray out with plenty of force when i loosened the filter, yet there was absolutely nothing at the fuel block on the rail.

i guess i should try loosening the line after the filter to see if it's going through, or at the far end of the line at the intake

 

I meant blast

 

actually, if you get a bucket (ok several buckets) and leave the tank pressurized, it will push the fuel out for you.

 

I had a bad scrader valve, making the guage not read.

If your getting fuel spraying everywhere, but noting on a guage, replace the schrader valve before cutting your car up, or the 8 hour job to replace the pump.

If you go to replace the pump, agood suggested using one from a vette as the guts are steel rather then plastic.

Also make sure you havent bumped the vac line off the regulator. Been their, done that

 

Yeah I wouldn't go cutting a hole in the back; I've changed my pump twice, both times I dropped the rear out.

Put your arm through a garbage bag so any gas that drips down won't burn your arm, and wear safety goggles.

Also, on the end of each metal fuel line that goes into the filter, there's a <b>small</b> o-ring. Those o-rings can sometimes stick inside the old filter. If you put the new filter on and don't have the o-rings still on the ends of the metal lines, you'll get a leak. So when the old filter's off, check the 2 metal lines to make sure those small red o-rings are on each line.

And the less you bend those metal lines, the easier the new filter will go on- don't cross-thread anything!!

I just noticed you said that you put a gauge on there, and it showed zero pressure. Aside from Dale's suggestion, don't bother with replacing the filter; you've gotta change the pump. You can hot-wire the pump so it'll pump any gas in the tank "out"... remove the filter first, stick an old piece of heater hose over the pump outlet line, put the other end of the hose into a gas can, and hot-wire the pump FROM THE FRONT OF THE CAR - you don't want a spark!!

Anyone remember what terminal on the ALDL is for the fuel pump?

 

thats kinda the problem, there was plenty of pressure at the filter, but there wasn't even fuel coming out of the valve on the fuel block. i pulled the pressure guage off just as it quit, and there was nothing. i'm gonna check that connection on the fuel block i guess, and see if fuel is even getting up to that. i need to find where the line comes into it. gotta start digging in the manual.

 

line comes out the tank, down the floorboard, into the filter, then down under the drivers floorboard, up the drivers fenderwell area, across the front of the engine/bay , down the front of the manifold, then goes in-between the upper and middle intake to that block the schrader valve is in.

 

this is what happens when i have to work on some little tiny part of the car for the first time and/or i'm stupid.

i didn't notice that connector was a valve like a tire valve, the pressure tester only slip on over the end. it wasn't pushing the little thing down to release the fuel. Also it wasn't a high pressure tester. only 10 psi. i gotta go get one i guess.

 

yes, its like a giant tire stem. you must screw the guage on and press the center stem down.

 

ok 42psi. The pump sounds fine, replaced the filter, and have pressure. Still won't start. It almost starts like normal until i let up on the key then it dies. I gotta figure out some other stuff to look at now. I wonder if the tps is gone ( i can't imagine the odds of that since the night before i was just thinking about testing it) or the choke isn't working. (happened before when the temp sender went bad, had to play with pedal until i warmed up)

 

Sure you got good spark???

 

yeah spark was fine, but timing was off. fuel filter was pretty clogged too. i thought the dist was tight enough, but it must have moved yesterday. I didn't consider it a problem at first though because it started and ran fairly smooth for 3-4 seconds till we shut if off when testing stuff. Anyway if it was a combination of filter and timing, then it's fixed now. The regulator is getting looked at though when i swap over the stuff to a 3.4. If i can get one soon. Best i saw so far was $650 with ?miles

Got weird results with the tps testing though

 

Go to AutoZone and ask for this part. GP-Sorenson 800-122, it is the spring and diaphram that goes inside the fuel pressure regulator and goes for $24.95 + tax. It is the same part that goes in all the GM fuel pressure regulators from a 2.8l to a 5.7l. There was another post recently where this was discussed. I don't know about you, but I think $24.95 is a lot better price than $650.00.

The Trickster!!!!!!!!!!!

 

http://67.104.247.214/jmb/firebird/mods.htm

September 17, 2003
In fuels and ignition class, we tested fuel pressures of several cars including mine. To my surprise, it was 5 psi below specs and it didn't change when vacuum was applied. It also did not hold any pressure when the vehicle was shut off. Hmmm. After testing the system, the fuel pressure regulator was bad. Only problem was that no one makes a replacement diaphram. You have to buy the whole fuel rail from GM for $300. Yikes! Anyways, I wanted to have some sort of control over the fuel pressure so I did some digging. it turns out that the fuel pressure regulator caps made for 5.0/5.7s will also fit the fuel rails of our V6s. So I purchased an adjustable cap from BBK and finally found a diaphram at of all places, AutoZone. Installed both parts and everything works great! Fuel pressure sits at 39 psi at idle and 48 psi at WOT.