Hopeful fix for warm engine dying

[RyanL]

Good to hear that you've figured it out. I'm in the same boat as you with my Bronco II; it has too much age and miles on it to be trustworthy on long trips or daily driving. There's so many things to go wrong (like relays) which you don't think about replacing until they fail. I don't know how many miles or how many years are on the Saab, but from what I hear they can be a pain in the ass to fix and the parts aren't cheap like they are on these old Fords (my father owned a few of them over the years). I hope that it's in good shape. I know the pain of working on some imports because we have a 10 year old VW Jetta (wouldn't recommend those to anyone BTW) and that thing is a royal pain to work on and parts are impossible to find. Wiring issues are a nightmare also.

 

[Millster]

Well, I haven't necessarily figured it out. It STAYS running, now but now it runs like arse! Partial throttle, smooth and easy... anything more than just a feather and it bucks, chugs, and backfires.
It's weird because it didn't do that before. It would just run along fine for about 20 minutes and then falter and die.
So am I now reading sensors that I wasn't before and it's running like it should? I've noticed it doesn't just automatically kick up to high-idle when you start it like it used to. If it's warm, it idles normally.

The Saab is a '95 with 227,000 on it. Reliable as Hell and in great shape, really. Until the fuel pump conked on me. But that's been the only MAJOR issue. Needs a new clutch, too, but that's a 2 day, 6-pack job on that car. Honestly, it's been easier for me to work on than the Ranger has been. Don't ask me why because I have no idea. But any time it's acted up, it's been fixed in a day or two. This is the only exception as I'm waiting on parts.

 

[RyanL]

There's the possibility the ECU was reset and it has to "relearn" everything. I would imagine that would go away after a few starts or a little driving though. I would check into that oxygen sensor though as it could mess things up. What are you saying is wrong with it, the sensor itself is melted right where the wires go in or is it further up on the wiring (maybe from resting on the exhaust downpipe or manifold)?

 

[Millster]

Alrighty. No trouble codes and the fuel pressure was spot-on. Needless to say, I was NOT please by that news. And then it happened. Out of nowhere, the engine died. Flat out. Dead. No shudder, no warning, just died... and 2 seconds later, the fuel pump primed. Apparently my relay harness was so corroded/burnt up that the spade terminals I was using to bridge into it were not making an adequate connection. I had to commit a cardinal sin and cut the wires to the harness. I hated to do it, but I needed the truck to run. And run, it does! It's still a darned sight from perfect, but it's SO much better than its been. I'm pretty sure it'll get me back and forth to work until the Saab is back up (the weather is supposed to turn too nasty for me to be on my bike).

I still plan to re-wire the O2 sensor as I'm certain it's not working right, but the fact there are no trouble codes related to it throws me a bit. I know it's possible for them to be absent even with a failed part and this one's pretty well charred. I can't imagine it's working as it should.

So tomorrow, it's off to get some more fresh fuel, some air in the tires, topped off with oil and then on to work. Oil change is coming this next weekend. I know, not great to run it like that but let's face it... it's got so many miles on it now that it's probably already eaten the bearings. A week isn't going to make that much difference.

 

[Millster]

The truck did its chug and surge trick again this morning for the first couple of minutes. Of driving today. Died on me headed up the hill out of our subdivision. However, it was totally dead. Bad battery connection. I have some corrosion and some bluing on my terminals. Looks like wire-brush time. Anyway, a solid whack with a hammer got it going again and it surged its way to the gas station and died twice trying to pull up to the pump. Pumped about a gallon into the main tank and 4 into the rear and it decided it was happy, I guess. Ran a total treat the whole rest of the way. I have no clue. This truck is just odd sometimes.

 

[Millster]

Well, folks, looks like the Ranger may be going to scrap soon. After doing "ok" yesterday morning, it surged and bucked like a monster all the way home from work in the afternoon. Thinking it might just be bad gas or something, I kept pushing on. Thankfully I did because by the time I got it to my driveway, it died. 0psi on my fuel gauge even though I can hear the pumps come on. So, I think it ate another high-pressure. I'm going to pull the accumulator off because I've never had it off before and possibly put the old high-pressure back in that I'm not sure was actually dead when I replaced it. If that fixes it, then great. If not, I'm just not sure I want to keep dumping money into this thing.
Besides, I have a new 225lph Walbro on the way for the Saab.

 

[RyanL]

Well, folks, looks like the Ranger may be going to scrap soon. After doing "ok" yesterday morning, it surged and bucked like a monster all the way home from work in the afternoon. Thinking it might just be bad gas or something, I kept pushing on. Thankfully I did because by the time I got it to my driveway, it died. 0psi on my fuel gauge even though I can hear the pumps come on. So, I think it ate another high-pressure. I'm going to pull the accumulator off because I've never had it off before and possibly put the old high-pressure back in that I'm not sure was actually dead when I replaced it. If that fixes it, then great. If not, I'm just not sure I want to keep dumping money into this thing.
Besides, I have a new 225lph Walbro on the way for the Saab.

Sounds like you've had enough fuel trouble to last 10 lifetimes with your vehicles. You might want to switch gas stations.

 

[Millster]

Sounds like you've had enough fuel trouble to last 10 lifetimes with your vehicles. You might want to switch gas stations.

Too right, yeah? I think I need to stop buying cheap fuel pumps, really. The Saab is another story. It's a 1995 sitting at 217,650 miles right now and has never had a pump replaced (I have a full service history on it). So that one is kind of a given. The fact a Bosch ANYTHING lasted that long is amazing.
The truck, I put a cheap high-pressure in, so I really should have expected it to die.
I'm reasonably sure that's what's happening right now, is it's cavitating. I'm not 100% certain the "old" high pressure had died. The truck stalled on me and I could not hear the pump running so I assumed it was. In retrospect, it might have been an electrical problem and not the pump since I ended up having to rewire the computer.

That's the one thing that's different this time. The truck is still dying and has no fuel pressure, but the pump is still spinning. That wasn't happening before. Normally when it would die, the pump would die.

 

[Millster]

What in the everloving @$&* is going on with this stupid thing?
I drove TO work this morning and it died on me no less than 5 times. Always started RIGHT back up. Driving home, it died maybe 10 times and this time, fought me to restart.
Thankfully, my friend knew the problems I've been having and decided when he saw me driving that he would follow me. If he hadn't, I'd have broken down in the middle of a nasty intersection. He actually ran a the light in front of a cop to push me out of it (the cop figured it out and waved us on). He had to push me most of the way up a 4 lane street with me trying to get the truck to start and stay running. Finally it started and ran but was only running on about 3 cylinders with the others sounding like the rod bearings were coming apart. My tach was going positively crackers, but I couldn't have been spinning over 3K RPM. It was jumping above 6, at times. I drove it that way in second gear, sounding like it was going to explode (at that point I really didn't care if it did) until the next intersection where we hit a red light before a left turn and a LONG hill. I thought for sure I was going to be pushed up the hill by my mate. To my surprise, the engine smoothed out and pulled the hill with nary a hiccup or sputter. Satisfied it was going to make it from there, I gave my mate a thumbs up and made my final turn toward home. It ran beautifully the whole rest of the way.

I'm pulling the accumulator off, first chance I get and taking a look inside. I have a feeling it's either that or one of the fuel lines between the low and high pressure pumps. The truck used to run a treat when it was cold but act up warm. Now it's the total opposite. Must have been the computer before and now it's yielding to the aging fuel system.