SouthernRex

My 1998 TransAm WS6 A4 (~80,000 miles) suddenly stalled out after a hard right turn. I threw it in to Neutral instinctively and pushed the key to start it, but all I heard was cranking cranking cranking. So I threw on my Hazard Lights, and pulled off in to the grass. For about 10 minutes the car would not start. Just crank-crank-crank-crank-crank. Last year I had my Fuel Pump replaced, along with the Fuel Filter, and one of the lines. It ran perfect until this moment, there hasn't been any kind of sound coming from the fuel pump, or low pressure on start. It's always instant start-up since the work was done.

Anyways, after 10 minutes, suddenly the car came back to life and started right up. I got it to the house, and put my fuel pressure gauge on it. On prime it was about 60 PSI, and it slowly dropped to about 40 PSI (over like a minute or two.) And then it slowly dropped to about 33PSI (after another minute or so) and then just kind of hung out there. On prime again, it instantly shot back up to 60 PSI. I started the car, and it idled stably (I can't remember where, but I think 55 or 60 PSI) and on repeated throttle pulls, it remained very steady in the same range give or take 2-3PSI. After shutting the car off, it behaved the same as prime. 60 PSI - 2-3 minutes - 40 PSI - 2-3 minutes - 33 PSI (didn't see it move from there.) I'm not sure if that's normal behavior or not, but I also wasn't able to get a reading while it wouldn't crank (I don't like carrying a tool covered in fuel inside the car.) Now I'm scared to drive my car (it's my only vehicle at the moment) and I am broke as ****. Ugh. Any expert advice from you guys?

Oh, also, I'm about a quarter tank of fuel.

bammax

A GM gas gauge is the least accurate thing you can find. At a quarter tank on the gauge and a hard turn you may have starved the pickup and sucked air. That would take a bit of cranking to pump through the air and refill the line with gas. You can also overheat the pump by running the tank low since GM uses the fuel to cool the pump.

You could have also had a wiring harness shift that tripped a breaker. That would take a few minutes to reset and work again.

SouthernRex

Thanks, brother. I'm gonna fill it as much as possible. I try to keep the tank full, seeing as how expensive that fuel pump was to replace (I had my mechanic do it, I didn't want to do the access door method), but I'm on really hard times financially... and my driving record is making it outrageous to insure my little manual Ford Focus 4-cylinder so I have to sell that or find a better insurance company... which leaves me driving my 93 Octane V8 that we all love. (I know it's better on gas than most people expect, but it's night and day compared to how awesome the Focus is when I shift nice and low.)

The wire harness makes a lot of sense, because then obviously the pump is doing nothing. Is that something I can better secure? I mean don't people take these cars to race tracks? lol

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

I think some combination of the above (fuel starvation and temporary pump overheating) is probably much more likely than a wiring harness related issue. But, based on the readings above, it sounds like the pump wasn't permanently damaged in the event (at least not as of yet, but who knows what sort of effect this might have on the overall lifespan of the pump).

Honestly, the access door method is the only way I'd ever consider doing a pump swap on one of these cars, especially without a lift. And considering that the replacement pumps rarely last as long as the assembly line originals, once you've replaced it the first time you'll probably be going back in there sooner than last time. I know there's a ton of debate on whether or not this is a "hack" method, but to me it's no different than drilling access holes in the inner door structure to easily swap out power window motors. Both are just modifications to simplify current and future repairs, and neither will be visible nor compromise rigidity or durability of the adjacent areas. I would do either of these modifications even to my very low mile show car, but that's just my opinion.

SouthernRex

My concern isn't so much hacking the car, as it is causing an explosion while sawing the rectangle, or fuel fumes getting in to my cabin while driving, or if God-forbid I'm in a serious car accident, that fuel would be spraying all over the inside of the car on fire while my family and I are still trying to get out. I'm not sure if that's very realistic...

Y2kHawk05

iTrader: (1)

Please do not feel like any lone stranger! I'm dealing with the same thing except I get a "Crank but no start" scenario. As I started to read your post I thought maybe the crank position sensor as I had that go out and wow.. run for a few minutes and then wait for 30. run for a few minutes and wait again and again and again... It was hell getting home that day..threw P0335 code. Got that fixed. Now, my situation is I freaking grounded my starter wire against my header and now I am chasing a problem I created all on my own.. I have checked all fuses, relays and the wiring harness, all check good... When I turn my car on.,, I no longer hear the fuel pump..I'm at a point of going crazy... before I realized I had the problem I started the car a couple times... AFR was 25, so I did not run it long,.... Could that have destroyed the fuel pump?

