Today, I decided to jump into my coupe a little after I got off work. Symptoms acted like a blown passenger side timing belt because timing sounded to be off. I pulled the timing belt covers off and looked. Passenger side timing belt is a little loose but not that bad. Belts look to be fairly new as well. Checked the disty cap and rotor. Cap looks like it should be replaced, along with the rotor because of carbon build up on both and the cap seems to be worn pretty good on the contacts. Car sounds like it wants to start but it doesn't want to. I'm thinking it might be a bad fuel pump because when I turn the key to "ON", there's no sound from it at all. I've never really worked on an SPFI car before but shouldn't it cycle just like a MPFI turbo fuel pump? I have a spare I can throw into it so no worries. Do you guys think its a bad fuel pump?

 

Car is an '87 GL coupe, SPFI EA82, FWD 3AT

Connect the green connectors. You should be able to hear the fuel pump cycle when you turn the key on. It will cycle just about every second with the green connectors.

I'm gonna guess but the green connectors are going to be under the dash on this one? If not, they're going to be behind the driver side strut tower correct?

Drivers side strut.

 

GD

Behind strut tower on SPFI Green single pins.

 

Pour some gas down the throttle body, not too much, then throw the boot back on and crank it. Easy test.

Let us not forget the possibility of a bad fuel pump relay as well... DW

Let us not forget the possibility of a bad fuel pump relay as well... DW

 

Agreed.

 

I did a writeup on the fuel pump relay check/replacement a while back.

 

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=30258&highlight=fuel+pump+relay+horn

 

-=Russ=-

Cool! I'll have to try that when I'm not too plowed like I am right now....

how long was it sitting gas can go bad

how long was it sitting gas can go bad

 

guy drove it out here from Oregon a few weeks ago so I don't think bad gas is it. It has a brand new fuel filter on it too so I'm ruling that one out.

Thrown some down the throat yet? It only takes 5 minutes and a flat head screwdriver.

Nope not yet. I went out and plugged the green connectors together. Fuel pump was cycling like it should with them connected. I then disconnected them and turned the car back on. No sound from the fuel pump at all, even after sitting there for a couple minutes with the car on.

 

I'm going to spray some starting fluid down the TB and see what that does...

I would try spraying some starter fluid into the intake to see if that helps get some fire going in the engine.

Have you looked down the TB when the engine is cranking? You should be able to see gas sprayed.

 

Doesn't sound like to me fuel is the problem. Have you checked for sparks at each of the four plugs?

I have yet to check spark but when I pulled the boot off the MAF to put starting fluid in it, there was quite a bit of oil chillin in the ribs of the boot. Also, it sounds like it doesn't have enough compression on one side since the engine cranks over faster then what seems to be normal. I'll be pulling the plugs and doing a compression test to see if whats going on. Car has 256k miles on it and the guy I bought it from said it just died on him one day.

Bump... I gotta get this car running before I freeze to death!

Please don't use starting fluid. Ether detonates really bad and I've shattered a piston using it before. It was in an old chrysler marine inline 6 flathead.... hard to find replacement for and it was done.

 

 

If the fuel pump cycles with the green connectors together, that means that the motor is fine, the relay is fine, and the PCM is fine. When you first turn the key to the on position, the pump will cyle on for a few seconds, then shut off if the engine isn't turning. The PCM tells if the engine is turning by looking for a signal from the distributor's electronics. If the drivers side belt is broken, or the cam pully is spinning on the cam, or the distributor is broken, either shaft, gear, or electronics, the PCM won't get the signal that the engine is turning and shuts off the pump.Every time you turn the key off and then on agian, the pump should cycle. It won't keep running unless the engine is turning.

 

Are you getting fuel pressure at the filter connection?

+1 for pouring gas down the throat, i agree starting fluid is bad stuff unless it is very cold out

Have you checked for spark and done the commpression test yet? If so, what were the results?

Ether (starting fluid) is mostly useful for cold (very cold) starting of large deisel engines. Most of the military equipment we have has a provision for an ether injection system for extremely cold environments.

 

It is VERY potent stuff, and can easily break the relatively thin components in gas engines.

 

GD

I haven't pulled the plugs yet or done a compression test. Weather here has been getting colder so my tools are making my hands freeze very quickly. As for the fuel pump, it doesn't cycle at all when the diagnostic connectors aren't connected, only when they are does it cycle. I'm also going to check my fuel pressure as well here in a couple days since we're supposed to get some better weather coming our way.

how loose was the passenger side belt it's sounding suspicouse to me compression test is in order

I'm all for saying screw it to the technical tests.

 

Take a spare plug and hook it to one of the wires to test for spark. Who cares about compression when you don't have spark? pop the distributor cap off, and stick a screwdiver across the starter soleniod. See if the rotor turns with the engine.

 

If you have spark, dump a bit of gas down the throat. It should fire. If it doesn't, pull one of the hoses off of the fuel filter and see if it has gas there.

 

Quick easy tests for teh win.

It likely has compression - it's just turning fast because it's an auto and has a faster starter.

 

I say start checking ignition parts - probably something simple.

 

GD

ok I'm going to pull the plugs, get new ones with new wires, cap and rotor to see if that helps because they need to be replaced anyways. Timing belts are spot on, I already made sure of that. The oil in the intake boot is still kidna bothering me... bad PCV valve possibly?