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My car had issue regarding stalling and as I've STFF, I've learned I have to replace the breather hoses and MAF. When the problem first appeared, I did see the hose that connects to the elbow under the MAF was loose and almost falling due to it being oily. I've learned that the valve cover gaskets and breather cover needs replacement and re-sealing too. thanks to this forum!!! I've since cleaned the MAF, replaced the seal ring to the elbow that connects the MAF to the throttle body. I have planned to replace the hoses together with the valve cover gaskets and clean and re-seal the breather covers. And replace the plugs while its open. In the mean time, I've been driving the car while waiting for parts and a good day off to perform these tasks.
Every morning at start-up, the car will take a few extra cranks before starting. I've been able to drive it, just having the inconvenience of the car lagging when you first step on the gas, presumably due to the air leak, but still able to go.
Then today happened. As I've gotten off the freeway and drove on the city streets, I noticed a somewhat loss of power while stepping on the gas. Speed gradually slowed down until the car does not have any power and stalled. As I was able to park it on the side, I tried to start it. It will start and within a matter of few seconds, it will stall. It still have a relatively full tank of gas and the battery is fully charged. The last code I read was to replace the MAF (P0100 or P0101). I will get a code reading after I get it towed later today but I wanted to get all of your inputs and maybe point me to the right direction on what to do next, in addition to what I've already planned to do when my parts arrive. Many thanks in advanced. Cheers!
Car currently has 127K miles and I believe I'm the 3rd owner. Parts I've replaced since I've owned it were:
Front shocks
Front upper and lower control arms
Fuel filter
Air filter
Transmission Oil changed
Transmission adapter plug
Radiator and coolant
Thermostat
Coolant reservoir cap
This might be a long shot, and there are of course a lot of things that could cause symptoms like this………but my C240 had similar issues over the course of about 6 months, mainly just hesitation when the gas pedal was pressed at low speed. Couple no starts that were fixed with a new crank pos sensor. The hesitation stuff continued, though pretty irregularly. Finally, a few weeks ago, it failed to start at all. Took it into the shop, and was diagnosed as a failed fuel pump/sender unit. I wouldn't go down that road until you have exhausted the other things you are looking at (it was nearly a $2k repair at the dealer, probably half that if you have the time and means to do it yourself). Either way, all the other hesitation problems went away after that. Just a thought to keep in the back of your mind as you continue to troubleshoot.
Let us know what codes if any you pull
I would unplug the MAF and see if the car can stay running. When its unplugged the car defaults and it should be able to keep itself running at idle. Also make sure the MAF and all other intakes parts are installed correctly (get that intake fixed as pirate air can cause running issues)
If you think its a fuel issue check pressure at the rail if you search on here it is discussed often I believe it should be 55 PSI while cranking but check me on that.
How long ago was that fuel filter done and what brand did you use? I remember a few years back people had problems with the build in pressure regulator on some fuel filters.
Last edited by samaritrey; 04-29-2016 at 11:56 PM.
127k is about the right time for a fuel pump. Mine went out at 120k on the highway in the fast lane! I had to call 911 and a highway patrol stopped all traffic and pushed me to the right side of the highway and that's where the tow truck picked me up and towed me home....A $400 tow!!
Anyways if you're proficient with doing some DIY work, you can get a fuel pump with a sender (one unit) for about $200 from Pelican parts. http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/..._pg2.htm#item5
The job takes about 45 minutes.
Finally had a chance to work around the car this afternoon. I got a fuel pressure tester. Just like you Trey and Ice, I suspect that the fuel pump may be the culprit. A few times the car stalled while my fuel gauge displays a little over 1/4 left in the tank. The few times I've had to contact AAA for gas.
Anyway, I attached the gauge to the valve by the fuel rail. It read about 10-11 psi when I turned the key on. I didn't try to crank it though. Does that sound about right? Also, I was able to pull codes. P0102, which was already there for a while and P0112, first time I've seen this. I've had the MAF unplugged for a while. I was trying to rule out the MAF at the time. Clearly, the car have more issues that need to be resolved. I've attached the pic of the fuel pressure gauge. What do you all think? Shall I purchase the fuel pump now?
