QuestionQUESTION: Hi,
I was driving my '03 cts down a major artery yesterday and all of a sudden, without any warning, the car stalled out.
There was no loss of power, there was no emergency light, no check engine light. I was able to get it off the road to a near by parking lot.
Had plenty of fuel/half a tank (no "low fuel" warning light#
Had plenty of oil #info said 86% oil life#
I first tried swapping out the battery. This got the car started but the engine cut out again on my way to the garage. #again, my info said I had "14 battery volts, ok"#
The problem was repetitive, I would start the car, drive it for a few minutes, it would stall. Repeat.
It seems that as the car got warmer, the problem would happen more frequently #starting the car from cold the next day presented no problem#.
The stuff I've been reading indicates I may have a fuel pump problem. #seems to have similar symptoms#
Thoughts?
ANSWER: Hello,
Unfortunately not all that is read on the Internet applies to one particular situation. Guessing on this could be very costly with the replacement of perfectly good parts in the quest to fix the problem. You are dealing with a symptom (stalling) and not the direct cause.
If you take the car to a garage and tell them to change the fuel pump, the will. This is not the way to approach this.
Since the problem can be repeated, you tell the garage (not a dealer) the engine is stalling. They have the equipment to diagnose and the can tell you what is wrong. You could have a plugged filter or a collapsed screen or something electronic. You just don't know. Let them diagnose. They are the ones that have to live with it if the are wrong.
Good luck!
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: You mention:
"you tell the garage (not a dealer) the engine is stalling."
Just to be certain, are you recommending I do not go to a dealer? (I wouldn't anyway).
I am curious only because the first garage I brought it to actually recommended a dealership....
thoughts?
ANSWER: Hello,
Having 11 years with GM dealers and having for 17 years to repair electrical problems they couldn't, I have little to no confidence in them. Plus the fact their cost can be close to double that of a service center.
I think you may have gone to the wrong garage. In fact, if I were you, I wouldn't consider any place that would send you to a dealer. Worst case, Firestone, Goodyear and places like that should have the correct equipment to diagnose the problem.
http://www.autotheftexpet.com
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Hi Again,
Just as a follow-up, I got the problem diagnosed and the code that popped up was the crank shaft sensor.
I bought the replacement part but I have not been able to find any quality step-by-step instructions on how to replace the sensor. Would you be able to assist?
In addition, it was also recommended that I replace the fuel filter. I purchased that part as well but again, I can't seem to find decent instructions on how to replace. Suggestions?
Thank you for your help and time, your advice to date has been invaluable.
Cheers.
AnswerHi,
One just needs where to look--here you go:http://search.aol.com/aol/search?enabled_terms=&s_it=comsearch51&q=crank+sensor+
Fuel filter is kind of self explanatory. Should be located on rear driver's side frame rail under car. Remove with line wrenches and reinstall. Line wrenches are box wrenches with a slice out of them to fit over the line. this way you don't spin the nut ends.
http://www.autotheftexpert.com
