My priceless little montee died today

['round n' back again]

We are piplinin'out near the coast in oregon.
get up at 430 everyday the same. 7 days a week till its in the ground. get half way out there and she starts to stagger.
she loses power but runs then staggers some more. picks up and stops
is it fuel or electrical?? who knows.
i give her 10 dollars gas just incase the gauge had fritzed on me and take off
three more miles, this time she dies for sure.`
anyway no time to diagnose. no CEL light, so, outside its parameters? fuel pump? relay? dunno
have her towed back to my shop, and there she sits.

i have an instinctual nose for broken things. it is what keeps me employed on the pipeline. i am far from the best mechanic out there but my instinct tells me to go and where the break is and oftener than not its the problem. this instinct has saved my butt many times and sometimes made me look better than i am to my mechanic team mates.most of whom can out work, out think, and out smart, me anyday. on this job im the spread oiler so i dont have to mechanic anyway.
anyway i thinks its the ECM , that what i thinks. that is pestering my little jewel.
got no proof and the shop will have to diagnose this for sure since i am far too busy right now to do it.

BUT, if it is the ECM, i want to piggy back a smart learn style of engine tuning system onto this little 3 liter v 6.

im guessing the DSM tuners have played with this a lot on this engine.

all i can really play with is the ignition timing and the pulse width on the injectors.

but the ability to tune from my phone or a raspberry p(ie) intrigues me.

any thoughts???

tune for altitude, for low end power for cruise range, have 4 different maps for different situations ....

 

[Montynv]

Try DSMlink, you will need to send in your ECM to have the EPROM removed but their kit uses their own EPROM and you can control all the parameters.

 

[IncorpoRatedX]

Hmm.. I'd check for the ecu's heartbeat before leaning on that idea, mostly cuz i would guess it's the fuel pump, but that can easily be checked too. get out your FSM and look these two things up, ecu sends a pulse signal when the key is on and the ecu is ok, fuel pump has a test lead under the hood you can power and listen for the pump out back.

As for tuning ecu's, you're not going to find much for that generation of engine. Actually, I'm assuming you're talking about a gen 1, because i thought you had a gen 1, but i noticed recently that you ordered gen 2 trailing arm kit from ADD, so now im not really sure what you drive, might want to include that info in your signature or something. Helps for tech talk.

 

['round n' back again]

Fuel pump, my first suspect too. it feels like it. i dug my spare from under the seat
pulled up the rubber mat, hmmm"nd and haw'ed realized id have to get under the rig to disconnect the fuel line.

nawwww.

that pump in there is not a year old and i beleive it was a denso or aisin some brand of quality, which is why i began to think outside the box. relay maybe?


and likely because i needed an excuse to dig into the electronics....

" See!? the fuel pump is bad, i hafta rebuild the ECU in my own image""


OK THANKS FOR THE LINK!!!
for the dsm guys.


yes im a Gen 1 owner or it owns me whatever.

but much of the rig has Gen2 stuff on it or will have ; suspensions, axles, steering, brakes etc gonna get me a rubicon transfer case 2!!! so it will be part jeep!


im going to fire you an order for the rest of the parts after i receive the rear trailing arm stuff.

im going to get new springs but im unfond of the "stiffer, stronger, longer " mindset. im going to buy new factory pieces for that

naca ducts for that flat hood
and im ready for summer!


thank you both for responding.

 

['round n' back again]

she lives!!!
playful as a puppy

purrs like a kitty

incorpX your right on about the fuel pump.... went to look at receipts and the new dead pump was a beck arnley piece

i have a new design im going to build that eliminates that in tank pump, what a messy headache in 100 degree heat to r&r that darn thing. and of course the next time she goes will be in the dead of night on a snowy back road in the sierra nevadas....

alas the ecu mods will have to wait.....thankfully. i have a suspension to rebuild.











7

 

[coffeegoat]

I feel for you, I once replaced a fuel pump 2 days before a cross country trip, the stupid thing made it nearly 1000 miles before it died in the middle of nowhere Iowa. Luckily it was on my old nissan and was mounted externally on the frame rails.

On the bright side the other major failure on that trip was a head gasket in the middle of Nebraska so count your blessings.

 

[IncorpoRatedX]

she lives!!!
playful as a puppy

purrs like a kitty

incorpX your right on about the fuel pump.... went to look at receipts and the new dead pump was a beck arnley piece

i have a new design im going to build that eliminates that in tank pump, what a messy headache in 100 degree heat to r&r that darn thing. and of course the next time she goes will be in the dead of night on a snowy back road in the sierra nevadas....

alas the ecu mods will have to wait.....thankfully. i have a suspension to rebuild.

Right on, do yourself good, leave the pump in the tank, it's actually a better design, like it or not. If you haven't purchased yet, I'd suggest a denso pump from rock auto, or dealer one. Like you called it, changing a pump underneath sucks in the snow, being out of the tank also doesnt cool the pump as well in the warmer days, it also leaves the connections more open to corrosrion, requires more exposed fuel connections and the kind you'll need are loud as hell when used inline, those EFI inline pumps sure do whine.