1990 Regal Custom 3.1 stalling

[JHGP66]

I have a regal that I am about to set fire to.

The car has a problem that I can't track down. The first problem was it acted like like it was running out of gas and sputtering and stalling. I checked the fuel pressure and the pressure was weak,so...I replaced the the fuel pump with a new delco fuel pump.

1.) the first problem a noticed is that the fuel guage floats all over the place. It bounces around like crazy. If i hit a large enough bump the fuel gauge fluctuates alomost a 1/4 of tank before it settles again. The only thing I can figure is that the old sending unit o-ring had a metal ring bonded to it and the new sending unit o-ring that came with the pump was all rubber. Maybe this is affecting my ground to the sending unit. I also replaced the pulsator with the rubber fuel line and clamps that came with the pump.

2.) The car stopped running three days after I replaced the pump. It started acting like it was running out of gas and stalling again. The fuel pressure is rock solid at 40 psi. The car would sputter and die, restart easily, rev fine, but as soon as I dropped it into gear it would die again. This only happens after driving the car for a while. I let it set for a couple days, took it out and drove it again it drove fine. I stopped at a drive-thru, put it in nuetral, and tried to rev it. The car would not rev past 2500 RPM, it acted like it was trying to shut off and died as soon as I put it in gear. One thing I have noticed is that if the car is seems to be running fine and I give it more than half throttle, the engine bucks and dies, restarts, but dies as soon as it goes into gear.

Here is a list of what has been done:

Replaced:
Fuel Pump
Cat Conveter ( It was clogged)

Been to two of my mechanic friends
On the scanner twice.
No codes. nothing obviously wrong
I have checked/tested:
Fuel pressure (holds great fuel presure)
Fuel injector's
FP regulator ( it holds vacuum and is not leaking fuel)
tested coil packs
Had autozone check the:
Ign. module
Map sensor
TPS

I am up for any new ideas and I will retest anything I have previously checked if it seems like a likely suspect. I am desperate! Sorry for the long post. Thanks for the help.

[boarder_punk]

I would about bet on the torque converter or TCC.

[maxwedge]

Originally Posted by JHGP66

I have a regal that I am about to set fire to.

The car has a problem that I can't track down. The first problem was it acted like like it was running out of gas and sputtering and stalling. I checked the fuel pressure and the pressure was weak,so...I replaced the the fuel pump with a new delco fuel pump.

1.) the first problem a noticed is that the fuel guage floats all over the place. It bounces around like crazy. If i hit a large enough bump the fuel gauge fluctuates alomost a 1/4 of tank before it settles again. The only thing I can figure is that the old sending unit o-ring had a metal ring bonded to it and the new sending unit o-ring that came with the pump was all rubber. Maybe this is affecting my ground to the sending unit. I also replaced the pulsator with the rubber fuel line and clamps that came with the pump.

2.) The car stopped running three days after I replaced the pump. It started acting like it was running out of gas and stalling again. The fuel pressure is rock solid at 40 psi. The car would sputter and die, restart easily, rev fine, but as soon as I dropped it into gear it would die again. This only happens after driving the car for a while. I let it set for a couple days, took it out and drove it again it drove fine. I stopped at a drive-thru, put it in nuetral, and tried to rev it. The car would not rev past 2500 RPM, it acted like it was trying to shut off and died as soon as I put it in gear. One thing I have noticed is that if the car is seems to be running fine and I give it more than half throttle, the engine bucks and dies, restarts, but dies as soon as it goes into gear.

Here is a list of what has been done:

Replaced:
Fuel Pump
Cat Conveter ( It was clogged)

Been to two of my mechanic friends
On the scanner twice.
No codes. nothing obviously wrong
I have checked/tested:
Fuel pressure (holds great fuel presure)
Fuel injector's
FP regulator ( it holds vacuum and is not leaking fuel)
tested coil packs
Had autozone check the:
Ign. module
Map sensor
TPS

I am up for any new ideas and I will retest anything I have previously checked if it seems like a likely suspect. I am desperate! Sorry for the long post. Thanks for the help.

Fuel pressure should be tested under load driving number one, number 2 did you replace the tank sock and inline fuel filter, pressure does not indicate volume.

[JHGP66]

The fuel pressure was fine under load and I did replace the fuel filter.

What exactly is the TCC? Thanks for the help so far.

[boarder_punk]

The TCC, torque converter clutch solenoid is what locks and unlocks the torque converter. Basically if the TCC wasn't functioning correctly it would be like trying to stop a manual transmission car in 4th gear with the clutch engaged. Don't forget to check the wiring, it may not be the TCC itself.

And as for the fuel gauge jumping all over the place, this is normal in many older GM cars. It has to do with gauge and fuel tank design. I wouldn't worry about it if I were you.

[tomogchi]

How about the gas lines coming/going from the tank? Is it possible that the breathing tube for the tank is clogged or pinched?
Have you tried removing the gas cap so see if the tank is vapor-locked? If you havent, try removing the gas cap and see if the car's behavior changes at all.
Bill