Help ! Jeep won't start..maybe fuel pump/filter related??

[Liberty02sport]

Stopped at a gas station to fill up the jeep and turned off the AC then shut it down to pump the gas. Went to start it back up and it ran rough for just a few seconds then died (??)Been having some problems with rough idle here lately but I thought i had cured that by cleaning the throttle body and IAC. The Jeep was running fine until I put more gas in it then it just didn't want to start and run, had to be towed home. . It turns over and wants to start and when I turn on the key you can hear the fuel pump come on, but it just won't start and run. ANY ideas, hints, tips, tricks, voodoo, etc would be appreciated. Thanks.

UPDATE: Faulty fuel injector driver in the PCM for cylinder #5 and a bad oxy. sensor. Total cost to fix $900

 

[yellocoyote]

Maybe bad fuel? :shrug:

 

[Liberty02sport]

That fast ?? I mean it literally went from running perfectly fine to nothingin the time it took me to put $20 worth of gas in it and get back in and try to start it up..It's been doing the rough idle thing a dieing out on occasion but I thought that cleaning the TB and checking the IAC fixed it. I even had a buddy come over with a dianostic scanner and check for codes and run to IAC thru it's paces to make sure it was doing what it's supposed to and nothing came up and it's not throwing or stowing any codes to even point me in the right direction....

 

[DJSKJ]

Bad fuel is possible, but probably not likely. I would syphon the fuel out, which you will have to do anyway if are going to replace the fuel pump/filter, then put a couple of gallons of reputable fuel in and see what happens.
Was the tank near empty before you filled it up? If so you could have some dirt/gunk at the bottom of the tank and it got pulled into the filter and clogged it.
DJ

 

[tjkj2002]

Get a fuel pressure tester,hook to pressure port on passenger side fuel rail(looks just like a tire valve stem).Turn the key to run and check pressure,it should be over 45psi,if it less then 40psi time for a new pump.

 

[Liberty02sport]

Tanks was 1/4 full when I pulled in to add some more. Any tips as for siphoning out the gas I'd love to know them. I tried doing that once when I thought it was the fuel filter (could be a clogged fuel filter)and couldn't get anything past the check valve in the tank that prevents fuel leaking in the event of a rollover. I have absolutely zero ideas as far as to how to get the gas out of the tank.

 

[tjkj2002]

Tanks was 1/4 full when I pulled in to add some more. Any tips as for siphoning out the gas I'd love to know them. I tried doing that once when I thought it was the fuel filter (could be a clogged fuel filter)and couldn't get anything past the check valve in the tank that prevents fuel leaking in the event of a rollover. I have absolutely zero ideas as far as to how to get the gas out of the tank.

Drop the gas tank,***** real bad when it's full.Could try going through the vent but it's a small hose.

 

[Liberty02sport]

Get a fuel pressure tester,hook to pressure port on passenger side fuel rail(looks just like a tire valve stem).Turn the key to run and check pressure,it should be over 45psi,if it less then 40psi time for a new pump.

I guess the usual suspects would have this tool to loan, or is it cheap enough that I should just buy one and keep it handy. Thanks.

 

[Liberty02sport]

Thanks to this happening just after I added gas it's now at 3/4 full.....

 

[tjkj2002]

I guess the usual suspects would have this tool to loan, or is it cheap enough that I should just buy one and keep it handy. Thanks.

There like $20-$30 bucks at any parts store.

 

[Liberty02sport]

Definitely cheap enough to add to the tool box. Any tips for dropping the tank ?? I was thinking of using a piece of plywood to spread the force of the floor jack and make the whole procedure a bit more stable. Just needed to know if the factory hid some stuff up in there that I should be careful to not break while lowering the tank.

