It is not running real hot, just hotter than usual. It seemed to be draining something when I got back, but I checked it, and it is just water, which I had the heat on to make sure it did not get too hot. Seems like when I run the a/c or the heat, that it leaks fluid, just condensation. It did not smell/taste like coolant, just water. If I do cut from the top to get to the fuel pump, I am going to try and make an access panel so I can always just pull out the carpeting and unscrew some bolts and get to the fuel tank.

 

Did you pull your O2 sensor and try it to see if your cat is clogged? Had a guy in a V6 the other day that had this problem... Took him forever to get up to speed.. Unplugged the O2 so it could breath a little and it definitely ran better... So then just cut the cat out and replaced it..

I really doubt that it's your pump.. they either work or don't work...

 

That's not always true. In fact, my pump would consistently run between 20-30 psi while it was dying. It wasn't until I replaced that my fuel pressure went back to normal.

 

Mine makes horrible, horrible noises but it's running just fine... It ran fine in the 6 and has ran fine since the swap...

I know a middle aged guy who owns a mechanical/body shop and they said that most of the time they just die.. I'm sure there are cases, such as yours and some others, that it just craps out slowly but I don't think this happens often...

So why wouldn't you just pull your O2 and check the things that are more common and that are cheap, easy tests instead of put money and time into cutting an access and buying/installing a new pump to just take a stab at it?

 

That is exactly what I am going to do tomorrow. I can't even look at her right now I am so pissed. Luckily, I have another car to drive to work tomorrow, then I am going to try that. I am also going to go ahead and do a new fuel filter. That is a $10 and 20 minute job that I can do in my parking spot. After that, then fuel pump it is.
Unless someone around here has an auto tap that will work on my OBD1...

 

No one's telling him to swap out his pump. First diagnose then replace. Its as easy as getting a fuel pressure gauge hooked up. A clogged cat is also possible, although very odd at that mileage. You can always drop the ypipe and see how it runs.

 

diagnosis will go tomorrow. Can't stand to even look at her right now, so I am just going to wait on it till tomorrow.

 

Sounds good.. Goodluck buddy... Having a problematic car is always a downer...

 

im getting ready to pull my pump (14 years old). ive measured out the access cover area and just need to get the pump from napa.

my car is dying on idle once every drive cycle, and hesitating. its also running a little hotter than usual. hard hot starts.

the check valve is bad on my pump for sure.

pushed opened the schrader valve, and one quick spray of gas folowed by dribbling with the key on= no pressure.

 

checked on it the other day... it turned out to be that the cat converter was almost totally clogged up. I am going to check a junk yard for one, but in the mean time I am going to drill holes in it. Just by changing the fuel filter, and hitting the cat with a hammer, it started running better. still has lost a lot of power, but I am taking it to the hobby shop tomorrow and am going to do some things to it.

 

Good deal man.. Glad you got it fixed without dumping too much cash in it.. I knew it was a cat.. haha.. To all the haters and non believers, told you so..

Just weld in a replacement pipe and don't spend the money on another cat.. haha..

 

screw cats, don't replace it...gut em out! louder, faster...and somebody please cry to me about emissions because I don't give a $&#@!

but Dan, for your Cats to clog up with that kind of mileage, you must be, or have been running really rich for some time...I would check those plugs since they are new and look for signs of running rich. If they are dark on the tips you are rich and we need to figure out what's causing that. Have you run a fuel pressure test yet? It sounds like it's not fixed yet, I would say the Cat's are from the result of running rich and we need to figure it out. I would bet on injectors or it could have been your filter. You would know if your pump was good, you can hear it kick on when you turn your key to the on position. If you are coming up on 60,000 miles you will also want to change your water pump soon. That is one thing you don't want to wait to break to fix. GM decided it would be a good idea to put your opti right under the water pump so when it goes, so does your opti. I can help you with your water pump when I get back if you want to wait, if not, it's not too bad. Might take half a day at the hobby shop. Might as well do it since you are flushing your coolant anyways.

As for running a little hot...check and see if your heater core is leaking. remove your glove compartment on the passenger side (just open it, push in on the ends and it should pop out). You will have to remove a black cover on the heater core and see if it's leaking. Has your car smelled like coolant at all lately? Whoever put the wrong coolant in there could have caused a blockage and it's not flowing well. I hope you get everything worked out man and don't stress it. I don't mind when things break cuz it gives me an excuse to get out there and turn some wrenches.

I don't think it's your opti, your car is not having the symptoms of it from the sounds of it. When your opti is going out...your car will bog and feel like it's trying to shut off while you are driving on the highway. Then when it goes you wont be able to go faster than 25 mph. You'll know, it sucks.

 

Wasnt there an extension on warranty for the cats? you might want to look into that and maybe same some $$? as far as junkyards, they are not allowed to sell used cats. Might want to check eay if you want cats back in it. Good luck to you.

 

I am just going to bore out the cats, or put a straight pipe there. I have the day off work, so off to the hobby shop I go. But first the *** holes who put the wrong coolant in are giving me a new radiator... they just don't know it yet...

 

Ok, I figured it out. It was the cats, and I checked the fuel pressure, it is good. We are still going to do a few other things, and I will explain that in a moment. For all of you that were sure it was the cats, you win. They weren't just clogged, they were FUCKED. That is right, they were MELTED. We were doing the "broomstick mod", only using a pry bar. We were slamming the hell out of it with the pry bar, and ARC00TA was reaching in there and taking it out. When we pulled out the first compartment (closest to the rear end) I was getting worried because they looked nice and clean, so I was afraid it was the fuel or something else even worse. Then when we got to the other one, it was REALLY clogged, then we found that some fuel had probably gotten in there and they had caught fire. Check out the pictures. I left some of the parts on the workbench at the hobby shop, and it elicited some suprised people. We got some funny looks shoving the hose of a shop vac in the empty shell of my cat. NICE and LOUD now. End state, it is running a LOT better, but I am planning on getting together with SS Bowtie this weekend and doing some more things to it. New water pump is in the works. It is running fine, but there is a tiny hairline crack in it. (I will post some pictures of that as soon as I can figure out how to load them from my ancient camera) Now I need to sea foam it to clean out some of that stuff. Another full day at the hobby shop, which is cool. Decided to do some other things to it that day too... details to come...