Renner

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Nbodyraser: heres my .02........when ya turn the key forward just before the engine cranks...do ya heer the pump turn on???????ill bet ya dont ..just drop the tank spend under a hundred and put a new pump.in tank filter and out board filter ....voila! had 3 cars with identical symptoms.all the same fix....the pump will fail b4 all that other shit.....ya guys really make all this sound really complicated....but its just a car. tongue.gif<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Uh, the pump doesn't always run with the key in the on position. Like I said, DEPENDING ON THE CAR, the ECU is very specific as to when it actually tells the pump to run. Most cars, the pump will only run when you cycle the key for a second. Some cars have fuel pressure sensors, so that the pump will not even run for a second with the key on if the fuel pressure is at an acceptable level. On my car, the ECU uses SIX different inputs to determine pump control. So, if I turn the key to the on position, and I can't hear the fuel pump, that must automatically mean that the pump is bad right? Nope. Let's see, crank angle sensor, air flow meter, engine temp. sensor, ignition switch, throttle sensor, and battery voltage signal. Yep that's six, if the ECU decides that it doesn't like the info that it is getting from any one of these, it may decide not to power the pump. Add to that the fuel pump control relay, the ECU itself being bad, and the possibility of corroded connectors on the pump, and you have increased this to NINE possibilities that could be the problem instead of the pump. My old car, a Mitsu Eclipse, died while driving one day. It had no spark, fuel pressure, or injector signal. A guy that I worked with at the time who was basically just a parts swapper, told me to just go and replace the distributor, since the ECU gets it’s reference signal from the optical disk inside of it. And since in his opinion, that was a poor design, it must fail easily. Well that was a ~$500 dealer only part. Well after testing about everything that I could, I determined that it was in fact the ECU itself. A $125 part from a used car. Plugged it in and the car never had a problem since. Kind of glad I didn’t just throw away $500 on a non-returnable (electrical) part from a dealer. When you are diagnosing a problem with a car, you need to follow some steps to eliminate factors. Could you imagine telling a customer that you replaced EIGHT parts already, and that there car was still not running? Just throwing parts at it till it runs is not a very good way to do things. [ 20 February 2002: Message edited by: Renner ]

It does sound like a fuel problem. But first check for spark. This is usually the easiest thing to do. If you do not have a fuel pressure gauge, or if the connection is difficult to get to, then there is an easier way to check if it is your fuel pump if the pump itself is easy to get to. You can use an extra 12 volt battery to power just the pump. Just disconnect the factory harness plug on the actual pump and connect the + and – wires from the battery. Just be careful not to spark, your tank should be sealed, buy you never know. You should be able to hear it run. If you don’t hear anything it should be pretty obvious that the pump is dead if you make sure that you are on the correct terminals. Most people can come up with an extra car battery easier then a fuel pressure gauge. Just make sure that you have the correct wires on the correct terminals or the pump will run backwards. If the pump does not seem to be running it could just be bound up. Sometimes this can happen to them as they wear out. You can switch the + and – wires from the extra battery that is powering the pump a few times, this usually helps temporarily free it up so you can drive it to a shop. Just don’t let it run backwards for any amount of time. This is just a way to try and free it up. If the pump spins right away with the extra battery on it with no problems, try and start your car like normal with the pump running off of the battery, if it starts and runs then you know that it was a problem with the power supply to the pump, not the pump itself. So then you can spend your time looking for a faulty fuel pump relay instead of wasting the money on a new pump that you didn’t need. Certain EFI systems are very specific on when the pumps actually run, the ECU uses a number of different inputs to tell the pumps to run depending on the car. It is usually something simple like a relay that goes bad, but maybe a sensor of some type could have gone bad. If the pump itself works, start tracing your wiring diagrams to see where the signal is coming from. If the car still doesn't start with the pump running, and you do have spark, then you will need to check to see if your injectors are firing with a set of noid lights. [ 19 February 2002: Message edited by: Renner ]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by MR. EARS: And don't you ever forget it tongue.gif<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I guess breaking shit is the best way you learn how to fix it right?

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by MR. EARS: Damn Brett I think you about covered it all I wish I knew half the stuff you do smile.gif<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> You know plenty of stuff that I don't, you know how to break shit good!

How many miles are on your car? And how has it been treated over its life? Is this just an intermittent problem? Did this just suddenly start occurring one day, or has it been gradually getting worse over time? Is it better or worse when cold or hot, or does it act the same all the time? Does the car idle normally, or does it idle high, or surge from low to high? If you post a few more specifics about the problem, we might be able to help you diagnose it. You may have already done all these, but here are some suggestions as to where I would start: First I would check for a boost and/or vacuum leak. Check all of your hose clamps on your intake and boost tubes and make sure that they are tight and that the rubber tubes are not cracked. This is pretty easy to do yourself so it won’t cost you any money. If you have a boost hose that is just slightly loose the car will drive fine at near idle speeds but will not run right as soon as you build boost pressure because it could be blowing buy, throwing off your air/fuel ratio. Next I would check your fuel pressure as 1bad66duece suggested. It could be low due to a dying fuel pump or something simple like a clogged fuel filter, when was the last time you replaced your fuel filter? Also, has the car had all of its other regular maintenance stuff performed? What kind of condition are your air filter and spark plugs in? A severely clogged air filter or excessively worn plugs could make the car misbehave. What kind of gas are you putting in the car? If you are using the cheapest 86 octane you can find, the car will probably have some detonation on boost, making it run like crap. There are a number of other things that it could be as well, loose harness connector somewhere, or even partially clogged injectors that can’t move enough volume under boost enrichment. Your fuel pressure regulator could be dying as well; the fuel pressure test will help identify this. Unless you know that something was actually ingested into your turbo, chances of it actually being the problem are slim if it isn’t smoking like crazy. I don’t know how mechanically inclined that you are, but if you want somebody to check it out I might be able to lend you a hand. I am doing some work for friends on the side right now, so if you want some help my rates are pretty reasonable. smile.gif Send me an e-mail at burton.122@osu.edu Or if you get an absurd dealer estimate to fix your car, post the details on here. There are a lot of knowledgeable car folk on this board that could help keep you from getting screwed. Hope this helps.

Well, if you remove too much of the bump stop, then you could cause more damage to things. It is there to provide a cushion for when the suspension does bottom out. Depending on how much you are lowering your car, you probably won't have to worry about it. You are shortening your suspension travel but you are also stiffening it with the aftermarket springs and struts. If you do manage to hit something hard enough to bottom out your suspension, then you want that bump stop there. I would leave it alone for now, if you find yourself riding on it all them time, then you can always trim it up later. With the car in the air and the suspension unloaded I am sure you can get to it without having to completely disassemble the strut assembly again.