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YOUR RESEARCH99 996 fuel pump issue
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I borrowed a fuel pump test/bypass relay from a Porsche tech and checked my car's fuel pump this way before calling the tow truck.
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
I just filled the tank Friday so it was at least 3/4 full when he drove it.
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Ok, once a working fuel pump is installed the 2nd problem then of course becomes the #1 problem and it must be dealt with.
Replace squealing high pressure relief valve); head light switch
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Suggestion
Idler roller bearings; clutch accumulator, slave cylinder; busted shifter; radiator fan motor (shaft snapped); spoiler; RMS; water pump; front diff axle flange seals; idler roller bearings again; another radiator fan motor; radiators; power steering tank (to replace a squealing high pressure relief valve); head light switch.
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Should they go out unannounced? In other words, driving down the street and the car stops dead.
I brought the car into the mechanic to get new horns installed. While there I mentioned that it was running a little rough - like it needs a tune up. The next day I go back to get it and he tells me that he took it for a drive and had to have it towed back because it died on the street. He said it's the fuel pump.
It stalled a few times on me but started right back up. Now it's dead and I'm wondering if there's more back story here that meets the eye.
Any thoughts??
This was not unannounced since the car stalled a few times and then started running rough. Cars now days don't need tune ups. There isn't much to tune up without the check engine light coming on. When the work is done, ask for the old part back and then cross reference it to make sure its a pump from a 996.
Better make sure it is the fuel pump. Interesting that you had the horns replaced, then the fuel pump craps out. All that wiring is up there in the same place. There are ways to access the top of the fuel pump and test it in situ with a multimeter and jumping a positive lead to it. A new fuel pump is $300 and I have no idea what the labor charge would be. Maybe a different opinion/indy/dealer would help before forking over $500-$600.
http://www.autoatlanta.com/porsche-p...section=201-00
The one in my Boxster died unannounced.
No warning signs. No hard starting. Pump was fine until it was not fine.
Engine started one morning just fine just like always and I let it idle a bit as is my habit but as I was backing out of parking spot the engine stalled. Tried to start it and it fired up but died almost immediately. After that all the engine would do was just crank.
Had the car flat bedded to the shop and the tech connected shop 12V to the pump and confirmed it had power but it didn't run. Bad pump. Just like that. Oh, at around 170K miles.
However, I would not attribute a stalled engine to a fuel pump without some diagnosis. The pump should run when the key is turned on. And even if it doesn't run that could be a bad fuse or a bad relay. I borrowed a fuel pump test/bypass relay from a Porsche tech and checked my car's fuel pump this way before calling the tow truck.
I called this morning and he said they'll run diagnostics to figure out exactly what it might be. I kinda thought that the mechanic (Porsche is his only gig) might be jumping the gun but when he said fuel pump but from what it sounds like, that might be it. In any case, he quoted $200 for a new fuel pump if that's it.
Macster how many times have you had to call a for a flatbed to dealer or shop? Sure seems like you have to call a lot. I bet your a preferred customer for the tow company. Not being critical, just an observation that you've had a lot of problems with your p-cars.
Hope you have a large repair budget.
^ That will happen when you actually drive the car, rather than just parking it in your garage and disassembling and reassembling it ad infinitum.
When a fuel pump goes, it just goes. The fuel pump in my C4 and my Corvette both died in similar manners - driving along, and then...nothing. The 911 had stalled once or twice; the 'Vette died with absolutely NO warning.
If you have a C4, the labor will be less than for a C2.
I'd suggest also checking the fuel pump relay. Otherwise, it could definitely be the fuel pump. They can just go out unexpectedly. Have a tech article about the pump
here
if needed.
^So much easier to check for fuel itself^... The symptom is the same
This being said, nobody likes to admit that the car simply ran out of gas - especially after they pull the fuel pump (and then realize that the tank is empty)...
I just filled the tank Friday so it was at least 3/4 full when he drove it. And I know that the fuel gauge works because I've driven it until the indicator light came on and it really was just shy of empty.
Here's what happened when the fuel pump went out (unannounced) on my '99 996:
https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...5-minutes.html
I had a fuel pump relay go out on my 964 a few years before that, so I was hoping it was just the relay. In the end, it was the fuel pump. Not the end of the world, though, wasn't that big of a hit.
Oh I am not sure I can remember them all. For the Boxster: AOS (40 mile tow); after I hit some road debris on 50 highway and busted a radiator (75 mile tow to Wichita, KS); for a suspected water pump (25 mile tow); for a suspected fuel pump (2 mile tow); another AOS (90 mile tow); and another AOS (10 mile tow). Note this is over 292K miles of driving.
With the Turbo, it was: mule deer hit (600 mile tow from Ely NV to Livermore CA); busted shifter (CPO warranty) (two mile tow). I think that's it. Oh, current mileage is 132K miles.
