99 Tahoe Engine from HELL

:disappoinOk Im new on here so please help if can. I brought my truck with a blown head gasket, Had a mechanic try an put new one in only 2 have him quit in middle of install. So had a new one get it running. We replaced every sensor you can possibly think of Crank sensor, Cam sensor, ICM, EGR Valve, Cap rotor plugs and wires,etc etc... Ran fairly well but transmission silenoid needed replaced, Changed that. Now my problem is upon refilling tranny some fluid leaked all over the valve covers,Icm,wires ,pipes pretty much the entire left side of motor(broken funnel). Refilled and went for test drive everything seemed great then returned home and all of a sudden motor died while idleing. Cranked and Cranked.. nothing then it just started a hard click stopped cranking all together. Pull Bosch plugs gas filed tried to crank with plugs out and it does crank so i said need new plugs. But before I put in I do compression test and all cylinders are good. Put plugs in and first turn of key it cranks but after the hard clicking comes back. Take new iridium Delco plugs out and it cranks ..... WTH is wrong now we are baffled and Im 5 Grand into a $2500 truck..... PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!

hard to follow your story.

when cranking the engine and the starter does not crank but you hear clicking this is usually a bad connection to the battery or other bad/loose/corroded wiring . also with the neg battery terminal conn removed check all the connections to the starter.

before repairing a blown head gasket you must have the heads checked for distortions. make sure the coolant system is working correctly and you must use dexcool with distilled water. this is the approved coolant.

dexcool approved by GM is correct. do not use any compatible coolant, this is not dexcool and is not GM approved.

when filling the transmission with dexron VI the approved fluid , you do so very slowly. this must be at the correct level. too much fluid will create air bubbles, then the transmission will fail very quickly.

spilling tranny fluid on the starter may have fouled the solenoid contacts of the starter.

THanks for advice an I'll be sure to follow. But we thought starter may have been damaged so we replaced with a brand new starter. And my engine with plugs out will crank and spin so Im sure the starter is working and when i returned old starter they toested and said was still good. Can you tell me what part was hard to follow so maybe I can explain and future Advisers arent also confused

THanks for advice an I'll be sure to follow. But we thought starter may have been damaged so we replaced with a brand new starter. And my engine with plugs out will crank and spin so Im sure the starter is working and when i returned old starter they toested and said was still good. Can you tell me what part was hard to follow so maybe I can explain and future Advisers arent also confused

with the plugs removed the engine will place little load on the battery/starter/wiring. clean all connections of the battery/grounds. make sure the wires are not corroded. have the battery load tested.

with the plugs in the engine HIGH current will be demanded to rotate the engine .

OK I will check connections again because that was my initial thought was bad ground. I changed some wires but must be missing something because prior to this upon install it did the same thing and we changed the ground and fired right up. So i tried again but no go. I broke out test light and was good i have volt meter but dont know how 2 work. My mechanic is saying something about the valves are maybe timing but I dont have the money to have towed and tested

My understanding is that the clyinders are filling up with either coolant or gas stopping the engine from turning over. (cranking)

Yes the first plugs gas filed but we pulled relay and did compression test and everything was fine but the new plugs di not file out but Im getting same symptoms as previous plugs

Yes the first plugs gas filed but we pulled relay and did compression test and everything was fine but the new plugs di not file out but Im getting same symptoms as previous plugs

until you get the cranking issue solved keep the fuel pump from operating. fuel will continue to dump into the cylinders at each crank attempt if this is not done.

make sure the battery is LOAD TESTED !

when cranking the voltage across the battery must be above 9 volts.

if the voltage does not drop much at the battery, then check for voltage at the starter. if the voltage at starter is low but the voltage at battery is high then the cables/connections are bad.

until you get the cranking issue solved keep the fuel pump from operating. fuel will continue to dump into the cylinders at each crank attempt if this is not done.

make sure the battery is LOAD TESTED !

when cranking the voltage across the battery must be above 9 volts.

if the voltage does not drop much at the battery, then check for voltage at the starter. if the voltage at starter is low but the voltage at battery is high then the cables/connections are bad.

