93 Astro Fuel in crankcase

[Morrell]

I have a 1993 Astro (200000km) vin "W", Central Multi-port Fuel Injection (CMFI).

Symptoms:

Poor fuel milage
Gas in the cranckcase
Running rough, sluggish
Black exhaust at start up
Service engine soon at highway speeds
Code 45 (Rich mixture)
Exhaust smells of gas

Repairs:
Oil and oil filter change
Replaced spark plugs (the were fouled up)
Replaced O2 sensor
Checked spark plug wires
Bottle of injector cleaner in fuel tank

My thoughts are that the van is flooding, leading to black exhaust, gas in the crankcase, foul smelling exhaust. I think it is the CMFI as I have researched that the injector could fail leading to flooding.

My questions are:

How do you test the fuel pressure?
Can just the injector be replaced?
Could it be possible that the fuel pressure regulator be shot, and if so how do you replace it?
Should I even bother replacing other parts ie. Distribitor cap etc prior to finding out what the problem is?

Any other tips, hints and advice will be appreciated.

Morrell

[blkmonday]

sounds to me like you have a bad spider injector unit. i went through the same problem on my 95, replaced everything from fuel pump to spark plugs. the fuel in the crankase is coming from the spider leaking inside the intake manifold and mixing gas into your oil. another problem could be one of the injector poppets is cracked (they are plastic). the bad news is its not a servicable part and the whole unit must be replaced....and they are not cheap. around 400 bucks if i remember correctly. i got one from autozone a few years back and did it myself over a weekend and the van instantly fired up and runs great now. the haynes manual will walk you through the job step by step and a lot of the guys on here who have done this job before can give you some pointers. its a common problem on that motor unfortunately. the first step though is to check your fuel pressure and to check your pressure drop off after the pump is shut off...that will tell you for sure if thats your problem. first you need a fuel guage, then theres a fuel pressure port on the back of the intake manifold where you hook it up...again the haynes or chilton manual will walk you through it. its fairly involved process that includes removing the entire intake assembly to access the spider injector...but i thought it was fairly easy to do...just a little time consuming. here is a link to a schematic and explaination of what the spider unit does and looks like and also what your fuel pressure specs should be (55-61 psi i think). if you have any other questions on how to do this feel free to ask me, like i said ive done these before...good luck
heres the link
http://www.autozone.com/az/cds/en_us...rInfoPages.htm

[Morrell]

Thanks for the info. Mine is not a spider injecter, but the multi port (CMFI).

Sounds like I will have to start getting prices and do it myself. Thank God for a warm garage as it is too cold out up here in Canada!!!

[brcidd]

I Hate to differ-- but if you have a "W" engine, you have the spider assembly -- only the "Z" engine has the throttle body -- do the pressure test- you probably have the plastic line into the spider leaking-- which luckily is a separate serviceable part-- you'll have to remove the upper plenum to see the leak though-- if you have pressure decay at your pressure port....

[Battle Cry]

Fuel pressure regulator is what it sounds like to me. When you pull the top of the plenum off, the spider injectors are on one side and the pressure regulator is on the other. Cycle the key to turn the fuel pump on and look to see if the regulator is leaking out of the little hole on the side. Its a fairly common problem with the 93 W code engine. I have replaced mine 3 times.

[old_master]

The first picture in this thread: http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...d.php?t=473110
shows the injector, regulator, "spider" and the fuel lines to the injector. If you pull #3 spark plug, (middle plug driver side) and it is fuel fouled, the lines are leaking. If you pull #4 spark plug, (middle plug passenger side) and it is fuel fouled, the pressure regulator is leaking. The thread is a "How To" from the Blazer section and walks you through the replacement.