Pontiac Repair: 1995 Pontiac Bonneville 3.8 Fuel Injected, fuel pressure regulators, vacuum hoses


Question
This car has been pampered and has 133,000 miles when I took it over from a family member. I noticed the check engine light would come on once in a while then it got more constant, I could never find a problem. Then it started jerking and trying to die while driving. I took it to the dealer for code check. It showed I needed a new crank sensor and new EGR valve (ok fixed that). The next day the engine light comes back on. So I checked and cleaned all connections, same problem. Since I had no idea when fuel filter and plugs and wires were changed last I did that. Changed the fuel filter first and drove it, all symptoms seemed to disappear. I also added a good injector cleaner to a fresh tank of gas. I went ahead a changed out the wires and plugs for good measure. After a couple days it's back to the same old thing. It started off mild and is getting worse the more it is driven now. I checked the fuel lines for damage along with vacuum hoses. It acts as if starving for fuel at times then revs to around 3000 rpm and holds there for a few seconds on it's own after pumping the throttle to keep it from dyeing at a stop light. I checked the fuel pressure with a gauge today and with the key on it read 47-48 psi then started the engine and let it warm up to normal operating temp read 45-46 psi at all times. I could not get the car to act up the way it does on the road, so I am still puzzled. I am thinking fuel pressure reg, TPS, IAC but which?

Answer
Hi Gary:
well you threw everthing but the kitchen sink at this.. What is the code that is turning the lamp on the dash? you can goto one of the big box car parts stores and they will scan the car for free and let you know what the code is. once you know what that is there is a starting point. Crank sensors are pretty common on these cars to go bad. another issue with these is fuel pressure regulators leaking gas into the vacuum line on the top of it. with the car running pull the vacuum line off and see if ther is raw fuel comming out of the vacuum port. You could have some dirty injectors still adding cleaner to the tank works some times sometimes not. the best way to clean them is with a power flush unit and a good commercial cleaner. but again untill you know what the code is that is setting it's hard to say for sure what's going on here. Good luck :)