hypo

Just checking out how to get this 89 model to keep running!

it died when my mates wife was driving it so we fitted a new fuel filter,(old one had some dirt and a small ammount of water (none in the tank though))., ran it for a few minutes, then wouldnt start again. fitted a new fuel pump, and another new filter, drained the tank, added 10l fresh fuel and had it running smooth and revving well with no hassles for a good 5mins..

I stopped it. then it wouldnt start again.
we jumped the battery (as i thought the voltage may have been too low (9-10v while cranking)), she fired ran for a few minutes ok but now felt like the car was starving for fuel, and would only idle and when pumping the gas was just sucking air and wouldnt rev. incidently we didnt have any ether (aerostart), so I used flyspray that got the car to fire and run in the first place..

The cars been sitting for a while so im thinking maybe blocked or worn injectors, or maybe a bad fuel pressure relay. the oil pressure is good so its not the common switch failure there. its a process of elimination now....

but any advice is appreciated!

DinoBob

Take a block of wood and a hammer and rap the injectors firmly but gently about 200 times each. This got a COMPLETELY stuck set of injectors loose and the car running great when I tried it. Car had been sitting almost two years.

John A. Marker

First of all you need to rent, borrow or purchase a fuel pressure gauge. Your throwing parts at it and don't have any idea of what is wrong.

Place the gauge on the Schrader valve on the fuel rail and turn the key on and watch the gauge. Does your pressure built to 39-43 pounds? Does it hold?

I am going out on a limb and make a projection.....
1) Pressure less than 39 psi
2) Pressure does not hold.

My guess is that when you replaced the pump you hooked it back up the the pulsator and the pump or fuel line has partially pulled out of the pulsator. The only way once the above (1 & 2) have been established is to pull the pump out. replace the pulsator with a section of 3/8 fuel line and two hose clamps.

hypo

thanks for the advice guys. I got it running enough to get it half way home just idling along but she died about 2 miles down the road. as I was driving it you couldnt give it any gas and just had to coast along at like 5% throttle. I let it sit for an hour,then headed back down the road but still a no go- only idles roughly and dies with any throttle.

as its dying its making a loud sucking sound from the filter tube (ive removed the filter assembly as I need it off to start it with a squirt of flyspray. when its idling ok the sucking sound is less loud.

tried tapping the injectors and dont have a fuel pressure guage (im in the Philippines in a remote area).

There is strong pressure at the rail when turing the engine over, but if I shut the engine down and open the shrader valve there is no pressure at all. is this normal? or should there be stored pressure in the rail?

DinoBob

I should not have assumed other diagnostics had been done. You would want to get a fuel pressure gauge and check the pressure, all right. Fuel pressure regulator could be leaking down. Go get one and report back. The factory shop manual would be of immense help here.

Cliff Harris

The fuel pressure should stay up at least 15 minutes after the engine is shut off.

You could have an injector that is stuck open, a ruptured fuel pressure regulator diaphragm or a bad check valve in the fuel pump.

Benny42

10 liters of fuel is not enough to drive the car. If you haven't already, put about 25 more in it and see if the problem goes away. AND '89 injectors are notorious for failing, check the coils with a good meter. Good luck with it

John A. Marker

You indicate you have strong pressure at the rail. But without a pressure gauge you really don't know. You can depress the Schrader valve and there will be fuel spray out...but it doesn't take any pressure to do that. Then you state you shut the engine off and have NO PRESSURE.

Pull the fuel pump and check the connection between the pump, pulsator and fuel line tube. Again, I am telling you that chances are it is not connected firmly.

hypo

still no go. pulled out the fuel pump and checked it, everythings in order there. replaced all the plugs & theres no arcing of the leads at night. pulled the plug caps and all plugs have a good strong spark

I dont have access to a fuel pressure guage and can only order one from abroad, that could take a month to arrive! there is a small ammount of residual pressure at the shraider valve after I shut the engine down. (sorry before I said none).

I checked the injectors by pulling the connectors off each injector and the car dropped in revs on number 1,3, & 7 cylinder (assuming left hand cylinder numbering is 1357). all the down injectors were on the left rail- only one on that rail was functioning.

I've tried tapping the down injectors with a wooden dowell and this didnt help.

One thing I did notice was that the fuel pump I removed was an aftermarket universal type. I used this as a sample when buying a new one. the new one looked exactly the same. When I checked the numbers on the fuel pump it was recommended for use on cars up to about 2.2 litres only. not 5L. The fuel filter I replaced was for a chevy nubira, I'm sure thats a small car as well.

with this info do you think the pump isnt strong enough to run the car?

It should be, as the car was driven about 500km with the (same) old pump after the last owner bought the car. or maybe by using a pump designed for a smaller car, has it caused the injectors to block up?

sporry for all the questions. its so hard here in the Philippines with all my tools and access to correct parts back in Australia!!!!!