Both cars get used so it is not unexpected that things wear out or go bad. Only big things -- so far -- with the Boxster has been a VarioCam solenoid/actuator. But little things are kind of interesting. For instance I replaced the Boxster's oil filler tube cap the other day. It was loose and leaking at least at idle. (Triggered CEL and P1128 error code.) This is the 2nd time I've had to replace that cap. After so many miles after so much time the o-ring shrinks I guess and the thing leaks.
The Turbo has been a bit of a disappointment with more things going wrong with it and in fewer miles than the Boxster. Idler roller bearings; clutch accumulator, slave cylinder; busted shifter; radiator fan motor (shaft snapped); spoiler; RMS; water pump; front diff axle flange seals; idler roller bearings again; another radiator fan motor; radiators; power steering tank (to replace a squealing high pressure relief valve); head light switch.
So the car has been in the shop for almost two weeks. Originally for new horns. I mentioned that the car was acting like it needed a tune up so he takes it for a drive and it died. Fuel pump was the immediate go to culprit. A week later he's telling me the new fuel pump was bad out of the box and he was waiting for another. Today I go in and he's telling me that my catalytic converter might be bad. He starts the engine and it sounds horrible. He points to the fuel pump hoses and shows me that they should be white but these were a gas color (orangy). He claims that bad gas can do that.
Needless to say I'm a bit pissed at the mechanic and wondering if this is his way to make money off of me. Any ideas on the bad gas theory he's throwing at me? What about the cat on a car with only 30,000 original miles?
Fuel lines discolored? Due to bad gas? New one on me. The plastic hoses that came out along with the fuel pump from my Boxster were orange in color. From bad gas? Not hardly. Just normal discoloration course from having been mostly immersed in gasoline for years and over 172K miles.
A converter can go bad at any time. Some fail, well, I'm sure at least one has failed at around 30K miles. So your's if bad wouldn't be the first.
Was the CEL on? If the converter is bad enough to affect the engine's running I would expect -- although it doesn't' have to be the case -- the CEL to be on and one or more error codes logged pointing at the converter.
When techs start rattling off it could be this, it could be that, and attributing normal things as being abnormal I get a bit leery.
You might want to consider finding another shop.
I called the Porsche dealer and the tech said basically the same thing. That the lines can discolor from fuel additives. The best way to check is to pull a spark plug. They should be orangish too. I'm on my way back to the mechanic to go through this with him again. If push comes to shove, I'll bring it to the dealer and get them to fix it.
The fuel lines discolor from being exposed to gasoline. It has nothing to do with bad gasoline.
The fuel pump could have been bad. There are checks though to be made to confirm this. One is to use a bypass relay to ensure the fuel pump relay is not bad and of course confirm the pump fuse is not blown. Another is to ensure the pump has power when disconnected from the car's electrical system and powered by 12V shop power.
The tech went through all of these -- well, I used his bypass relay to eliminate the relay, and I tried another known good fuse -- but he did some tests on his own and confirmed the pump didn't run when connectedly directly to shop 12V power.
Now in your tech's defense there could be two problems. One is a bad fuel pump. The new one proving to be bad? That too is possible though rare. However, giving the tech the benefit of the doubt let's say it was bad.
Ok, once a working fuel pump is installed the 2nd problem then of course becomes the #1 problem and it must be dealt with. And this problem is with the converters.
I guess it boils down to how much confidence you have in this tech. It is easy from the sidelines to suggest you move on and find another tech at another shop but that is a call you have to make.
At some point I would want to know upon what basis does the tech believe the converter is the source of the problem? I hate to question a pro at his job but as a customer I'm entitled to some explanation I believe when it is my money involved. I have no real problem paying to have something fixed. I have a problem in funding a problem solving expedition that tosses parts and labor at the symptom until the right part is replaced. That gets damn expensive quickly.
Dare say you may be on to something. I hope it was just a bad fuel pump and then the replacement pump was bad, too, but I too have a feeling the problem was not fuel pump related.
My answer is no. Well, that is they are maintenance items once they go bad of course but I do not consider them due for regular replacement after so many years or miles.
My 2002 Boxster's fuel pump failed at 172K miles but a few years under 10 years old. My 2003 Turbo's fuel pump is still good at 136K miles and at over 12 years old.
If you believe the fuel pump should be replaced on time or miles then that opens up a big old can of worms. What about the water pump? Coolant hoses? Battery? Starter? Alternator? Clutch? Wheel bearings? MAF? Throttle body? And so on.
Very true, 104k on my 2001 pump....coolant hoses at almost 15 yrs old seem like they would need replacement too but doesn't seem like they have many issues. I had a $5 hose strand me last year in my 1986 BMW.....I took it off and it was stamped 1986
I sat with the owner of the shop and the tech and the owner didn't immediately think it was the cat either. He said that when he drove the car and it stalled/stopped it popped from the exhaust when he tried to restart it. He said that that might be an air pressure leak somewhere. He said they'd "smoke" the engine to see if that's the deal and if so it should be an easy fix.
The owner also said though that the discolored tubing from the fuel pump made it look like an old fuel pump. He thought that it was very unusual to see the discoloration on a newly installed pump. So something is up somewhere and all I see is Dollars going out until the fix is found.
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