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engine surging 3800 series 3 STUMPED


brycefishersprix
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Well i took a quick peeksee at my regulator and i couldnt locate it. On the other hand. It was dark out and i only took 15 seconds to spy on it but i looked along the rail and only saw electrical.. ill look again tomorrow. Lol i am praying this is my cause of concern!

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Ok so i checked today in the morning, and its not on the front side like the photo. I believe i located it near the rear, on the d aide under a bracket of some sort. I also just noticed the engine in that pix is a little different. In minor aspects like the antifreeze jug isnt on the pside next to the strut. Possibly a diff gen 3800?

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I do apologize!

 

I completely overlooked the fact that you have a Series 3 3800. You won't find a fuel pressure regulator under the hood like a Series 2. The fuel pressure regulator on your car is actually built into the fuel pump.

 

You're going to need to get a fuel pressure gauge and see what you're reading for pressure. On top of that, you need to see if that pressure bleeds off after the car is shut down.

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Its fine, i thought i had lost my marbles haha! Luckily my father in law works with me here in the ahop and i can borrow his for ahop night tonight. Any idea whats normal for pressure and if bleed off is bad? I am assuming so

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okay so i am in the shop currently, started the pressure test at 6:05 and its currently 7:01 pm i started my car and verified running pressure @ 61psi when normal op is 62 so im sure thats normal. BUT i shut it down at 6:10 and pressure dropped immediatly to 58, and since then has seeped down to 34psi, i dont know if this is the culprit because our mitchell1 program doesnt say how much is a leak, so im not really hoping its the pressure regulator but at the same time im tired of dealing with lack of power, i mean i barely won a race against a durango filled with 5 people, although i had 3 including me but still, those things are slow my 1500 silverado walked on those and that thing was slow too.

 

anywho is this much leakdown in a short period bad? i could imagine in few hours time pressure would leak to 0 or however much the regulator is letting out. any help? the price of an ac delco pump is making me sick :extrapuke: 410.99 before taxes!

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The pressure should hold for a few hours at least. I'm thinking your fuel pump might be getting weak. Pressure isn't always the the answer, fuel VOLUME matters just as much. I've seen pumps that can still provide adequate pressure but won't flow worth a damn.

 

Looks like you're looking at a new fuel pump and filter my friend.

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okay so i am in the shop currently, started the pressure test at 6:05 and its currently 7:01 pm i started my car and verified running pressure @ 61psi when normal op is 62 so im sure thats normal. BUT i shut it down at 6:10 and pressure dropped immediatly to 58, and since then has seeped down to 34psi, i dont know if this is the culprit because our mitchell1 program doesnt say how much is a leak, so im not really hoping its the pressure regulator but at the same time im tired of dealing with lack of power, i mean i barely won a race against a durango filled with 5 people, although i had 3 including me but still, those things are slow my 1500 silverado walked on those and that thing was slow too.

 

anywho is this much leakdown in a short period bad? i could imagine in few hours time pressure would leak to 0 or however much the regulator is letting out. any help? the price of an ac delco pump is making me sick :extrapuke: 410.99 before taxes!

 

 

rok auto $221 AC delco fuel pump

 

an injector is under $30.

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Well ill look into that rok auto acdelco pump. Any knowledge on their waranty? Im not excited to do it. But i sure as hell aint spending 200+ On labor. And the clicking noise i hear in my tank when it gets low furtber confinces me my pump is the main culprit. I will be doing plugs and wires next week and probably my pump as well. We will see lol i might be too lazy.::)

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I never pay attention to the warranty, all it is is a expensive piece of paper to me.

 

you should never drive your car with less than a 1/4 tank though, I should throw that out there.

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All 00-03 Impala's had an access panel in the trunk! Swapped a new sending unit on my pump in ~30 mins. Then GM decided that the same generation Impalas (04&05) shouldn't have them anymore??? Must have decided it was just too easy or made too much sense.

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Since when does a W body have an access panel for the fuel pump?

 

According to Mitchell: Step 1 Remove fuel tank

 

Maybe if it was a Seville or Bonneville.

 

I'm willing to be all 97+ GPs had the access panel. I know my '01 did. I personally can't speak for 97-2000.

 

Here is for '04: http://www.ehow.com/how_6756778_2004-prix_-fuel-pump-removal.html

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Since when does a W body have an access panel for the fuel pump?

 

According to Mitchell: Step 1 Remove fuel tank

 

Maybe if it was a Seville or Bonneville.

All second and third gens from what I remember

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Haha stupid GM i like their cars... MOST of the time but why remove an access panel. Oh yeah because that means customers can work on their own car! And that is outrageous! On a side note i will check to see if theres one there in my trunk. Even though mitchell1 begs to differ

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  • 3 weeks later...

well You guys remember that popping noise i mentioned before coming from my tank when its low? its linked to my problem i believe

 

i cant link the TSB

 

but its my fuel pump ingesting air causing cavitation,

 

the tsb reference number is 05-06-04-001A

 

it doesnt list a cause for the condition, but the only listed correction is to replace the fuel pump,

im pretty positive that air in my fuel pump/lines would cause my car to lack fuel at certain times, and also, my car hasnt surged or made popping noises in about a month and a half, which is odd. i still plan on replacing the pump in the summer when its not 14 degrees out like today.

 

just thought id add a little info to this issue

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  • 1 month later...
  • 5 weeks later...

I hear a fluttering noise when it starts and when i revv it like it spits as its dropping rpm. But im selling the pos cause now all the headlights are dim, and they all come on when you hit the fog lights.

And now the horn doesnt work. Instead the horn flashes the fog lights and parking lights dimmly. Weird right? I found a decent tahoe for sale to replace this hunk of junk. Just need to sell it

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I would just keep going with diagnosing it. I was hanging by a thread for about a year and about to give up when I fixed mine.

 

sounds like electrical issues

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