 

[streetglideok]

Anyone who has done alot of in-tank fuel pumps will attest, they are almost always full when the fuel pump dies. Murphys law, or something, I dont know. One trick that sometimes works, sometimes, is to have someone bang on the fuel tank right under where the pump rests. A fist or palm of the hand works. Meanwhile, a buddy cranks the engine. Ive gotten lucky alot of the time, enough to get it in the shop without pushing it. Give it a try, if it works, its almost for certain a pump.

 

[streetglideok]

Definitely cheap enough to add to the tool box. Any tips for dropping the tank ?? I was thinking of using a piece of plywood to spread the force of the floor jack and make the whole procedure a bit more stable. Just needed to know if the factory hid some stuff up in there that I should be careful to not break while lowering the tank.

If you can get your hands on a ****** jack, they work great. Otherwise, couple of floor jacks may work with some plywood to help stabilize it. Havent pulled a JK tank yet, so cant help you with lines on top or not. If in doubt, go slow, and watch for snagging.

 

[Liberty02sport]

Anyone who has done alot of in-tank fuel pumps will attest, they are almost always full when the fuel pump dies. Murphys law, or something, I dont know. One trick that sometimes works, sometimes, is to have someone bang on the fuel tank right under where the pump rests. A fist or palm of the hand works. Meanwhile, a buddy cranks the engine. Ive gotten lucky alot of the time, enough to get it in the shop without pushing it. Give it a try, if it works, its almost for certain a pump.

I can hearthe pump kick on when I turn the key. You're absolutely right about pushing it in the garage, itdamn near can't be done by two people that's why mine is sitting just outside the garage door right now.:disgust:

 

[yellocoyote]

We've used ratchet straps to lower the tanks on our Astro vans... that seems to work pretty well if you've got some decent anchor points.

 

[Liberty02sport]

We've used ratchet straps to lower the tanks on our Astro vans... that seems to work pretty well if you've got some decent anchor points.

Don't know how that would work out for me. The cheap ratchet straps I have only have two settings ....crank it down, and when you pull the release lever and flip the handle up it releases. No way for me to ratchet it down, only up...

 

[Liberty02sport]

OK.... Got it to start by giving it some gas pedal and it barely runs and while it does it's very rough. Have to keep giving it gas just to keep it running. Barely managed to back itself into the garage and it seemed the exhaust was smokey, like it was running rich or something. ?????

 

[streetglideok]

Before you splurge on a fuel pump, buy a pressure gauge for it and check pressure, key on engine off, and if it will start, with it running. May have a different issue altogether. Need to check for codes too if you can.

 

[Liberty02sport]

A buddy is coming by tomorrow with the diagnostic scanner and the fuel pressure test tool. That's the strange thing about it .....even when I was having problems with it stalling and idleing rough occasionally, it would throw no codes, absolutely none. It was checked less than a month ago for codes after I cleaned the TB and the IAC and my buddy used the scanner tool to check the IAC and said it was functioning as it should.Again it was running just fine till I pulled it into the gas station to add gas and then it just refused to start back up.

Only thing that's even halfway close to being a circumstance that causes this is adding gas to the tank. The first time it did the stalling out thing was just after I added gas, it did it a few more times that day then cleared up (??) Second time I was coming back from town on some sharp left/right turns it acted as if it wanted to stall out but if given some gas pedal it would clear right up and act normal. Third time was in the driveway, I had pulled up to the garage and turned off the AC and put it in park and it immeadiately started idleing rough and stalled out, Got out of the Jeep opened the garage up and got back in and it started right back up...soon as I put it in drive it started to idle rough and again stalled out. Started back up put it in drive and pulled into the garage and as soon as it was placed in park it idled rough and stalled out again.

At this point I started chasing the rough idle/stall gremlin and began checking things and cleaning the TB, IAC, and replaced the air filter (though it didn't really look that dirty), added some lucas fuel treatment to the tank and took it to get gassed up and it did fine till this incident. At this point you guys know as much as I do about what's ging on with it....

 

[Liberty02sport]

UPDATE Off to the dealer it goes .. I'll post a follow up when I find out what's going on..