Hopefully I can explain this well enough for someone to help me. About two and half years ago, when I would drive my car it would feel like it wasnt getting enough gas. I had to push the accelerator pretty hard to get it to go. It was kind of sputtering I guess you could say. Well I changed the fuel filter and everything was fine. About six months ago it started doing the same thing so I thought it would be the fuel filter so I changed it again and everything was fine again. Now its acting up again. It doesnt seem like it could be the fuel filter again in that short of time. I might be wrong though. I talked to my dad and he said I need to check the fuel pressure, that it might be the fuel pump. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks in advance.

 

put a guage on the front of the fuel rail and check the pressure. 45 psi.

 

Ok. Dont mean to sound dumb when I ask this, only cause Ive never done it before. In the pic below, Im assuming thats where I would test it at? Any suggestions on where to take it? I dont have the tools for it obviously. Thanks.

 

No thats the fuel pressure regulator. Take your drivers side FRC off and pointing towards the front of the car you will see a nipple with a cap on it at the end of the fuel rail. Unscrew the cap and screw a pressure tester on it. You should be able to turn the key on and it should ready 58 psi.

Do you use the same gas station all the time and is it quality fuel? You surely dont want to get trash in those lines. I hope this helps

BTW, dont take it anywhere. You can get the pressure tester from any auto parts store and its very simple to do. I dont even want to guess what the dealer would charge

 

Ok thanks for the help. I get gas at the same station everytime and its a Chevron. Im hoping I can avoid the dealer at all costs.

 

You have posted the correct fuel pressure to look for. The only thing I would add is that after the initial pressurization occurs when the pump comes on, it is not uncommon to see the pressure drop off slightly to maybe 51-52-53 psi. This is of course when testing the pressure with the engine off and the key turned on, so don't be alarmed to see the pressure drop slightly within a few seconds or so. With the engine running, it maintains a much more constant 58 psi, plus or minus a pound or so, either way.

HTH

BTW, that is NOT the fuel pressure regulator on the fuel rail in the photo. Since he has a 2002, that device is a "fuel pulse dampener". His fuel pressure regulator is in his fuel filter. The fuel pressure regulator for '97s and '98s (only) is located there.

HTH

 

Thanks for all the help guys. If I do have to change out my fuel pump, how much of a PITA will it be? Am I able to do it myself or will I have to have someone do it?

 

I may be wrong, but I have a suspicion that the fuel pump is not the issue here, mainly because they tend to be fairly robust and typically last for a very long time. I wouldn't rule it out completely of course, I'm just saying it's further down the list of possible culprits.

Have you checked the DIC for trouble codes (called DTCs)? That can be a very helpful tool in diagnosing problems.

Since you seem to be rather inexperienced here, I'm going to suggest you take your car to one of the shops in your area that work on Corvettes on a regular basis. You show your location as "hurricane alley", can I assume you are in Florida? If so, there are a number of good reputable shops in FL that can help you who are also Corvetteforum vendors and participate in the various threads here almost on a daily basis. Even if you just want them to diagnose the problem, it's worth the money you pay to find the problem. If you do decide to tackle a repair yourself, at least then you have a starting point on what to replace/repair. Otherwise you will just wind up running in circles and guessing. That can get expensive.

HTH