Need Help 96 Camaro Z28 V-8, Apparently I Have A Bad Fuel Pump?
#1
02-23-2010, 08:54 PM
Need Help 96 Camaro Z28 V-8, Apparently I Have A Bad Fuel Pump?
First off id like to say thank you, if you are viewing this thread, and i appreciate any well rounded replies that may come my way.
Ill tell you a little bit about myself and my car first.
my car is a 1996 Z28 V-8 (6 Speed) Green Camaro 2dr coupe (T-Tops) that i just purchased for 4,800$ from a personal seller.
I am a single Marine, currently Stationed in 29 palms, CA.
I am very confused as to how or why, this happened to my car recently
I've had the car for about a week, and before i purchased the vehicle i wanted to make sure that the Clutch/Flywheel were replaced, which the seller had done, right after i purchased the car, at no additional charge to myself.
The engine was overheated before i bought it, and the original owner did the following to the vehicle at a GM Dealership, which he works at. The camaro only has 85,500 miles.
Complete engine rebuild.
new toyo procero tires, w/ZO6 corvette rims. 17.5 in the back 17.25 in the front (and now i cant rotate them -.-)
new distributor, spark plugs, and spark plug wires
new stock heads
new water pump
new thermostat
new clutch
new flywheel
Magna Flow 2.5' half exhaust (after the cadilitic converter) w/cleanable filter
new aftermarket stereo
new main bearings, new crankshaft
K&N cold air intake
U joints were checked for any "play" in them, they are fine.
oil change (non synthetic)
new gas cap
MY story (ill apologize for the long post ahead of time)
about 7 days after i purchased the car, and the clutch and flywheel were replaced, i got a check engine light (to my horror), so i got the code pulled and was told i had only 1, which was P1441.
which is the following:
Evaporative Emissions (EVAP) System Flow During Non-Purge
possible causes
(aa1) Canister Purge Solenoid
(aa2) Fuel Tank Pressure (FTP) sensor
so i took the car to a local and trustworthy mechanic, where he hooked it up to his 8,000$ computer.
He then told me that the canister purge was firing normally, and after a visual and thorough inspect of the engine, he cleared the code.
NOTE* i have had no problems starting the car before 02-22-2010 i have had the vehicle for 10 days at this point.
After the code was cleared he told me to start my car, which i Attempted to do, and all the camaro did was turn over, it would not fire.
NOTE* i noticed that the car was idling around 1k RPM's and sounded a little hoarse.
he then proceeded to tell me that "this makes no sense, i didn't even do anything yet" which i agreed, he had not actually done anything to the car, mechanically.
after about 3 tries, i got the car to start it went to 1 thousand RPM's and then idled momentarily and died, i repeated this process 3 times, with the same results. and then the engine just proceeded to turn over indefinately, and not fire.
I have had no problems starting the car up to this point, he then calls me over and disconnects the fuel line from the block, and has his assistant get into my car, and turn the engine over. He tells me that "if your fuel pump is working correctly, fuel will spray all over the place" i notice that the fuel line is steadily, but with little to no pressure, dripping fuel from the line. I have a half a tank of gas at this point, and my gas guage is fairly accurate, because i have had to fill it up twice, and have gotten roughly 225 miles to a full tank of gas.
The mechanic then runs a few more tests and has me cycle my ignition on and off 3-5 times while he has his ear on the gas tank, im assuming hes listening for the fuel pump (my knowledge of this vehicle is about a 5/10 with 10 being the best of course) he then tells me that "He'd bet his life on it, the fuel pump is not functioning correctly, and needs replaced)
now my question is this.
How does my car, after a simple computer reset,(which did actually clear the P1441 my check engine light does not come on anymore) cause it to not to fire at all, when no more than 45 minutes prior i had drove it to the mechanic shop, and now magically my fuel pump is bad.
this fix is going to cost me 735 dollars including the price of the fuel pump which i bought myself., 500$ for labor alone, since to my knowledge the fuel pump is inside the tank itself.
