Project 99 GSX AKA "MN3Y PIT"

[JustinG]

Ordered 245/40/17, Hankook Ventus V12 evo K110.... That is all

[ScottyB]

i'd like to hear how you like 'em once the release compound wears off.

[JustinG]

I love Tire Rack, Ordered the tires at 8:30 PM on Wednesday. They were on my door step by 3PM today. Going to get them mounted/balanced tomorrow. Then I just gotta renew my registration, I had to let it run out because after losing my job it was not a priority to renew on a car I drive maybe every other weekend. BUT NOW IM EMPLOYED BITCHES!!!! :thumbup:

[JustinG]

So quoted from my for sale thread....

Hmmmmmmmm....Where do I start......

First off I would like to express my thoughts on driving a car 2 hours that has not been driven in like a year more than 10 feet out of the garage, probably not a good idea.

So on to my day,

Take a half day off to meet this buyer, coming from PA, decide to meet half way which is about Dumfries. I chose a Wachovia so i could deposit the check. Leave work at 12, leave house at 12:20 with my dad following me so i have a ride home after the transaction. Everything is running right, no problems whatso ever.

UNTIL...

About 5 miles south of fredricksburg on 95 the car starts to act a bit weird, sputters a bit, then picks back up. Then starts to sputter alot, then I completely lose power, goes lean and the car dies. Pull over on 95, which by the way is kinda scary.

Dad and I take a look no wires lose, nothing leaking, my temps/OP/etc looked fine, no CEL. Wont turn over and when it does it sputters and dies.

Let it sit for a 10 minutes or so, txt the buyer letting him know im running a little "late", hop in, cranks up, head on our way.

2 miles up the road does the same thing, pull over, get out dads laptop, DL the DSMlink App and plug her up, no obvious signs of WTF is going on. Get it cranked and head to the next exit which is Thornburg, limp it into the Shell DQ parking lot, call my Insurance company to see what my tow coverage is, and txt the guy letting him know im having an issue with the car. Where he then proceeds to accuse me of trying to sell him a broken car. YES I WANTED TO DRIVE 2 HOURS ON 95 AND TAKE A HALFDAY OFF TO TRY AND SELL YOU A CAR I WAS DRIVING THAT I KNEW WAS GOING TO BREAK!

Anyways, call up my DSM mechanic to pick his brain (DJ) and he mentions it could be coolant temp sensor or a Crank sensor. I checked the FP as well and low and behold its at like 32psi, when it should be at around 43psi @ idle. So We think its the fuel pump.

Back to my tow coverage, they only cover $75 and the rest is on me, so I ask DJ to borrow is trailer, and we head to Tysons. Get to Tysons and wait on DJ to get home, notice a problem. His trailer plug wont work on dads truck, so a trip to Advance to find an adapter comes up empty and then to NAPA, same deal, so we go back to advance and get the things needed to make our own adapter.

The adapter is wired up and working I then check the trailer and pull up and it comes right off the ball......dads trailer ball is too small. So try and pull DJs off his truck and the key to his hitch pin lock is no where to be found, try to remove his ball and no go. Head back to Advance and they do not have a ball the size we need.......at this point I contemplate why we are here on earth.

So as a last resort, DJ offers up his Denali to tow the trailer so i head out on that, BTW driving on fucked up 495 with a trailer im not a big fan of. So get back to the car load it up and im home around 10:30pm.

As for the buyer, he is still interested in the car, still wants the car, txtd me a picture of the check and his proof of insurance for the car. However he wants me to do a 30 day warranty on the car, and I told him thats not happening. Assuming it is just the fuel pump, its an easy fix and the car will run just as it did when I drove it everyday. Ive jumped through hoops for this guy, half day off, drove up to meet halfway, even did the research for him on how to transfer the title for out of state and where to find a local VADMV. Am I wrong not to open myself up to all of the liability that i could incurr from doing a warranty, im no used car dealer, and if I was, guess what, 1000 mile warranty the end.

So if this guy insists on me doing a warranty, which i wont do, and he asks for his deposit back should i give it back. With a signed and dated bill of sale from him saying car is sold as is with no refund of deposit and he refused to inspect the car? What should i do?

