Ok, I think that my fuel pump is bad and I would like to know how to check it. What happens is when I am accelerating at full throttle it seems to have less horsepower than it used to and it will sometimes sputter around six thousand. I have replaced my fuel filter and the old filter was extremely bad (I think the old filter killed my pump).
Is the fuel pump from an 81 the same, I know its not fuel injected but will it work?
Does anybody else have any ideas on what could be wrong with the car.

 

Is the car your talking about fuel injected. If it is than you can't use the pump from an 81.

 

yes it is fuel injected it is an 84 se

 

It has to be a fuel injected pump. It doesn't sound to me like thats your problem. Try putting some fuel injection cleaner in the gas tank. It sounds like it is clogged or dirty.

 

I just put fuel injector cleaner in and it felt like I freed some horsies, but it will still sputter every now and then at ~55k-7k WOT.

 

Could it be plug wires? I have no clue what the problem is, but I am open for suggestions.

 

Your injectors are probably too cloged. My dad had a van like that the injectors kept going bad. Had the same sort of problems you are experiencing. Ended up having to replace the injectors. It turned out it was from lack of use. The van was duel fuel Nateral gas and gasoline. The ijectors did not appreicate not being used and went bad. So if your car sits for the winter (like mine does) this may be somthing to concider.

Best of luck

anthrax

 

It's possible it can be the wires. But I still think that the fuel is dirty. Especially since you said the cleaner worked a little bit. I don't know when was the last time you changed your plugs, but if it has been a while you should consider changing them your rotor and cap. If that's not the problem it might be the injectors. I would try the tune up first. It's cheaper and it will help your car if thats the problem or not.

 

nick-7...I have the same problem with my 84 gls-se..i changed the fuel filter and the old one was filthy...still no change or very little at the higher rpm's( 5500 and higher. )...I did a thred on the same problem you have and I was told it was most likely (1) throttle body or TPS problem or (2) need for new wire ,cap and rotor..I hope it is #2 ,,,I have not tried anything yet...the car runs great at 5500 rpm and less ...does yours run good at the lower end?? If you find a remedy , let me know what your problem was and I will do the same for you...I was going to do #2 first, then pull the throttle body and clean it.... we will see.....I'll let you know...cjf

 

cjf I just replaced my rotor, and cap last year and my plugs this year. I cleaned my throttle body already and all the inatake parts. I will try to readjust my tps and see what happens. I still am going to test my fuel pump, I think it is doing pretty good to last 181,000 miles and through an incredible clogged fuel filter.
I think I figured my sputtering problem out, it wouldn't sputter all the time, just every now and then, and it would usually sputter when it was time for me to refuel, so I think I might have been low on gas ( I hope).
Know I just need to fix my drivetrain trouble.

cjf-If you are thinking about cleaning your throttle body you shold take the whole intak manifold off and clean it out (mine was carboned up real bad, I cleaned it and it ran much better) As for your low power up top, are your 5th and 6th ports opening.

 

If Injector cleaner seemed to do some good, it's probably the injectors. Injector cleaners are not a miracle cure and will only do so much. And if your filter was very dirty and you are in the habit of running your fuel down to the last gallon, you probably have dirt lodged in one or more of the injectors - 2 cents

 

hey nick -7, how do you know of the the 5th and 6th port are opening? If they are not, does tht mean it is all carb'ed up ??and will pulling the intake off and cleaning do the trick...and could it be the TPS?...how do you know if that is bad...I am going to keep messing with it...let me know how you solved your problem...and I will let you know how I do and what it was ,,,,if I can......thanks....cjf

 

since my 5th ane 6th ports run off of my air pump I can tell when they open by revving the motor. If you still have them running off of the exhaust pressure you could try revving it, but I think exhaust back pressure also has to do with load. You can also try and check to see if they are opening by putting a little grease on the shaft of the actuators and taking the car for a drive ( try and get the car up to 4-5k to give the ports a chance to fully open) when you get back home you can check and see if the actuator rod looks like it moved.
If you don't have a cat and have a free flow muffler chances are that they are not getting enough back pressure to open properly. If you want to use the airpump to actuate the ports I can tell you how I did it.