He explained to me that with the car in a "Starving for gas" condition it can cause lots of "False Positives" as far as check engines light go, he himself owns a 67 camaro SS which was there at his shop, that he showed me himself, and it was registered in his name, which i wanted to check because i like to have undoubtable proof of everything people tell me as far as mechanical work on my vehicles go.
I apologize for this extensive post, i just wanted to make sure that my story was told in full with as much detail as possible, 2 close friends of mine suggested the fuel pump when they heard me say P1441 was my error code,after i explained it to them and they are both Motor T in the marine corps, and work extensively on all Military engines, and hobby cars of their own (my roomate owns a 1997 Fire WS6 which also has the LT1 according to him) i am personally not a firebird fan.
Id like to thank any posters in this thread ahead of time for their insight to my dillema, before i spend 700$+ on this fix.
Thank you,
LCpl Legnosky-USMC
Ill tell you a little bit about myself and my car first.
my car is a 1996 Z28 V-8 (6 Speed) Green Camaro 2dr coupe (T-Tops) that i just purchased for 4,800$ from a personal seller.
I am a single Marine, currently Stationed in 29 palms, CA.
I am very confused as to how or why, this happened to my car recently
I've had the car for about a week, and before i purchased the vehicle i wanted to make sure that the Clutch/Flywheel were replaced, which the seller had done, right after i purchased the car, at no additional charge to myself.
The engine was overheated before i bought it, and the original owner did the following to the vehicle at a GM Dealership, which he works at. The camaro only has 85,500 miles.
Complete engine rebuild.
new toyo procero tires, w/ZO6 corvette rims. 17.5 in the back 17.25 in the front (and now i cant rotate them -.-)
new distributor, spark plugs, and spark plug wires
new stock heads
new water pump
new thermostat
new clutch
new flywheel
Magna Flow 2.5' half exhaust (after the cadilitic converter) w/cleanable filter
new aftermarket stereo
new main bearings, new crankshaft
K&N cold air intake
U joints were checked for any "play" in them, they are fine.
oil change (non synthetic)
new gas cap
MY story (ill apologize for the long post ahead of time)
about 7 days after i purchased the car, and the clutch and flywheel were replaced, i got a check engine light (to my horror), so i got the code pulled and was told i had only 1, which was P1441.
which is the following:
Evaporative Emissions (EVAP) System Flow During Non-Purge
possible causes
(aa1) Canister Purge Solenoid
(aa2) Fuel Tank Pressure (FTP) sensor
so i took the car to a local and trustworthy mechanic, where he hooked it up to his 8,000$ computer.
He then told me that the canister purge was firing normally, and after a visual and thorough inspect of the engine, he cleared the code.
NOTE* i have had no problems starting the car before 02-22-2010 i have had the vehicle for 10 days at this point.
After the code was cleared he told me to start my car, which i Attempted to do, and all the camaro did was turn over, it would not fire.
NOTE* i noticed that the car was idling around 1k RPM's and sounded a little hoarse.
he then proceeded to tell me that "this makes no sense, i didn't even do anything yet" which i agreed, he had not actually done anything to the car, mechanically.
after about 3 tries, i got the car to start it went to 1 thousand RPM's and then idled momentarily and died, i repeated this process 3 times, with the same results. and then the engine just proceeded to turn over indefinately, and not fire.
I have had no problems starting the car up to this point, he then calls me over and disconnects the fuel line from the block, and has his assistant get into my car, and turn the engine over. He tells me that "if your fuel pump is working correctly, fuel will spray all over the place" i notice that the fuel line is steadily, but with little to no pressure, dripping fuel from the line. I have a half a tank of gas at this point, and my gas guage is fairly accurate, because i have had to fill it up twice, and have gotten roughly 225 miles to a full tank of gas.
