95 Dodge Caravan 3.8l V6 fuel problem

[CowboyMiller]

Ok, heres the story...I have a 1995 grand caravan, now has 300000+ miles on it...RUNS GREAT! At 300k i hit a dead animal...put a hole in my oil pan, which i didnt notice until i lost all oil pressure and it died...at 3am 20 miles from any town. after hours of removing the oil pan with a cheap socket set from wally word, and hitch hiking to town for some jb weld...I fixed the pan, replaced the lost oil and wala...fires right up...for about 10 minuts. after 8 hours of going thru relays and what not, ive come to notice the fuel pump is not coming on..once again...cheap socket set, HOURS or labor and a cheater bar..you know..stuborn rusted gas tankbolts...blah blah blah...Replaced the fuel pump. works GREAT for about 800 miles....(this was 2 weeks ago) two days ago, i turn it on to move..move it..then start it to go get some beer..long 2 weeks ya know. dies on me. I have replaced the Fuel pump, filter. pressure regulater, relays, but I am STILL NOT GETTING PRESSURE in the fuel rail...HELP ME PLEASE..i am out of money and nerves...and all i got is a cheap socket set!!

[jsinton]

If you're not getting pressure at the fuel rail, then I would ask the following questions.

Are you getting any error codes? If you don't know how to do that, then ask us.

Is is not getting any fuel at all, or does it start, then putter out down the road?

Did you try the "beat on the gas tank with a rubber mallet while starting" trick? That's when it won't start at all.

[jsinton]

Also...

Did you clean the gas tank when you replaced the fuel pump?

[CowboyMiller]

i was on the side of the road..no..i ddint clean the fuel tank....
ran great for 800 miles after the replacement...then the other day i fired it up, moved it then turned it off...then later that night, i it fired up..i let it idel cuz i was goign to the store, then it died...i checked to see if the pump was comin on..it was..i checked the pressure in the rail..no pressure..so i changed the regulater, 50 bucks later...it still dont have pressure....ive tried the "rock the van with only half a tank of fuel it" trick..but still no start..yes it tries...but putters out with-in seconds for lack of fuel pressure....

[jsinton]

I would say it's real possible that when you changed the fuel pump that you disturbed the gunk in there, and it's clogged up the little screen in the fuel tank. It's recommended to clean the tank when you do the fuel pump replacement. Also, it would be a good idea to change the fuel filter. It's a real common problem, you'll see a lot of posts here of guys who change the fuel pump and next week there's no pressure anymore.

[CowboyMiller]

i changed the fuel filter today, no pressure, changed the regulater today, no pressure...I rocked the van with half atank today, which would knock loose any settiment stuck to the fuelpumps filter for at leaste a little tiem of running fine..nothing....
is there anything mabe with vacum lines? or something of the sort i can check?

[jsinton]

You have all the classic symptoms of clogged screen in the tank. Standard way it happens. Sloshing the tank around might not work to unclog. Vacuum is not the problem, pressure is. There's no pressure. Everyone denies this problem, last week we had a guy who changed his fuel pump twice, first time worked good for a week, and second time worked for a week. But he never had the tank cleaned.

[CowboyMiller]

well i CANT NOT buy a new one, this one deosnt even have 800 miles on it..and it cost me 200 bucks...
and i can understand deneyin the fuel pump is the problem...its such a hassel..with this much hassle replacing it..you would think it woud last longer..lol
ill replace it all day if it was a relay..haha..
ps...how would baning it with a rubber mallet help? isnt that going to knock settiment loose? just as much as sloshing it around or even the normal sloshing when you drop the tank and replace it?

[jsinton]

Rubber mallet check is for if your fuel pump is dead all together... If the fuel pump was dead, you can bang the tank with a rubber mallet and the engine will fire, indicating your pump is bad.

You changed your fuel pump, and the engine fires and the pump goes on. Your problem is pressure. So I would say your new pump is still good. So don't replace it.

No, I'm saying the screen is clogged. I'm saying drop the tank, clean the tank, clean the screen. If that don't work, take out the fuel filter again and try to blow through it. If there is any resistance at all, you probably gunked the filter up too. These are 5 cent fixes.

[CowboyMiller]

ill give her a go tomarrow....all get back to ya

[jsinton]

Good luck, hope it works for ya.

[CowboyMiller]

yea me too
lol

[CowboyMiller]

how do i disconnect the filler hose? besides the 4 screws

[jsinton]

You have to remove all the hoses you can reach, disconnect the four bolts from the tube body. Then lower the tank a little and disconnect the rubber filler hose from the metal tube body.

[CowboyMiller]

how exaclty do you remove it from the tank its self? thats the question..there is clamp or anything..