My friend hacked / cut his car and while it's a lot easier get to the fuel pump that's just not something I can do to my car.. Same reasons as yours, plus my car is a Firehawk.. which a do still have all the oem parts.

Please keep updating as you find your solution.. thanks....

MY_2K_Z

iTrader: (1)

Lol you aren't going to cause an explosion cutting the trap door. Your fuel tank is sealed and not going to melt from from a little cutting above it. As far as what the problem is hard to diagnose a lot of stuff via the internet so hopefully someone else has had this issue and can give you some insight.

Y2kHawk05

iTrader: (1)

After considering this explanation and a lot of thinking - more than likely I fried my fuel pump... Over worked while trying to compensate for the high AFR, plus igniting the system with the grounded wire..

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

As mentioned above, unless there is a leak at the top of the tank, fumes/fuel won't be an issue. And if there were a vapor leak, you should be getting an EVAP code of some kind, so barring that I don't see anything to worry about during the cutting process. As far as any safety issues during future operation, there's no enhanced risk if you secure a new plate over the hole when complete. A few sheet metal screws and some rope caulk or silicone sealant (or even HVAC tape) and the panel will be serviceable without allowing any exhaust fumes into the cabin (regardless of where your exhaust pipes exit, even if you have dumps).

If you had an ultra-rare '97 LT4 Firehawk with delivery mileage then there might be cause for concern here, but the vast majority of these 4th gens are low end collector cars at absolute best. If you're already well into the 5-digit mileage range, even with a Firehawk, such intense scrutiny as disassembling the interior to check for panel modifications isn't going to be part of any typical pre-purchase inspection, so nobody but you would ever know it had been done.

I do realize that cutting and drilling holes seems counter-intuitive on a car that one considers to be special, it feels like a very permanent thing to do. But, unlike some other modifications which are highly visible and/or impact the way the car drives and behaves, the only real downside here is psychological.

RevGTO

iTrader: (12)

I gave into this psychological factor when it came time to change my fuel pump. I didn't want to molest the car. But after doing it, even with a lift, my conclusion is "never again." When my current pump goes south (currently at 65k and performing well), it will be the trap door method hands down.

98CayenneT/A

Trap door is the only way. Clean, quick and smooth.

Majestic9C1

iTrader: (19)

you can also get one of these to make it look somewhat professional and less redneckified



https://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/stor...rsistYmm=false

twins09

Not sure if this helps but I had a similar problem with 02 ws6.....it would crank but not start... it would happen intermittently....turns out it was a relay related to the alarm......he put a new relay in and it's been good

bad_408_vert

iTrader: (6)

Any updates on this?

I had this happen to me last night for first time.
car had over 1/4 tank of gas.

Car stalled on hard right turn , lost power. Cranked right up

SouthernRex

The problem never came back. But I was also more adamant about filling the fuel tank up. I honestly just think it was starving for fuel for a second like RPM WS6 was saying. Once I got it filled up it was okay.

bad_408_vert

iTrader: (6)

Ok thanks . Hoping same for me.
my battery holder is broke , and going to check terminals.
battery is less than year old.

bad_408_vert

iTrader: (6)

Just to share what I found wrong in my car.
the battery cables were loose, not sure if the place that changed my steering wheel the same day didn’t tighten them enough. When I tried to tighten , the positive terminal bolt threads were non existent. Put new ones on and haven’t had issue yet.

00pooterSS

iTrader: (40)

I'm a tech and have been for 20+ years.

Anytime we hear a car stalled while running and then wouldn't start till it sat for a while we take a look at the crank sensor and very frequently it ends up being the culprit. They quit when they get hot and work again after cooling. If you want to test this let it run till it quits then spray the senor area down with a water hose and try to start it. If it fires right up put a sensor in it.

Or just do it anyway cause they're easy to change and do fail. So personally I would like to have a young one in there.

Don't get too caught up in that you were turning right, that may or may not have anything to do with it. If it was fuel that caused it, it should have started back up quickly once the fuel leveled out BESIDES that's not really how it works on late model cars including F bodies. Back in the day there was just a pickup hanging in the tank and the fuel could run away. Your car has tank baffles and a fuel pump bucket that the pump keeps the bucket full and uses the fuel from the bucket so that this exact thing doesn't happen (make a turn or accelerate and fuel run away from the pump)

Edit: just saw it's been fine... If you were severely low on fuel it may have been the fuel... You won't normally see that though on these late model designs. At this point who knows. Check the grounds on the back of the drivers head, make sure the battery ITSELF is tight and the electrical connections. Seen several where the battery moved and shorted on the hood or whatever.