Broke down while driving down the interstate, think fuel sys
black_89gt
Wagonist
Here's the whole story:
Well, when driving back to school from home, the wagon broke down on me on the interstate. It has been driving perfect in the past few weeks. I was driving along at speed (around 72-75) and the car just fell on its face. The engine was still running, albeit the RPM's were falling obviously. I could shift down from 5th to 4th, but even with the pedal to the floor, nothing happened still slowed down. So I put the hazards on and pulled to the side of the road and the engine shuts off. I had to get my brother to come and tow it back to his house where it is sitting now, and I borrowed his wagon to drive to school. My girlfriend's dad brought me a new main relay because I suspected that could be the culprit, but by the time we got it on, the battery had died so we couldn't try that. Also, we tried to push start it, but couldn't do much because we were on the interstate. I have read that it could possibly be the fuel pump or the main relay. I just wanted to get everyone's opinion of what it could be. My brother will be trying to jump it off soon, but he is busy with work and other projects, so it may be a while before I find out.
Thanks guys! (sorry for the long post, just wanted to give ample information)
Well, when driving back to school from home, the wagon broke down on me on the interstate. It has been driving perfect in the past few weeks. I was driving along at speed (around 72-75) and the car just fell on its face. The engine was still running, albeit the RPM's were falling obviously. I could shift down from 5th to 4th, but even with the pedal to the floor, nothing happened still slowed down. So I put the hazards on and pulled to the side of the road and the engine shuts off. I had to get my brother to come and tow it back to his house where it is sitting now, and I borrowed his wagon to drive to school. My girlfriend's dad brought me a new main relay because I suspected that could be the culprit, but by the time we got it on, the battery had died so we couldn't try that. Also, we tried to push start it, but couldn't do much because we were on the interstate. I have read that it could possibly be the fuel pump or the main relay. I just wanted to get everyone's opinion of what it could be. My brother will be trying to jump it off soon, but he is busy with work and other projects, so it may be a while before I find out.
Thanks guys! (sorry for the long post, just wanted to give ample information)
Comments
1. Fuel at fuel rail. & Listen for Fuel pump when turning the key on.
2. Spark.
3. Watch for valve movement through oil cap when cranking.
I have died in traffic and it was the Fuel Filter. and, another time it was the Rotor in the Distributor..
Hard to say unless you actually diagnose it.
Could be anything?
Start checking things..
My car is DPFI, so there's no fuel rail, it goes straight to the intake. I loosened the nut to check fuel pressure, and some fuel came out, but it only dribbled out, I would assume if there was pressure a good bit would come out.
Where is the fuel filter located on the car?
Also, I had just put about 1/2 tank of gas in and the gas that was already in the tank was fairly new, but I'm sure something could have gotten in to clog the fuel filter. The car wasn't running hot, it had plenty of oil, and plenty of anti-freeze. I couldn't see any hoses that came disconnected, all of the fuel hoses were definately still connected and the only leak from underneath the car was condensation from the A/C.
I will start checking things when I have a chance to get back home. I'm in Savannah for school at GT, and the car is in middle GA
The Dpfi uses a different dizzy then the mpfi does so a y7 would be different.