Thread: Putt... putt... putt...@!##@%%%%!!!

Frustration has set in. Back story: put $20 of gas in the car last Wednesday night, started the car Thursday morn and ... putt... putt... putt. Until this, the car has been running like a raped ape. I do all my own repairs, upgrades and maintenance and this has got me seeing cross-eyed.

'91 SE-R, cai, solid mounts, pulleys, progress suspension. I've checked and replaced plugs(they were completed covered in black carbon looking crap), replaced gas filter(the old gas was absolutely filthy), ran seafoam through the brake booster intake(that white smoke was amazing). Checked the cai filter, all maf wires connected and grounded. This happened at once, no general "stuff just getting worse" crap. There is no oil on the plugs or inside leaking.

If I can diagnose it, I can fix it. But, right now, I'm tired of chasing "maybe's". Once before, the car ran like this. One of the connecting sleeves on the cai had slipped off(have no idea how that happened).

Just looking for reasoned and hopefully experienced help and diagnosis. Maybe, just maybe, it's just bad gas... but that would be too easy, despite the coincidence.

Thanks for your help and advice.

Mark

Have u ever gotten gas from there before

If the fuel filter was dirty, then the intank filter pick up is probably dirty and the pump might be worn out, try this, cycle the key on and off a bunch of times to build up fuel pressure and then try and start it, like just turn key on for 10 seconds, then off, then back on, and then after like 5 times of doing this, attempt to start the car. If it starts but then starts to putter and die, more than likely it's fuel pump.

David, I don't understand. The car starts on the first try already. Hmmm, intank filter... time to peruse the fsm. I can at least check it out. Would this explain the black plugs though?

Thanks for the input.

We buy our gas there all the time. Only thing I can think of is something got into the tank or was deliberately introduced to the fuel.

Thanks.

Mark

Just check the pressure off at the rail, tape the gauge to windshield and if its only under load, go out for a drive and make sure the pressure doesn't drop off.

Check your voltage at the pump, make sure you don't all of a sudden have resistance thats dropping the supply voltage.


The plugs being carbon fouled sounds like too much fuel though...

But check your basics, fuel/air/spark, you've got an issue somewhere in there. Weak coil maybe? I've never had one go bad but its a possibility

I know this sound too simple but once when I as on a weekend road trip the same thing happened.

Car ran great first part of the trip. Stopped and filled the tank up, (about 8 gallons) went inside for some snacks and when I started to go back on the interstate the car ran so badly I had trouble merging with traffic.

Filled it with premium when it was down to half a tank and it ran better. Once I used up all the "bad gas" the car ran great again.

Called that station after the trip and they claimed there was no problem and they had no complaints. I've never had anything like that happen again.

Just filled up with premium. We'll see what happens.

Whats your timing at?

Good question. Unfortunately, with the ur pulleys, it's hard to read the marks accurately. And, that's providing I could get it in timing mode... pita. But, would the timing go off all of a sudden like that?

Just took a drive on the expressway, car's still acting like crap. I'll get to the fuel pump and in tank filter this weekend. Once the engine cools down, I'm going to pull the cai, reinstall the stock air filter and then recheck the maf... well, after I go to Sears and pick up a new volt/amp meter(kids destroyed the last one, which I just found out:mad.

It definitely feels like an air/fuel problem.

Thanks again,
Mark