This has been happining more and more over the last couple of weeks. I'll just be driving along and the POOF! car will stumble and die like im out of gas. Crank it over a bunch of times and it starts up finally and runs great, then it will happen again. Also sometimes it will just erratically run like **** (if i give it any gas it just sputters and stalls).

I'm pretty sure that my fuel pump is toast so I'm going to replace it today.

Do these sound like fuel pump problems?

Is there anyway I can troubleshoot this problem when it is not happening? It's intermittent but I don't feel like breaking down on the side of the road somewhere so I'm going to try and get it taken care of now.

Are there any tips from people who have done a fuel pump before, anything I should know about or look out for?

Is it that much harder to drop the tank if it's half full? Or should I make damn sure I drive it till it's nearly empty before attempting this?

Thanks for any info

The emptier the better. I've droppoed several of these, and it sucks. First;

1) Jack the entire car and put it on jack stands. All four corners if you can, but if not, jack the rear real high.

2) mark the small vacuum lines (s/b 3) because it's easier to cut them than carefully remove them. Loosen the radiator clamps (2-fill line and vent) at the tank.

3) remove 2 large band clamps that hold the fuel tank up and slide her down.

Oh, thanks to GM, you can't buy those 2 large fill/vent lines anymore. If yours are bad, you'll need to get used ones, or fabricate them from stock at napa.

just as a side note, another possibility. The ignition control module could be going. mine did the same thing. run fine, then all of a sudden, cruising down I-95 car just dies. costing in drive for about 10 seconds, and started again. over then next few days it got worse. figured out it was the ICM, basically, after 13 years the insulation had been wasted in it, so when it got to hot, it would start malfunctioning and stop working. pull over, wait 5 minutes, car would start up and run fine for another random ammount of time. I think the new one costed about $30 and it's an easy fix, pop of the dist cap and remove 2 screws, unsnap the connectors and it's out.

Before you drop your fuel tank, make sure it's not the ignition module. All you have to do is take it off and drop by your local Auto Zone and they'll test it for you for free.

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Sean W.
'84 SE 2M4 WS6 (restoration project to become daily driver)
'84 Sport Coupe ($150 running car)

My ignition module went bad about 2 months ago and I replaced it. I've heard some horror stories about them failing over and over but I just picked up the fuel pump etc. so I think I'm gonna throw it in. Car's got 115k on it now and has been run dry quite a few times so I figure it can't hurt. After that I'll take the module to AZ and see what's the good (or bad) word.

Thanks for the help

I was having a problem similar to that and it wasn't fuel related. The pick-up coil in the distributer needed to be replaced. I am not sure if that is your problem, but if the new pump doesn't work it is probably worth looking into.

-Charlie

Its probably not fuel related. Its probably the ignition control module located under the distributor and if its not the control module its probably the distributor itself. The distributor is suspect if the pick up coil inside is rusty.

You can eliminate any fuel related problem by spraying a can of aerosol starter into the air intake as someone turns over the engine. To do this test you will need to wait until it conks out again. If the engine runs while the spray is going into the air intake you know its not getting fuel.

Dave

86 GT

THE FUEL PUMP IS IN!! Woo hoo!!

Alright I just finished putting the pump in and boy was that not fun. She runs but I haven't gone on a test drive yet. Since it was an intermittent prob i guess i wont know for a bit whether it is fixed. I think I'm gonna get the Accel performance ignition module from the Fierostore and keep mine for backup just for the hell of it and I've been wanting to start upgrading my ignition **** anyway.

once again, thanks for the help guys.

The pick up coil looks like a circular unit (3" dia donut) that has 4 or 6 little points on the inside, depending upon 4 or 6 cyl application. The ECM is the other device that is situated inside the distributor, mounted on top of the plate. Also, check for end or side play of the distibutor shaft. How did the little rubber line look inside the tank when you changed it? Was it split?