Hey all.Hope you can help me out. I just replace the gas tank on my wife’s buick. The old one had rusted to the point it was leaking. While I had tank off I also replaced fuel pump as well as fuel filter. New fuel filler hose and vent hose. All parts are quality OEM replacement parts. Got everything back together and followed instructions on priming fuel pump ( turn ignition switch to on 2 seconds, turn off for 10sec and repeat. After 20 tries the car still will not run. It will run for 5 seconds then die. It is getting fuel to the injector rails but seems not very much pressure. Could there still be air in the fuel line and if so, how to bleed? Or maybe I’m overlooking something else? I got the battery on charger so I will have more cranking time.
I may add the car was running great before. Just the gas tank leak.
1999 Buick Lesabre
3.8 v6
102,000 miles
Thanks in advance for your replies.
You will have to get a fuel pressure gauge on the fuel rail to see what the exact pressure is and if the pressure is holding when the engine is running those 5 seconds. Can you hear the pump running when you cycle the key ‘on’? Does it start again while the engine is being cranked? Does it continue running when the engine catches for the 5 seconds? When you cycle the key ‘on’ and ‘off’ does the pressure hold?How much gasoline is in the tank right now?
Get back to us with additional information or what solved this problem.
Connect a fuel pressure gauge to the fitting on the fuel rail: http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBroker?ForwardPage=az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/15/e7/82/0900823d8015e782.jsp Bleed the fuel pressure tester bleed line, to bleed the air out of the fuel line.
You can use Starting Fluid to keep the engine running until the air runs through the fuel injectors. It could take 3 or 4 minuets.
Thanks Researcher and Hellokit for info. I will get a pressure gauge this evening. The car is setting on level ground and I put 4 1/2 gallons in tank. You can hear oump run when you turn key to on. I may clarify that the engine will start and IDLE for 5 sec. When you depress the gas pedal it will die immediately but will start back up. Good idea on starting fluid. I will post back on results.
Thanks again.
Here’s an UPDATE. I was only getting 7 lbs pressure on the fuel pressure gauge. I checked vaccum to regulator, checked hoses for leaks, crimped or blocked lines, etc. Finally took it to my trusted mechanic and he immediately suspected a faulty fuel pump. The brand new " out of the box" fuel pump that I installed. Sure enough, he put another one on ( new ) and car runs great again. He said anytime you buy a fuel pump, its like a crap shoot whether its going to work or not. He told me he put four different ones on a car one time before he had one that worked. I have 35+ years experience of working on my own cars and never had a part fail out of the box. I guess that’s why I never suspected the new fuel pump being the problem. Hope this helps someone who may be experiencing a similar problem. Anyway, the car runs great again, the Mrs. is happy, life is good once again.
Thanks,
stkcgerandy