I put a fresh battery in the car today and it cranks great but will not start. This car is barely used and has not been driven in a few years. The tank is full of gas with stabilizer in the gas. The gas in the tank is probably 2 years old. It will fire and run briefly if I spray throttle body cleaner in the intake. I thik it may be a bad fuel pump? The injectors are almost new. Everything is stock on the car no modifications. One owner car.
I cant remember exactly but the car did something similar several years ago and the fuel pump was the issue and was replaced probably with an aftermarket pump . I'm not going to work on this personally since the pump is in the fuel tank. Someone told me today that the fuel pump could fail by just sitting there not being used. I guess this makes sense but I would have thought i would have had more fuel pumps fail then since I havent used the car much since about year 2000.
Does it sound like the fuel pump is the issue?
Do these pumps ( electric pump inside tank) fail often when not used regularly?
Does gas quit working or just lose the light ends and octane level with time?
Well of course you can pressure test the fuel pump and sitting there will often clog up but it doesn't matter what kind of stabilization you use no modern gasoline will sit for 2 years without starting to come apart and turning to sludge you might find you're going to have to drain the tank clean it out and put new fuel on
it was the fuel pump thank you, in tank item.
The fuel needed to be removed from tank, it smelled bad, the exhaust needed to be dropped the shocks needed to be disconnected the axle needed to be dropped the tire needed to be removed. The fuel pump wasnt working for some reason due to sitting for a few years, also the wire to the sending unit for the fuel gauge was deteriorated so the sending unit needed to be replaced.
The mechanic installed the fuel pump then discovered it did not work. He also installed a new sending unit. He then got a new fuel pump from parts house and resinstalled and the new pump worked. Now my gas gauge wont go any higher than 3/4 tank even with fuel filled to the max. Do thes have to be calibrated? Can the gauge stick? Parked car for a few days and came back and it would not start. Battery was down. Did not see any lights left on. Same battery was fine for more than a few weeks from when i replaced it to when I got it back from mechanic. Only difference was maybe driving to mechinic new fuel pump pushing radio button for radio which i snon functional and using headlights. Placed an amp meter in series on negative terminal did not see any draw with fresh battery put in it. Comments?
Condensation in the distributor cap will cause the pins to corrode over time.
Thanks Scotty. Youre right its probably 1 factor messing it up either pump issue or fuel. Im thinking maybe pump since it has failed once before. There is a test port under the hood to check fuel presure. I'll eave that to the mechinics since i dont have a gauge for it. I probably wont know if the gasoline contributed to the problem because the shop that fixes will likely drian tank to fix pump and put fresh fuel in it. My old 1990 cadillac with similar aged fuel, started after pouring gas in throttle body and feathering gas pedal and ran okish. It has same 5.7 L v-8 except that it it is TBI not tuned port injection. I think the caddy also has pump in tank. Only difference is gas level was lower in caddy and i poured maybe 3 gallons fresh gas into it wheras firebird gas is all old.
Ill let you know how it works out. I really appreciate your help a bunch and really enjoy your youtube videos . You're so knowledgible and helpful. Much kudos and recognition to you. You truly stand out as a positive influence. Ive been working on and dealing with cars since my teen years so Ive seen a fair amount. You are are gem in the automotive world. Thank you.
correction fuel pump hasnt failed before it was the distributor which failed last time while the car wasnt being used.
I dont understand why it could fail just sitting in the garage.
thank you