The fuel filter was replaced about 4K miles ago on 09/2015, when I replaced all control arms and front shocks. I used a Mahle brand (oem?) purchased from rmeuropean. Thank you for all your inputs. It is much appreciated.
Your fuel pressure is Def way too low. Needs to be approx 50-60 psi. Also I've seen cheap aftermarket fuel filters do this. Other than that I'd say time for pump and relay.
Since you're getting some pressure, that means that the relay is doing its job. If it was me I would just do the fuel pump. As long as the pump isn't completely dead (like mine as the pump was still running, just not putting out any usable pressure like yours) it's not going to use high enough current to damage the relay. I changed mine at 120k and now at 145k, no issue. Here's an informative site on pump replacement. http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...eplacement.htm
This past holiday weekend presented a perfect opportunity to complete the much needed repairs on my sedan. I replaced the fuel pump just as Icebreaker suggested. Purchased the part from autohausaz. Best price for a Bosch brand pump.
Also tackled breather cover seals, valve cover gaskets, breather hoses (4) and plugs (12). The top of the valve cover and coils were very grimy and oily. The plug wells had oil on them, I only found out after i took the plugs off!
I wanted to replace the belt too but was unable to due to the nut/bolt from the tensioning pulley. It's not an external torx bolt but a regular torx with a pin in the middle. My regular torx bit won't fit and as I was searching, it looks like I may need a "keyed torx bit", the one with a hole in the middle... Anyways, I should be able to tackle that in another weekend. All were done from the guidance of the forum. I can't thank all of you who chimed in and all that posted in the past. The infos are very helpful, to say the least.
I'll upload a few pics to share how it looked like as I was taking the valve and breather cover apart, and the plugs. I still have a P0101 code after I reset, so it looks like I may need a new MAF after all. The hesitation during acceleration is gone and so is the stalling after coming to a stop.
Thank you Icebreaker, Rocman8, Flynavy and Samaritrey for you valuable inputs on my fuel pump issue. It is much appreciated!!!
Last edited by quip11; 05-31-2016 at 07:42 PM.
Reason: typo
Glad you're all set (mostly). I would drive it a while and see if maybe the P0101 will go away by itself if you feel that driving is norma at this time.
What I did with mine was that I took a punch and knocked the center out of the torx bolt an just used a regular T-50.......
It was very easy, took less than a minute.
Last edited by Icebreaker; 05-31-2016 at 11:27 PM.
If you're able to enlarge the my pic, the torx bolt in the tensioner is not the same as the photo example on the pelican parts tech info, where its asking for an E10 (reverse torx socket). I can't seem to fit my regular torx bit due to the "pin" in the middle of the torx space. Which is why I wasn't able to replace the belt
Anyhow, the car drove ok this morning, and I probably didn't notice the slightly rough idle. On my way home this afternoon, the idling was rougher and felt the shaking of the whole car. Since I suspected the MAF already, I disconnected it when I got home. Then restarted and drove again after about an hour. This time, no rough idling and hesitation. I've just ordered a new MAF a moment ago.
Thanks Ice. I saw your reply after I sent the previous reply. How did you "punch" it? With what? I have a nail punch I use to punch finishing nails into the base molding when I did my floors a while back. Did you punch it straight in? Won't it damage anything?
Dirty plugs, the middle 2 plugs on the passenger and the front 2 plugs on the driver side had oil on them, when I took it off. I wrapped one of my smaller socket wrenches with thin cloth and carefully inserted into the crevice to soak the oil from inside.
Old fuel pump and new replacement pump prior to install. It's pretty straightforward. The only thing I had a hard time taking off was the supply line on top. The plastic nipple where the hose is attached need to come off too. (I didn't know that). There's a small O-ring that acts as a seal from inside which made it a little difficult to pull out. The bottom return line was easier. There's a small plastic retainer that holds the nipple that needs retracting before pulling it out.
I stand corrected Rocman, you are absolutely right. I used the punch to replace the tensioner bearing. Quip please accept my apologies, Rocman is correct.
04-29-2016, 01:38 PM
