Hello my van is only starting about 20% of the time right now. Cranks and almost turns over, but just won't run. Sometimes after cranking it chugs and and sputters, maybe unburnt fuel is combusting? I suspected a problem with the Passlock system but scan of the Passlock system says it's functioning normally. I do see what looks like aftermarket mods to the Passlock system under the dash.

Could be a bad fuel pressure regulator, but I can't find that component. I pulled the fuel pump relay and the cranking sounds similar so I suspect some sort of fuel issue. The thing that's strange is the van runs fine if it starts, no misfires or other performance issues.

Thanks for any help.

 

measure your fuel pressure

 

thanks it was a rusty fuel filter

 

lucky you didn't have to drop the tank

 

Do these tanks commonly fill up with rust and/or gunk? Would a fuel treatment or anything else prevent future trouble? Thanks for your expertise.

 

no , it can't fill with rust because the tank is made of plastic.
I said you're lucky because most modern cars don't have external filters. They're part of the fuel pump , so you have to drop the tank if the filter clogs up (with varnish or whatever from sitting too long)
No , you don't need any treatments.

 

I dropped my tank (for several reasons) and I have to say that it was not a difficult job.
- The van was a little over a foot of the ground on stands
- I sucked out as much of the fuel as possible through the filler pipe
- Disconnect the filler pipe from the tank
- Disconnect the fuel hoses from the tank
- Unscrew the bolts that hold the two bands while carefully lowering the tank with a jack

Mounting the tank, same procedure in reversed order.

With the van off the ground and with no fuel in the tank, I estimate that I can change the sender unit now in little over an hour.

I have to do mine one more time to change the charcoal canister that is clogged. Finding that part is not easy, it looks to be discontinued.......

P.s. my ('97) tank is metal. The plastic that you see from below is just a cover:
Maybe later models had plastic tanks.

 

I assumed all fuel tanks in the last 30 years were plastic. My 2000 Astro had one. Guess I was wrong.

 

I think this Express 2500 has a metal tank. I was poking around looking for the filter and did notice what I thought was a plastic cover. Here's what a replacement tank looks like:



You're right, fuel filters are often part of the fuel pump assembly. However, in my experience, older vans and trucks tend to have inline filters on the fuel lines. Also, most of the imports I've worked on tend to have access ports for the fuel pump and filter under the rear seats, removing the requirement to drop the tank.

The only time I almost had to drop a fuel tank was a ruptured fuel line right near the top of the fuel tank. By a stroke of luck, the truck had a dump bed which lifted just enough for me to cut the line and drop in a flare!

Thanks again for the help.

 

The no-start condition is back. I'm reading about CSFI spider valve problems and it sounds a lot like my issue. Removing the intake plenum sounds like a pain. First I'll do the fuel pressure leakdown test...