The mechanic then runs a few more tests and has me cycle my ignition on and off 3-5 times while he has his ear on the gas tank, im assuming hes listening for the fuel pump (my knowledge of this vehicle is about a 5/10 with 10 being the best of course) he then tells me that "He'd bet his life on it, the fuel pump is not functioning correctly, and needs replaced)
now my question is this.
How does my car, after a simple computer reset,(which did actually clear the P1441 my check engine light does not come on anymore) cause it to not to fire at all, when no more than 45 minutes prior i had drove it to the mechanic shop, and now magically my fuel pump is bad.
this fix is going to cost me 735 dollars including the price of the fuel pump which i bought myself., 500$ for labor alone, since to my knowledge the fuel pump is inside the tank itself.
He explained to me that with the car in a "Starving for gas" condition it can cause lots of "False Positives" as far as check engines light go, he himself owns a 67 camaro SS which was there at his shop, that he showed me himself, and it was registered in his name, which i wanted to check because i like to have undoubtable proof of everything people tell me as far as mechanical work on my vehicles go.
I apologize for this extensive post, i just wanted to make sure that my story was told in full with as much detail as possible, 2 close friends of mine suggested the fuel pump when they heard me say P1441 was my error code,after i explained it to them and they are both Motor T in the marine corps, and work extensively on all Military engines, and hobby cars of their own (my roomate owns a 1997 Fire WS6 which also has the LT1 according to him) i am personally not a firebird fan.
Id like to thank any posters in this thread ahead of time for their insight to my dillema, before i spend 700$+ on this fix.
Thank you,
LCpl Legnosky-USMC
#3
03-16-2010, 03:33 PM
I would just like to say that although frustrating, electric fuel pumps can and do fail without notice and at random sometimes coincidental times.
I drove my 88 about an hour to work one morning, went back outside an hour later to get breakfast for my bosses and the fuel pump was dead. Randomly with no signs of failure
My suggestion to you is to make sure you get a nice quality pump such as Delco or Walbro, and change your fuel filter in the tank and outside of the tank. All the labor is in removing the tank from the car. Once out it literally takes less than 5 minutes to switch pumps.
He was right that fuel should have been shooting across the room. Fuel injected engines run over 40 psi.
I drove my 88 about an hour to work one morning, went back outside an hour later to get breakfast for my bosses and the fuel pump was dead. Randomly with no signs of failure
My suggestion to you is to make sure you get a nice quality pump such as Delco or Walbro, and change your fuel filter in the tank and outside of the tank. All the labor is in removing the tank from the car. Once out it literally takes less than 5 minutes to switch pumps.
He was right that fuel should have been shooting across the room. Fuel injected engines run over 40 psi.
#4
03-18-2010, 12:42 AM
Man, over 700 dollar price tag?
I replaced my own fuel pump, and it wasn't that bad of an ordeal.
I'd say do it yourself if you could, but something tells me you don't have the time/tools/space to do it.
But i'd just like to add that my Camaro had almost identical starting problems before I replaced the fuel pump. More likely than not, that's your answer.
I replaced my own fuel pump, and it wasn't that bad of an ordeal.
I'd say do it yourself if you could, but something tells me you don't have the time/tools/space to do it.
But i'd just like to add that my Camaro had almost identical starting problems before I replaced the fuel pump. More likely than not, that's your answer.
#5
03-29-2010, 06:09 PM
$700 for a pump?
Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't this just a simple in tank GM pump?
A 255 GPH pump for that car is $150. NO WAY there's $600 in labor. Unless there's some trick I don't know aobut.
http://injectorsplus.com/productdeta...skuno=IP-17933
If you're anywhere near NJ and you buy the pump from me, I'll put it in for you for free. I think you're getting ripped off, I hate to see that.
Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't this just a simple in tank GM pump?