I had battery checked and have fuel relay pulled

Ok found the problem gentlemen Tempfix was right my cylinders are filling with gas let sit 2 days and fired right up 2x consecutively with fuel relay out ? How I don't know put in and started clicking again pulled plugs and cylinders 1 and 3 were fine 5 a little wet 7 soaked. So we turn the harmonic balance pulley and literally a puddle came from 7 and 8. So where to go from here could it be relay or regulator. Praying its not the dreaded spider injectors I've heard of

Sounds like you also have alot of gas in the crankcase by now! Make sure you change the oil and filter when you finally get it fixed. I'd like to help more but yer giving me a headache! :rofl:

IF you got a headache how do you think I feel I just wanna know if anyone knows about the fuel regulator or is it my pump and i have done everything advised, Yes my oil smells like gas and I will change oil and filter dont know y but trust I am. THanks everyone and anyone else in advance

IF you got a headache how do you think I feel I just wanna know if anyone knows about the fuel regulator or is it my pump and i have done everything advised, Yes my oil smells like gas and I will change oil and filter dont know y but trust I am. THanks everyone and anyone else in advance

the fuel pressure should be checked with a guage . do the fuel pressure test proceedure.

if the fuel pump is disabled the engine should not flood with fuel.

with this relay you pulled listen for the fuel pump turning on , also with the fuel pressure guage on see what the pressure is.

if some cylinders have fuel and others not my guess is the injectors are damaged or wires . 12 volts goes to the injector coil at all times. the ground side of coil goes to PCM for grounding.


the ECT could also be damaged or not hooked up. if so this would tell the PCM the engine temp is 40 below zero F. this would cause MAX injector on time ! you will not get DTC codes with these issues.

Thanks jCat that's what's happening my engine will run but if I try to drive it makes horrible noises and stalls I scanned for codes and p1351 is the only one so i can't go from that today I'm going to do fuel pressure test

Thanks jCat that's what's happening my engine will run but if I try to drive it makes horrible noises and stalls I scanned for codes and p1351 is the only one so i can't go from that today I'm going to do fuel pressure test


high voltage in the ignition circuit . this can be a worn distributor , check that the rotor and distributor shaft has no play. check plug wires with a ohmmeter for opens. also the ignition coil resistance for no open windings pri/sec . connections also to it.

that code usually points to a defect in the fuel delivery system. could be a ruptured fuel regulator

then replace the ECT .

1999 5.7L fuel pressure key on engine off 60-65psi. engine running 55-60psi.lower than 50 psi the engine should stall.

Actually, P1351=Ignition Coil Control Circuit High Voltage. 17 trouble shooting steps to get it fixed.

Actually, P1351=Ignition Coil Control Circuit High Voltage. 17 trouble shooting steps to get it fixed.


your right on that one. I messed up when looking this code up.

could be the distributor is worn.

So today I checked fuel pressure and I only 45 psi and it dropped down to the 30's and I couldn't get no reading without engine running but I know I had full fuel pressure because it was pushing through the clear hose on my tester also for the life of me can anyone explain how my car idled for about 15 minutes with no fuel pump relay in? Thanks jcat for your help where should I go from here

So today I checked fuel pressure and I only 45 psi and it dropped down to the 30's and I couldn't get no reading without engine running but I know I had full fuel pressure because it was pushing through the clear hose on my tester also for the life of me can anyone explain how my car idled for about 15 minutes with no fuel pump relay in? Thanks jcat for your help where should I go from here

I would say the pressure guage is not accurate since the engine does run below 50 psi. with the pressure that low check pressure at the fuel filter . you will need some adapters to do this the pressure with key on engine off should rise to at least 60 psi and hold. if it drops off and/or is low the pump is defective. measure at the fuel filter input line.

this will make sure you do not have injectors or fuel regulator that is fully open/defective causing the pressure drop.

use the delphi pump. DO NOT USE AIRTEX .

Ok so Im back. I checked the pressure on another vehicle and yes it was defective. So i said what the hell took upper intake apart to replace fuel regulator and while off tuned key on and gas came from fuel lines and know where alse entire top plenum was dry. So i figure if i had leak in spider shouldn't i have seen leak put back together and for about 60 seconds my engine sounded like it was suppose to. But then white smoke and gasoline both start coming out of muffler... So does anybody know what it could be now, i was looking online and i seen a thread about MAF senso or Knock sensor could this be the culprit?