Car died randomly while driving, now won't stay running

[CurseTheSky]

My girlfriends 2003 Malibu 3.1L V6 with ~150k miles randomly died about half a mile from my house on Thursday. She said it started to choke and sputter, then died completely, and would crank but not catch when she tried starting it again. Prior to this, the car has had virtually no problems.

The car cranks with plenty of force and all accessories work fine, so it's not the battery. The car started and ran for ~10 seconds when I sprayed starting fluid in the throttle body, and was even able to rev to 4k with no hesitation / skipping / etc., so it's not the starter or something crazy like a thrown rod. Oil and other fluids are fine, no CEL, and no visible leaks.

When we turn the key to "On," I don't hear a whine for the fuel pump, but it was a noisy area so I couldn't say for sure. I swapped the fuel pump relay with the horn relay (same part) just to be sure that wasn't the problem, and it didn't help. After several tries with starting fluid, I could hear the fuel pump making some kind of "thumping" noise, kind of like a water pump sucking air. The car has a 1/4 tank of gas.

We picked up a replacement fuel filter (presumably never changed) and I will pull a line and see if it squirts any fuel to test the pump. Other than that, anything we should be checking for?

Thanks.

 

[Fenixgoon]

my guess was going to be the fuel pump.

not that i'm an automotive guru though.

 

[boomerang]

my guess was going to be the fuel pump.

not that i'm an automotive guru though.

Yup, sounds like a fuel system problem.

Even if the pump runs, it may not build enough pressure. There is a pressure regulator that could be faulty too. Difficult to accurately diagnose without a fuel pressure gage.

Good troubleshooting steps so far on your part.

 

[Hyperlite]

fuel pumpers

 

[Meghan54]

Same thing happened with our Blazer last year at approx. 170K miles. Started up, drove up to a stop sign, died and wouldn't restart.

Fuel pump.

 

[CurseTheSky]

Replaced the fuel pump and filter today. Took ~5 hours total (not knowing what we were doing and having some trouble getting clearance to take off several fuel lines), but we got it done.

Back in working order.

Having done it once, it's not so bad. The hardest part is busting your knuckles trying to get some of the hoses and other lines off. Once the tank is down, the rest (including putting it all back together) is cake. My girlfriend drives a 2003 Malibu with ~150k (obviously...) and my dad drives a 2003 Malibu LS with ~80k, so it's a good experience to have under our belts. Now to tackle the refrigerant leak...

 

[Meghan54]

Glad you hear it fixed the problem.

You did clean/wash the tank out while you had it down, right?

If not, buy another filter and keep it handy.....you'll probably need it sooner than later.

 

[PricklyPete]

Bravo on diagnosing and fixing the problem.

 

[Squisher]

OP, tell your girlfriend to keep more fuel in the tank on a regular basis. Fuel is what keeps the pump cool. It probably won't matter in this car, but in the future it could save you from having a pump fail on you.

 

[CurseTheSky]

Glad you hear it fixed the problem.

You did clean/wash the tank out while you had it down, right?

If not, buy another filter and keep it handy.....you'll probably need it sooner than later.

Nah. I wanted to, but we were running dangerously low on time. I did take all the precautions I could to keep crud out of the tank while it was dropped; though, of course, a tiny amount of silt dropped in while cleaning the o-ring surface. Visually, the tank itself was fairly clean inside.

Luckily the filter itself was fairly easy to replace, so if I have to do that in another 30-50k miles I won't complain. Hoping to keep the car for at least another 100k.

 

[mafia]

Now to tackle the refrigerant leak...

As in coolant leak? I drive a 2000 Chevy Malibu LS 3.1L V6 and also had a coolant leak. I replaced the Water pump and that fixed the leaking. Thats probably whats causing it in your car, this is a common problem IMO.