So new fuel pump is in, still no worky, actually flowing only 30psi at the FPR, so im assumng the fuel filter is clogged? needle on the FP gauge is like bouncing like it wants to go higher. maybe sitting for 8 months on E then filling it up may have stirred up some garbage. Ive checked voltage at the pump, the Fuel Pump Relay and the Fuel Injection relay all fall within spec. Any other thoughts???? Im going to get a filter tomorrow.....

[Jeff]

Wow that sucks. I guess give the guy his deposit, from his side it looks like you tried to fuck him over. Bad luck happened before it was "over the curb" so I guess that makes it on you. Could be a fuel filter...what about ground at the pump?

[Ryan T]

Check voltage going to fuel pump? FPR could be bad? Those two and the fuel filter seem to be the most obvious/easiest to check. Start there.

[JustinG]

voltage at the pump is fine, and the ground is...grounded. Guy still wants the car, ive been keeping him in the loop, going to replace the fuel filter after work. If its not the filter,.....I dunno WTF it is. I really dont wanna buy a new FPR if im not for sure thats what it is.

Edit....

Looks like they sell rebuild kits for the FPR at $27, so thats the next option I guess.

[WRXtranceformed]

Why don't you take it to a mechanic so you can get it sold, at least to get an opinion on what to do

[Jeff]

Why don't you take it to a mechanic so you can get it sold, at least to get an opinion on what to do

His shit is to jacked out customized for your average mechanic I think...(right?)

[D_Eclipse9916]

Cause taking it to a mechanic is more than replacing a whole fuel system? Theres only three things affective fuel pressure at the rail. Fuel pump, fuel filter, and fuel pressure regulator (assuming there is proper vacuum/boost feed which there is).

All those three together costs less than $150. Throw your stock FPR back on and see if it fixes your issue, may just be the Aeromotive (is that what you have?) leaking, which is common.

[WRXtranceformed]

You all don't have professional mechanic friends up there? That was one of my first orders of business when I moved down south was to establish a friendship with a mechanic that I could trust. Now I can take it to Honda and get a free diagnosis any time I want because I go golfing with my mechanic all the time

[JustinG]

don't see that happening, considering a diagnosis charge alone is $100, so then ive spent $100, and have to buy replacement parts which regardless would still be more then the $150 ive spent ordering a new pump, fuel filter and FPR rebuild kit. Plus most of the mechanics up here are old guys who have been doing it for 40 years and plug in a code reader to diagnose everything. They aren't going to take the time to help me out.

[JustinG]

Fuel filter on, still no worky, still crappy fuel pressure when running just below 20psi, and goes to 0 as soon as I switch the car off so its not even holding any pressure. Disassembled the FPR and checked the diaphragm, seems if the diaphragm was bad it would be leaking fuel. But it also seems as if the FPR is just stuck wide open and not holding any fuel for it to build up pressure.....

[Jeff]

FPR seems to be the only thing left!

[JustinG]

ordered the rebuild kit, we will see if this finally fixes the problem, its the only thing left!!!

[Ryan T]

If it's not the FPR, could there be a kink in a fuel line somewhere constricting flow?

[JustinG]

i havent seen any, but ill be sure to take a look at the lines again tomorrow

[JustinG]

Fuel pressure is back but its not holding the pressure in the system once the car is off. Most things I have read suspect I don't have the fuel pump assembly sealed well on the gas tank. has a giant gasket that and a plastic cap that crews on to hold the assembly in place, its kind of a pain in the ass to get sealed correctly. But none the less I think shes fixed, since the pressure drops off it just takes a tad bit longer to start. Need to test drive her for the week and see if its ok. I got the pressure back because I incorrectly installed the fuel pump, there is a plastic collar keeping an o-ring in place between the fuel pump and the fuel feed. With out this collar the o-ring can slide down leaving no seal, thus the fuel simply sprays back into the tank instead of the feed line. Installed the collar, blew air through the lines and no clogs, turned the key, cranked up like she always does. Once I got the pressure back I had to crank down the FPR cause it was reading like 60psi, must have been a crazy dirty fuel filter.

[Jeff]

YAY!

[Jeff]

YAY!