first id like to thank yall for helpin me so much on my first turbo engine swap...now i have this 2.3 turbo out of an 88tbird that i put in my little 86 ranger...ive gotten the wiring and vacume figured out and it starts once in a while but i think its dumping too much fuel...i have an 85psi max inline fuel pump and i just replaced the stock fuel pressure regulator today, i also pulled each spark plug and cleaned them because they were black from what seemed to be dumping too much fuel (cylinder 2 plug was soaked in gas yet and cylinder 4 was still a lil wet) so after doing all that i went to fire it up and it started first crank ran for about 3 seconds and sputtered dead....numerous attempts to start it failed and i think i started draining the battery too much so i stopped...

is my fuel pump too strong for the stock fuel pressure regulator?

id like to figure out whats wrong before i go spending big bucks on an aftermarket adjustable regulator and/or a different fuel pump...any ideas???


thanks again in advance

 

Have you taken any fuel pressure readings? That should tell you right off if the pump is overpowering the regulator. Might even have blown the diaphragm out of it. Do you have a stock or lower pressure pump you can try? Do you really need tht much pressure anyway?

 

well i got a good deal on the pump and figured the stock regulator could tone it down a bit...i dont have any tools to really test a efi motor, im used to working on carb. ones..all my fuel pressure guages only go up to like 15-20 psi

 

I bought a cheap tester from Harbor Freight that goes up to 100 psi:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=92699

However, you can make a quicky tester with a cheap 0-100 psi pressure gauge from the hardware store (about 6-8 bucks), a brass fitting or two, a piece of fuel hose and a couple of hose clamps. The Schrader valve on your fuel rail has a valve core just like a tire valve stem, except that it's deeper in the stem and so not all valve core removal tools will get it out (and by the same token, not all tire gauges will work on it, but some will although there's more risk of squirting fuel all over the place if testing it with a tire gauge)

First, relieve the fuel system pressure. I usually give the Inertia switch a whack to trigger it with the engine running and let it die, but if your's won't stay running or even start, that's not quite gonna work. You might trigger it or otherwise cut power to the fuel pump and then crank the engine for a few moments, then check at the Schrader valve to see if you've lost pressure.

Some folks just stick a small screwdriver in the Scrader valve and let it squirt till the pressure bleeds off, I just prefer not to get gas everywhere. (And waste any of it!)

However you choose to do it, after the pressure's off the system get that valve core out of there and slip a piece of fuel hose over the outside, clamp it in place and insert the pressure gauge into the top (with whatever fittings you've had to buy to adpt the 1/8" or 1/4" pipe thread of the gauge to a slip fitting for the hose) clamp that in place and energize the system. Now you should be able to read the pressure which the regulator should maintain at about 35-45 psi with the engine running. You should be close to that, perhaps a bit on the high side with the system pressurized but not running.

Hope this helps...