ringzero Posted June 11, 2004 Report Share Posted June 11, 2004 Greetings, I own a 1993 lumina z34, bought it a few years ago with 28k original miles, and now have 73k on it. It's been providing me with some good service, but now i'm having a bit of a problem, and before i drop in some serious money into getting it fixed, i'd like to know what im up against. I was driving around 40 mph down the road and as soon as i let off the gas, the car stalled. As i was rolling down the empty road, i put the car in neutral and attempted to start it back up which i normally do due to the z34's random stalling issue. Normally, the car starts right up and i just put it back in drive and it works great. But this time, it fired up, and stalled immediately. It kept on doing this (starting/stalling) until i rolled to a stop which i immediately called my mechanic. I couldnt get ahold of him and approximately 5 minutes went by. I started the car up and it ran, except it was idling like crap and i noticed the amp meter was flicking like crazy trying to keep a proper idle. I put it in drive, and drove a few feet which then stalled. It kept on starting/stalling like before. I walked over to a friends house and walked back to the car, approximately 15-20 minutes went by and the car started up fine with no problems. I drove it to my mechanics house and dropped it off. He let it sit there for a few days and he was able to start it up and use it no problem. I told him to replace the fuel pump as i suspected it may be that - a week before all this my car was driving fine, but idling at 200 rpm (in drive), and when i was idling in park in a parking lot i heard a faint ticking noise from the rear right quarter panel. my mechanic put the car on the lift and was about to replace the fuel pump when he noticed the wires to the pump were corroded and he cleaned them up and the car was running fine, even felt like it was starting up better! However, the next day (it rained, if this helps any) the car was back to its low idling self, but non-stalling. I still notice the amp meter flickering. As i do not want to risk driving at high speeds and be a proud owner of a super fast sled when it stalls on the highway, i'm throwing out my plea of help to the experts. If anyone can shed any light, you will receive my eternal gratitude. I've had a tune up done to the car 2 years ago, oil changed religiously, i use 87 octane gasoline, i've had a vacuum hose replaced in the winter, the alternator was replaced about 3 years ago, if not more. the computer was replaced 1.5 years ago. One additional note is that my sending unit for my fuel guage is messed up and doesnt report the proper amount of gas (goes way past F when full, is erratic when almost empty) i did a lot of googling, and a lot of searching on this board and i believe it's one of the following: IAC (valve?) Fuel Pressure Regulator Fuel Pump Fuel Filter Fuel Pump Relay or a bad computer I have no problem spending the money to get this fixed as i get labor done for free (swapped out for computer work) but i really hate wasting time/money if it's not going to fix it. As this is my primary mode of transportation, i don't mind investing money if it will correct my problem. I have a strong feeling it's the fuel pump because of that noise i heard, and i heard that the sending unit/fuel pump is all one big unit which leads me to believe that the fuel module or whatever its called was slowly failing over time. However, the fuel pump/module item costs $350. If anyone can provide some insight, i will be estatic. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfewtrail Posted June 12, 2004 Report Share Posted June 12, 2004 Did your mechanic test the alternator? The amp gauge flickering would likely indicate that it isn't charging at the normal rate or charging much at all, if the cars voltage drops so much, the car will not remain running/will stall. The low idle and amperage gauge is what leads me to believe it's an electrical problem somewhere on the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutlsp Posted June 12, 2004 Report Share Posted June 12, 2004 signs point to alternator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ringzero Posted June 12, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2004 I'll get him to test the alternator, but i got the alternator replaced 2 or 3 years ago. I took the car out for a drive yesterday and it was running fine for a short while and then it started up with it's crap. The only way for me to keep it running is if i'm idling i put my foot on the gas and rev it, then slam it in drive and keep on going. thanks for the replies and i'll report back if it's the alternator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonyman87 Posted June 12, 2004 Report Share Posted June 12, 2004 2 years since last tuneup.. im curious how your sparkplugs look. the 3.4 is nutorious for eating sparkplugs alive. you can simply check by pulling one of the front plugs out and check one yourself. if its over gapped most likely that could be an issue on its own. contributing to your problem Think you can expect to be changed in the next new years or close to 100,000miles or more Item dealership will charge you can do it your self for ------------------------------------------------------------- Timing belt(60kMiles)$500 <100 Serpintine belt $150 <30 Idler pully $150 <50 Intake gaskets $750 <30 Valve cover gaskets $750 <30 other think that should be changed or are common problems Transmission pan service $70 at your local topgun atleast as often as the timing belt 02sensor IAC valve(idle air