01 bravada

mudslinger88 · #1 01-14-2009, 11:26 PM

I got a good one for ya'll out there. The temp round here is starting to drop to the single digits. This evening, the 14th jan around 6 PM it was about 30 deg. F and I started the engine to get it warmed up and the heater kickin'. I came back out and was waiting for a passenger and noticed my fuel guage was jumping all crazy-like from 3/4 mark to E mark and then to half, so on and so forth.

It didn't stop until I put it in gear. Then it just froze where it was at then SLOWLY moved to where it was supposed to be... About 1/8 tank. I have never seen this before. Any suggestions? Is this serious? Should I start filling my tank by mileage? Thanks for any help.

Chris Stewart · #2 01-15-2009, 08:47 AM

Yup, start filling the tank on mileage.
It looks like your fuel level sensor is on it's last wiper. Stock had 3 skinny wipers on the sensor/potentiometer but the replacement has 2 thick ones.
I went ahead and replaced the whole module...pump and all, Delco of course.

mudslinger88 · #3 01-15-2009, 11:39 PM

Well, I topped it off this morning and the guage sits steady. Could it be that the wipers were just cold or possibly jammed up with gunk? I did let it get a little lower than I normally do. I try not to let it go under 1/4 but it was clear down to the point of the fuel light was on. I NEVER do that. I work on aircraft for a living and I know that when it's cold out you have to keep a good eye on seals until they are warmed up and expanded. They are shrunk up when they are cold and can sometimes leak until they are warmed up. What material is it that the wipers are made of? I was guessing rubber, but I want to be 100% sure. Thanks for the help.
John

Chris Stewart · #4 01-16-2009, 10:42 AM

The pot wipers are steel "brushes" rubbing the surface of the variable resistor...like the innerds of a volume control. The shaft they're mounted on is wobbly so they do alotta flexing which breaks them.
There's not as much fuel sloshing to affect the float assembly when the tank is full or near full so the wiper(s) left maintain contact a little better.

mudslinger88 · #5 01-21-2009, 12:50 AM

I appreciate the info. I don't really have the ability to swap this out so I am going to go off mileage until I get the opportunity to do the swap. I am also having another problem. When I'm accelerating into traffic from a stand-still, I can feel 1st and 2nd gear slipping a little. Would that be the torque converter going or would that be the transmission needing a rebuild? I am willing to do either one, though I don't like messing with transmissions. It runs fine when I'm rolling, it's just when I am accelerating. Any experiance on this would be great. Thanks for any info.
John

MT-2500 · #6 01-21-2009, 09:48 AM

On the transmission if you can feel it slipping it is not normal.
But engine has to be running good for the transmission to work good.
Is engine running good?
How many miles on transmission?
Ever been serviced?
If not drop pan and change filter and see what all is in bottom of pan and filter.
How is the fluid level and condition?
The only to check transmission for silppage or problems is to put it on a transmission/engine capable scanner and read out shift data.
Watch the shift time errors and shift seconds and shift adaptive data and slippage data.
Also check for codes.
If any codes engine or transmission post back codes.

mudslinger88 · #7 01-22-2009, 01:53 AM

I will try to get it to a tranny shop ASAP and get it on a scanner. The engine runs great. The plugs and wires were just replaced, oil, oil filter, air filter, fuel filter all replaced not more than a month ago. Great, strong running engine. Just rolled 97k on both engine and tranny. I had a tranny flush scheduled for march, but the slipping started getting worse, so i figured I would ask about it. I do alot of stop and go interstate travel. That's one reason I dis-like the city. It's freakin' hard on vehicles. I will try to get it apart this weekend and post up what I find. I have a Ford zx2 with a freakin' huge oil leak so that is my first priority so it may be a little bit before I post results. Thanks for the suggestions and tips MT-2500. They are much appreciated.
~JD~

MT-2500 · #8 01-22-2009, 09:36 AM

Hold on the flush.
Only do a pan drop and filter change.
Get it on a good scanner and see where the problem is.
Let us know what you find.

mudslinger88 · #9 01-23-2009, 12:48 AM

Thanks for the info. I will wait on the flush. It may be a few days before I can get it to a tranny shop to get codes, but I will post them as soon as I get them. Again, thanks for the info.
~JD~

Chris Stewart · #10 01-23-2009, 01:15 AM

Don't do a flush, it's only back flushing the system and doesn't clean the filter. Replacing the filter and what fluid comes out with the pan removed is what solves a stopped up filter...it's how I solved a slippage problem.
Get it done asap as it's likely further damage is being done every time it's driven.

MT-2500 · #11 01-23-2009, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mudslinger88

Thanks for the info. I will wait on the flush. It may be a few days before I can get it to a tranny shop to get codes, but I will post them as soon as I get them. Again, thanks for the info.
~JD~

Also have them read out the transmission shift errow and shift adptive and shift slippage data.

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