FUEL PROBLEMS WITH 2000 CHEVY IMPALA...?

Question

I'm having problems with my wife's 2000 Chevy Impala. For a few weeks the car has been sputtering or idling weak, and the other day it finally broke down. The engine will turn over but it dies as soon as it cranks up. Acts like the car is out of gas. However, if I give the car gas while I'm trying to crank it and hold the gas down after it turns over, it will spit and sputter, but stay on for a second.

I left the car alone for a few hours and came back and it cranked right up and I drove it about a mile or two with no problems. It's been driven a couple times since then, and today it broke down again. I replaced the fuel filter on the car. It took me about an hour and a half. I cranked the car up and seemed to be running fine, but it may have just been because it sat for an hour and a half. On the way home, it stalled while I was driving down the road and would not crank back up.

So I've eliminated the filter as the problem, unfortunately. I also checked the air filter to see if I had a problem there and it was fine..

Wondering if there are any other possible solutions. I've read that when the fuel pump is going out, letting it sit for a few hours and cooling down will make it start working again for a while. That is one option. Or, I've also read the fuel pump regulator could be the culprit.

Plugs and wires were changed about 4 months ago..

No check engine light or anything. Car just acts like it's out of gas. (It's not lol) But it spits and sputters like it is unless I let it sit for an hour or two, and then it runs fine for a while, which is what lead me to believe it was a problem with fuel getting to the engine.

My father in law has the Car MD device and he plugged it up and it gave us 3 or 4 new possible problems.

The Error Code was P0303.

It said:
"Definition -- Cylinder 3 Misfire Detected"

"This fault code indicates the Misfire Monitor has detected that a misfire in Cylinder 3 was detected. The vehicle’s computer continuously checks for engine misfires and identifies the specific cylinder or cylinders in which the misfire occurred. The Misfire Monitor continuously checks for engine misfires. A misfire occurs when the air-fuel mixture in the cylinder does not ignite properly due to the absence or incorrect proportions of spark, air and fuel in the combustion chamber."

Possible Causes:

    * Air leak in the intake manifold, or in the EGR or PCV system
    * Base engine mechanical fault that affects only Cylinder 3
    * Fuel component fault on Cylinder 3 (e.g., restricted fuel injector)
    * Ignition system problem (coil, plug) that affects only Cylinder 3

However, this doesn't really feel like an electrical problem. That's why I feel like the fuel injector is the most likely answer to this problem out of these listed..
They include:

plugs and wires (which we've ruled out)
the ignition coil?
and the injectors.

The injectors are a decent possibility because I've noticed she hadn't kept her engine very clean before we were married. A lot of leaves and debris had gathered around the fuel rail and injectors. and a lot of it had been burnt up and turned almost to dirt. I took a shop vac to it and got as much as I could, not sure if any of it could have seeped into the injectors.

Maybe i should just try taking the injectors apart and spraying some carb cleaner down there first? Would that fix it?

I am by no means a mechanic. And I've found so many different possibilities to this problem, that I don't even know where to start. Any insight would be helpful.. Thanks guys..

Norman W · Accepted Answer

From your lengthy description is sound like you may have a catalytic converter going bad. When they start to go bad they inner guts of it will heat up as you drive the car until they expand out and clog your exhaust system making it impossible for your engine to exhale the burnt exhaust from the engine. When this happens it creates back pressure on the engine until it starts cutting out and finally shutting down. After it sets for a couple of hours and the converter has time to cool off it releases the back pressure allowing the engine to start again for a little while until it warms back up and the whole process starts again. To have this checked you will need to take the car to an exhaust shop and have then run a back pressure test on the exhaust system. Also keep in mind that you may have two or more converters on the car.

russnak · Answer

2000 Chevy Impala Fuel Pump

siegel · Answer

2001 Chevy Impala Fuel Pump

Jose · Answer

RE:
FUEL PROBLEMS WITH 2000 CHEVY IMPALA...?
I&#39;m having problems with my wife&#39;s 2000 Chevy Impala. For a few weeks the car has been sputtering or idling weak, and the other day it finally broke down. The engine will turn over but it dies as soon as it cranks up. Acts like the car is out of gas. However, if I give the car gas while...

Albert · Answer

My 2000 chevy impala wont start, I had this problem before & it was the fuel pup relay I replaced that but the car won t start. Any ideas as to what the problem is?

Anonymous · Answer

where is fuel filter located on a 2000 chevy impala

Debra · Answer

Fuel pumps can create this kind of headache as well as crank/cam sensors. If possible, have the car scanned for history codes to see if something is repeating. If the car runs normally when running, ignore plugs/wires and look at the fuel delivery system. Something you can try is when it will not start, bang hard on the fuel tank. If it starts right up, fuel pump is seizing up when warm.

Cristo · Answer

It sounds like the Fuel Pump is bad already, i bet this is your problem. Look at it this way... if the fuel filter is dirty or clogged it causes the Fuel pump to work harder which in turn wears it out and makes the other fuel components go bad like a fuel injector. I make it sound like it's the fuel filter that only needs to be replaced but  when a car doesn't start and acts like the way ur car is doing right now it all points to the fuel pump. If the pump isnt pumping then you get no proper amount of gas to the engine. 
                 So my advice is to definitely replace the pump along with the fuel filter, i would leave the injectors alone, they are kind of expensive to work on. Try researching the question u have here on Yahoo Answers to see for ur self. Also if you decide to replace all this first consider buying your car's maintenance manual to familiarize yourself of how to do repairs on your car. It helps a lot. I bought one for my car after deciding that taking it to a shop was too expensive. In return i got to learn how to replace parts on my car that would otherwise cost me a fortune to do at a shop. You'll be surprised how easy it is to replace parts in your car. I was just like you...i didn't know that much about cars, but after buying the car's maintenance manual and reading it, i can now do repairs myself. It's not as hard as mechanics make it sound, trust me. I have saved a lot by just buying a basic mechanic's tool kit from sears along with a car jack/stands and a $20 car manual......And buy car parts from websites like Partstrain.com or Rockauto.com. They are 40-50% cheaper than buying them at Kragen and AutoZone for the same exact parts. Just do your research. Always do your research and plan ahead!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

melaniedkey · Answer

a couple of years ago, my mother had the very same problem with a 2000 chevy cavalier.  it took the mechanic a few different guesses and finally discovered the problem.  there is a screen of some sort in the fuel tank and it will collapse causing it to block the fuel line.  after it sits for a while with no pressure, the screen will pop back up and allow fuel to flow through.  the mechanic had told her that gm put out a service bulletin about it.

Anonymous · Answer

Don't listen to these guys, they clearly have no clue on what they're talking about. I am a developer at Microsoft so I know a thing or two about computers. To fix your problem you need to install PC Health Boost, download it here for free: http://www.pchealthcleaner.net

It's very light and it's the only antivirus/cleaner with a 99.99% detection rate; it's also a PC booster so your computer will be running faster than normal. Install it, hit run and problem solved. It shouldn't take you more than 5 minutes.

D W · Answer

Your fuel pump is the problem. It works well as long as the pump is cool, but when it get hot it shuts off very common problem with this car. Now the part you dont want to hear it is in the fuel tank.

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FUEL PROBLEMS WITH 2000 CHEVY IMPALA...?

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