Driving to work yesterday and the car shuts off. It acted like it was out of fuel. I tried to restart the car with no luck. I work for a trucking agency and I had my master mechanic look at the car. Without diagnostic software, he isn't able to determine what might be the issue. I have replaced the fuel filter, checked to make sure the fuel pump was operational, checked all of the fuses, and everything else I could think of. It acts again like its out of fuel. Refuses to start. Does anybody have any ideas??? The car runs great otherwise... Ive never had any issues with it. I just put a new radiator in it, new tires, and was planning on replacing the plugs and wires as well as the air intake.

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks!

-Dave

 

Have you checked the timing belt?

 

Two common reasons for sudden death on the road are a stripped timing belt or a blown ignition coil. (Note that truck diesel engines have neither of these parts, so if someone has only worked on those he wouldn't know much about it).

For a quick check of the timing belt, take the oil fill cap off and look inside the valve cover. You should see the rocker arms go up and down when the engine is cranked. (Sometimes, rather than being stripped entirely, the belt will skip teeth and put the engine out of time. This would need to be checked by taking the plastic cover off and checking the physical timing marks).

If the cam is moving you can go on to check for spark. Pull one of the spark plug wires out and put a spare plug in the end. Hold the shell of the plug against the engine and crank. The plug should spark a strong white spark.

To check fuel flow, disconnect the fuel return hose which comes from the fuel pressure regulator on the left (timing belt side) end of the fuel rail and goes to a metal pipe on the firewall. Before working on the fuel system, loosen the gas cap to release any pressure from the tank. Direct the end of the hose into a container. Fuel should come out for a short time when you turn the key on but don't try to start.