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Engine suddenly running lean - Found cause.

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Old Jun 29, 2017 | 10:39 PM
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Default Engine suddenly running lean - Found cause.

Wilson Luck strikes again,
So, just prior to taking our vacation to Hawaii, I was getting in some last minute driving and tuning (HP Tuners, 3 bar speed density) and all was getting good. But as I turned back towards home, I saw the wide band reading lean at RPM levels were it had just been perfect. Since it was just light cruising at 35 – 40mph, I decided to just wait till I got it back to my shop before trying to analyze the issue.

I pull up, leaving the engine running and pop the hood, expecting to find a vacuum leak etc. But right off the bat, I see the fuel pressure gauge that’s on my Aeromotive boost referenced fuel pressure regulator and it says ‘38psi’. Ugh… the list of possible enemies runs thru my mind quickly. “Fuel Pump?”, “Fuse to fuel pump?”, “Clogged filter?” , “Bad FPR?”, “Bad fuel line from the pumps to the ‘hat’?”. So I get out the allen wrench and wrench to loosen the lock nut on the adjustment. Hmm…. No matter how tight or loose I set the set screw, the pressure on the gauge isn’t moving (*other than at one extreme, it does go less than 38psi). So I pull apart the FPR and examine it. Hmmm.. looks good. Diaphragm , spring, check ball and orifice all in good shape. I put it back together. So I check each of the two pumps individually. Both are humming away and the fuses for each are intact.

The filter seemed like the likely next destination. It’s one of those 5” aluminum canister filters from Jegs with the replaceable cartridges. It was time to get ready for the airport so I just ordered a cartridge (the one for gas and alcohol) and decided to wait till I got back to address that.

Fast forward to today. We arrived late last night from Maui (God that place is gorgeous) and I was anxious to get started on the car this morning. I get the cartridge filter and head over to the shop. I Jack up the car, putting jackstands on the axle, the open up the filter canister and swap the filters. I put it back together, then go up to jumper the fuel pump to see if the pressure was fixed. WTH? Battery seems to be dead. It’s been sitting here for a week, nothing on to drain it. Phock… I pull it out, take it to the house where my charger is and charge it up for a few hours. *seems* to be fully charged, according to the LED reading on the charger but when I lug it over to the car, hook it up, … still.farking.dead. Grrr…

So I pull it out (*again!*) and take this 1 yr old Advance Auto 3yr warranty battery to the AA where I purchased it. They test it and find it’s got an internal short or somesuch, and give me a new one. I go back to the shop, hook it up and run the test again. STILL 38PSI…

So at this point, I’m telling myself, it’s got to be either a hose from one/both of the pumps has either come off a nipple somewhere or it/they have split. I pull back the carpet in the hatch, take out the 12 5/16” sheet metal screws from the trapdoor I put in a month or two ago and take out the pump assembly. Sho ‘nuff… damn line from the “Y” going to the hat has split about 240 degrees around the perimeter of the clamp. I close up everything, drive to the auto parts store with the hose and get some new ‘flex fuel’ tubing. I don’t know if this will hold up any better than the line that I just pulled out but I don’t have a timely other option.

I get back to the car ,assemble the clamps on the hose, affix it to the pump “Y” and the ‘hat’ and tighten it sufficiently (hoping not to distress/cut the line like the last time) and put everything back in place. With a small prayer, I hook up the test wire the pump port and viola! I got the 58psi again. I took the car for several drives and all is well again.

Dave
’96 Turbocharged Z28, 5.3, PT7675 Turbo, TH350 w/Transbrake, 3.55 Gears
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Old Jun 30, 2017 | 09:30 AM
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i think there you need to find some fuel submersible hose for that application
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Old Jun 30, 2017 | 06:44 PM
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Fuel rated hose is only rated on the inside and the pressure (carb or efi). Submersible hose is rated outside and inside. If u put non submersible fuel hose ina. Fuel tank where is submerged it will swell and fall apart quickly.
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Old Jun 30, 2017 | 10:22 PM
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Aha.. something from Racetronix then?

Originally Posted by truckdoug
i think there you need to find some fuel submersible hose for that application
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Old Jul 1, 2017 | 09:41 PM
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You need submersible J30R10 fuel injection hose. You are probably using J30R9 which is high pressure fuel line while what you need is J30R10 because it is submersible. In larger cities you can get this locally, but it is expensive and typically sold by the pre-packaged foot.

The soda straw line racetronix sells works well too and is less money, but needs to be shipped. It is also one time use.
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Old Jul 2, 2017 | 11:33 PM
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I found some submersible gas/alcohol fuel line at Jegs. I wanted to get the 'soda straw' (good analogy) from Racetronix but how does one get those type of hoses clamped on to the fittings? As you mentioned, I can readily see it must be a one time use since I tried to get the stock one off the stock pump a year or so ago. That thing was on there...
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Old Jul 3, 2017 | 09:43 AM
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Soda straw stuff is a tight fit and u need to be careful with clamps. You can't cut it to length so u need to know the length you need and hope someone sells it at that length as the ends have smooth areas for clamps.
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