control) vacume lines Catolac converter crank sensor (auto) transmission cooling lines(leak) Altinators usualy dont last much more then 100k miles Air filter change as directed oem repacement every 6k miles K&N wash as directed. believe it or not the 3.4 is a PITA to maitain to reach optimal performance Im sure i included stuff that most likely wont need changing on your car for some time yet but mostlikely will need it if you plan on keeping your car for a very very long time. anyone else reading this feel free to add stuff i left out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfewtrail Posted June 12, 2004 Report Share Posted June 12, 2004 I'll get him to test the alternator, but i got the alternator replaced 2 or 3 years ago. I took the car out for a drive yesterday and it was running fine for a short while and then it started up with it's crap. The only way for me to keep it running is if i'm idling i put my foot on the gas and rev it, then slam it in drive and keep on going. thanks for the replies and i'll report back if it's the alternator. It doesn't matter if you've had the alt replaced the day before yesterday on these cars, they can go bad pretty quickly. The part about having to keep it revved up also makes me think it's the alternator, it's likely just weakened right now since the car will actually run for a period of time without killing the battery completely(I'm guessing you have a decent battery in the car?). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biff85ta Posted June 13, 2004 Report Share Posted June 13, 2004 I disagree woth the alternator. The low volatage is a by product of a low idle. It may very well be time for a new timing belt though. It may be streched and getting the exhaust too hot causing the problem. You may also have a cat that is plugged. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfewtrail Posted June 14, 2004 Report Share Posted June 14, 2004 By the way, another thing that can causing stalling during deceleration(particularly on lower speeds) is the EGR valve being stuck open, the car will also tend to surge during low speed operation if this is happening. I'm pretty sure your car would be throwing a code for the EGR if this were the case. Have you tried to pull any codes?(the directions are on the main page of the W-body site). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ringzero Posted June 25, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2004 Welp, 2 tuesdays ago i took it out for a spin, did some errands and it stalled. started it back up and gave it some gas to get it moving again and decided that i was going to bring it to the mechanic. Wednesday i drop it off, and the car was running fine! i was able to drive it for a very long time with no issues, and i even let my mechanic drive it for aw eek to see if it could stall on him. I didn't want to take any chances so i told him to replace what he thinks need replacing. And he suggested the fuel pump needs to be replaced. Since my sending unit has been defective for god knows how long, i decided to go with it. I figured that if it doesnt fix the stall, i'll at least know how much gas i have The mechanic just called me up and said i had a LOT of water in the tank. He emptied it out and is going to put some fresh gas in there. I told him to replace the fuel pump, filter, and sending unit. I'll let you know how it runs. I only have 70k on it and i want to get at least another 30k before i look into reselling it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White93z34 Posted June 25, 2004 Report Share Posted June 25, 2004 hate to tell ya the sending unit ain't gona fix the strange gas gauge you got, mine behaves the same way as did my olds, as did most early 90s gm cars, just something that is a fact of life for me. btw you gona show us any pics of your car? and welcome to w-body.com! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ringzero Posted July 7, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2004 Welp, it didnt fix the problem . I dropped it off at the mechanic and i guess he called the dealer and asked them whats up. According to the dealer, there is a new TSB out there that suggests that the fuel injectors are defective and need to be replaced. Im kind of at a loss since he wants like almost $1000 to do it. is it really hard to replace them? according to him you have to take apart the WHOLE engine to get at them. if he's going to takeit all apart, should i have him replace other parts while he's at it? --Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteOut Posted July 8, 2004 Report Share Posted July 8, 2004 No, its not that hard to replace the injectors. If you don't mind spending a couple hours doing it its nothing any joe smoh can't do. It basically involves removing the upper intake plenum, then simply unbolting the fuel rail and undoing a couple clips to remove the injectors. Expect parts costs to run pretty high though, you'll need new injectors, new injector o-rings (very expensive despite being simple rubber rings), and as long as your going down that far you may as well have the upper and lower intake gaskest replaced as well since at least one will eventualy fail. $1000 doesn't sound all that unreasonable to have someone do the work for you. Even doing it your self will probably run you on the order of $700 or so as a rough estimate. I would however pursue other opinions before blindly replacing the injectors, that doesn't sound like a very likely cause to your problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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