fuel pump maybe??

[brian mcleod]

Recently my 95 mtx sho has had a few problems.
a. tach would jump around, engine wouldn't throttle smoothly. that ended a few days ago...
b. now, my car has NO power at all.. It is really really sluggish. It takes forever for it to rev. could this be a fuel pump?? I am planning a 480 mile trip this weekend and would like to get this taken care of before then. Thanks!

 

[LaTechSHO]

for the most part the fuel pump either works or it doesn't........ so i doubt that the fuel pump would be your problem...


have you run the computer diagnostic tests???


Louis

 

[brian mcleod]

No but i will go to Autozone tomorrow to pull the codes. Maybe a clogged fuel filter then?

 

[LaTechSHO]

possible...but that would be one **** of a clogged up fuel filter.... it'd be more likely that you got ahold of some bad gas....


Louis

 

[brian mcleod]

I will drop top off with more premium and throw in some octane boost and see what happens I guess. Don't you think that these 2 problems would be connected though?

 

[LaTechSHO]

Your two problems are most probably connected yes...... but I wouldn't be too quick to diagnose a fuel problem... ignition problems are much more common.... and the first thing to do in this situation is to run the computer diagnostics...... I wish you the best and am sure that by the time you get autozone to check it out for you there will be plenty of information on this thread to steer you in the right direction

Louis

 

[SHO--ripper]

Check the shrader valve on the fuel rail to see if you have any fuel pressure. if you don't it might be the fuel pump. My 89 with 173k at the time had a fuel pump go and the problems sound very similar. Do your revs drop past 1k and they don't move they they shoot up past 1k? if that is the problem you are experiencing that is failure of your fuel pump. if that is the problem shotimes has very good instructions on replacing one which will save you some$ thumbs_u for your trip this weekend.

 

[fredhurderjr]

Is there a clacking / ticking from the engine front?

With the tach bouncing around, could be what's happened recently with my 89 - Crankshaft Cancer. In my case, the timing gear is rattling back & forth because it's not in its normal fixed position - the keyway is worn, the timing gear is worn, and it rattles back & forth rapidly. Since the gear is what triggers the crank position sensor, it occasionally frigs up the tach signal, the car hesitates, bucks, & has no power, especially down low (about 3k it's ok & stable). Off-idle, it's very sluggish. IF (big if) this is your problem, the gear can get "wedged" with the key & hold it's position for a while in a fixed, mis-timed position. So, then the tach won't bounce, but the car is out of time a few degrees, hurting your power.

Now, whether this is your problem, or a bad CPS, bad cam sensor, or what, I'm not sure, but it's more likely timing related than anything, due to the jumping tach. Just a thought.

Best of luck.

 

[sdpatt]

May also want to check for rattling cats. Plugged converter(s) can cause some of your symptoms.