Thread: Where did my power go??

Maybe not one something, but a lot of little somethings forming a clot. Kinda like arterial sclerosis of the fuel lines.

I think the return in the tank has a little screen on the end. Maybe that's all fouled up.

Hold everything. You're dealing with a newbie on this fuel thing. In my head the fuel would come from the pump and go first to the regulator, then the rail and then return to the tank. Well since this is what I thought, I was trying to blow air into the supply and not the return. I figured this out the hard way when I turned the key and fuel came shooting out what I thought was the return line.

Now that I have this figured out, I removed the real return line and ran a hose from the return line to a gas can, started the car and it was running at 48psi. When I disconnected the return line i could hear the faint sound of the fuel spilling back into the tank. I blew some compressed air (45psi) into the line and I could hear bubbles in the tank. I raised the pressure up a little(80psi) and it didn't seem like there was a larger amount of bubbles since there was alot more air. I reconnected everything and I was back to where I started. 90psi.

I'm going to double check the return line again tonight to see if I see any kink or damage but I'm pretty sure there wasn't any from when I checked it out the other day.

So are you saying that you did not get the high fuel pressure issue with the return line leading to a gas can?

Originally Posted by agrazela

So are you saying that you did not get the high fuel pressure issue with the return line leading to a gas can?

That's right. When I had the return line draining into a gas can while the car was running, I was getting a reading of 48psi. The line did drain when disconnected back into the gas tank but I'm guessing it may be a partial blockage.

Sweet sound like your on your way to fixing your problem

I checked under tha car again to inspect the entire length of the return line starting from on top of the motor to where it goes on top of the gas tank. I did not see any damage or any sign of a possible kink in the line.

I did see directly above the fuel filter there is another quick connect where it changes over from a steel line to a rubber line. I'm thinking of disconnecting this and do the pressure tests again using a gas can to catch the returning fuel. I'm just a little concerned that when I disconnect the 2 lines, gas will start syphoning out of the tank since the hose is lower than the tank. Any suggestions?

Siphoning will not happen. The return inside the tank opens at a higher point than the level of the fuel.

x2, I think you're close to finding it.

Originally Posted by agrazela

Siphoning will not happen. The return inside the tank opens at a higher point than the level of the fuel.

x2, I think you're close to finding it.

I thought I heard bubbles when I put the compressed air into the return line. That would show the end on the line is submerged. I also have 3/4 of a tank so maybe I'll burn some off first and then try it. Thanks

Originally Posted by agrazela

Siphoning will not happen. The return inside the tank opens at a higher point than the level of the fuel.

You were right. Just a small trickle of fuel came out.

When I disconnected the return line next to the fuel filter, I routed it to a gas can to see what I would get with the pressure. The pressure was high again. The gas was barely running into the gas can. I then disconnected the quick disconnect on top of the motor and tried to put some compressed air in to drain whatever fuel was still in the line. The gas was again barely running into the gas can. The good news is it appears the blockage is somewhere between these 2 points. The bad news is now how do I get to the exact problem. I looked over the line again and I still don't see anything that may be causing it. There is 1 more quick disconnect but its buried under the master cylinder and I don't think it accessible from underneath. Any suggestions?
Does anyone have the phone# for Roto-Rooter?

I'm sure the book would say to replace the entire return line...$$$

Are you sure there's a disconnect down under the MC? I'd think it's just a nylon-to-steel "overlap joint" transition.

Maybe spray half a can of carb cleaner into the line and try to blow some air through it? Or maybe get a tiny little funnel, pour half a bottle of injector cleaner into the line, let sit overnight, then blow it out?

Originally Posted by agrazela

Are you sure there's a disconnect down under the MC? I'd think it's just a nylon-to-steel "overlap joint" transition.

I was assuming there would be a disconnect down there since all of the transitions were disconnects. If it's not a disconnect then that would make it even harder to try and open it up and test each piece seperately.

Does anyone want to buy a slightly used GTP?

I just changed the return fuel line and I still don't have the power I should have. I do have the correct fuel pressure so it seems that there was definitely some sort of clog in the old line. I haven't had a chance to rip the old line apart to see what the blockage was. I was almost hoping my car would fall on me so I can be put out of my misery.

Any ideas on what is causing this.

any more progress? don't give up even tho i know your pissed..

Originally Posted by Bio248

how good does your tune look?

I don't have any mods on the car and I never had anything done to the tuning. I wish I knew someone in my area that I could take this to so I can have another set of eyes look it over. Does anyone know of anyone in Central NJ area?

My brother-in-law helped me with this latest project with the fuel line. He thinks my small exhaust leak in my resonator would be causing this. Do you think a small leak in the exhaust would cause this much of a loss of power?

Originally Posted by Bio248

does it still bog out? is your cat or resonator clogged? may be your next thing to look at.

Yeah, it still bogs down. When I was under my car, I tried to get a good look at the resonator and it looks like it rusted on top and has a hole. I stopped by a Midas shop to get a price to replace te resonator it would be $270 and to eliminate the resonator it would be $190. The guy was pissed when I said I would have to think about it. I'm going to look into doing it myself and probably next weekend.
Th cat was changed aound 3 months ago and there was no change in the performance.