stalling '87 lesabre

[fielder]

i have an '87 lesabre with the 3.8 litre. the past couple weeks the engine will start stumbling real bad only after it is fully warmed up,never when its cold. it gets to the point where it will die and be very hard to restart.it acts like a stuck choke on a carb.car.it does this app. half the time its driven and is gradually getting worse and more often..once it restarts and smooths out,it runs fine.i ran a scanner and it doesn't bring up any codes. it also has to be pumped to start cold after it has sat for a couple days

[Jed Rule]

Me thinks fuel pump.

[nick0750]

possibly an idle air control valve or a throttle position sensor, have you had the vehicle checked at a dealer they can at least pull the codes from the computor and tell you where to start.

[fielder]

no,i haven't had it to a shop yet.thats the next stop if the fuel pump comes out okay. thanks for the help.

[rustbucket]

If you can locate a fuel pressure tester, it should read around 30-34 PSI.
On my 87, the bolts holding the fuel tank were rusted and I had to drill them out, and then the fuel lines and brake lines were rusted too. It was a lot more work to do the fuel pump than I expected, but the dealer will charge $500-600 for the fuel pump work.

[timrice]

When you're having the trouble and trying to restart it, roll your window down or open the door slightly and listen closely for the tell-tale "whirring" noise the fuel pump should make as it primes the system. If you don't hear that noise when you turn the ignition switch on prior to cranking, that's not good. Your symptoms match those I had with my '89, and a new fuel pump solved it for me. If it does turn out to be a fuel pump, do *not* cut corners and get an aftermarket brand pump from a big-name parts store. Spend the extra money to get the real OEM GM replacement pump. I went through three aftermarkets in less than two years and the aftermarket parts rep blamed all three on "crud" in my tank when I called him on it. Finally, I agreed with him--the "crud" in my tank was his company's lousy pump!! After I put the Delco in, it's run ever since. Another fuel pump tip: I'm told that fuel pumps are susceptible to overheating, so to reduce that risk, it's a good idea to keep your fuel level above a quarter tank because the gas itself helps to cool the pump.