A 255 GPH pump for that car is $150. NO WAY there's $600 in labor. Unless there's some trick I don't know aobut.
http://injectorsplus.com/productdeta...skuno=IP-17933
If you're anywhere near NJ and you buy the pump from me, I'll put it in for you for free. I think you're getting ripped off, I hate to see that.
#6
03-29-2010, 06:21 PM
Man, over 700 dollar price tag?
I replaced my own fuel pump, and it wasn't that bad of an ordeal.
I'd say do it yourself if you could, but something tells me you don't have the time/tools/space to do it.
But i'd just like to add that my Camaro had almost identical starting problems before I replaced the fuel pump. More likely than not, that's your answer.
I replaced my own fuel pump, and it wasn't that bad of an ordeal.
I'd say do it yourself if you could, but something tells me you don't have the time/tools/space to do it.
But i'd just like to add that my Camaro had almost identical starting problems before I replaced the fuel pump. More likely than not, that's your answer.
#7
03-30-2010, 04:06 AM
I have a convertible 89 IROC, so I do not know how accessible it would be on the normal style.
However I first had to jack my car up, take off the rear tires, drop the read end, and IIRC, let the exhaust hang down a bit (though I have aftermarket flowmasters). THEN finally, I could unscrew the heat shield for the tank, take the tank out, and replace the fuel pump.
All in all, the work to get at it is harder than replacing it. Maybe 700 dollars is labor cost included... I could easily see that on my particular Camaro.
#8
03-30-2010, 06:57 AM
The fuel pump, and a filter for it, were both in the tank.
I have a convertible 89 IROC, so I do not know how accessible it would be on the normal style.
However I first had to jack my car up, take off the rear tires, drop the read end, and IIRC, let the exhaust hang down a bit (though I have aftermarket flowmasters). THEN finally, I could unscrew the heat shield for the tank, take the tank out, and replace the fuel pump.
All in all, the work to get at it is harder than replacing it. Maybe 700 dollars is labor cost included... I could easily see that on my particular Camaro.
I have a convertible 89 IROC, so I do not know how accessible it would be on the normal style.
However I first had to jack my car up, take off the rear tires, drop the read end, and IIRC, let the exhaust hang down a bit (though I have aftermarket flowmasters). THEN finally, I could unscrew the heat shield for the tank, take the tank out, and replace the fuel pump.
All in all, the work to get at it is harder than replacing it. Maybe 700 dollars is labor cost included... I could easily see that on my particular Camaro.
#9
03-30-2010, 08:40 AM
I have a 96' firebird, I did it by cutting a hole in the trunk floor...
also helped my neighbor do the same in his 96' t/a
took me like an hour total...
its not quite like taking out the back seat i guess but its easier then dropping the tank.
my pump cost $550, but I got the best pump delphi makes...
p.s.- thats exactly what my firebird did before it totally died, fuel pumps are strange things. they'll be great one day and die the next...
also helped my neighbor do the same in his 96' t/a
took me like an hour total...
its not quite like taking out the back seat i guess but its easier then dropping the tank.
my pump cost $550, but I got the best pump delphi makes...
p.s.- thats exactly what my firebird did before it totally died, fuel pumps are strange things. they'll be great one day and die the next...
Last edited by BigCat2010; 03-30-2010 at 08:43 AM.
#10
03-31-2010, 06:13 PM
I have a 96' firebird, I did it by cutting a hole in the trunk floor...
also helped my neighbor do the same in his 96' t/a
took me like an hour total...
its not quite like taking out the back seat i guess but its easier then dropping the tank.
my pump cost $550, but I got the best pump delphi makes...
p.s.- thats exactly what my firebird did before it totally died, fuel pumps are strange things. they'll be great one day and die the next...
also helped my neighbor do the same in his 96' t/a
took me like an hour total...
its not quite like taking out the back seat i guess but its easier then dropping the tank.
my pump cost $550, but I got the best pump delphi makes...
p.s.- thats exactly what my firebird did before it totally died, fuel pumps are strange things. they'll be great one day and die the next...