1998 Buick Regal GS. 3800 SC.
Repairs for this problem = Changed fuel filter.
Question = My car will start, it will die immediately. It will run if I press
the gas. The car will sputter and not exceed 4200 rpm. Any advise
would be appreciated.
Answer: If the fuel filter that you changed was extremely clogged, you
can bet that the fuel pump has gone out now. After the pump has
been working against a restriction, once that restriction is gone the
pump fails easily because it can't keep up anymore. If you can get it
started, you may be getting enough fuel pressure for that, but since it
sputters and dies out, you don't have enough to keep it going. If you
can get the fuel pressure checked, it should be in the 55psi range. A
little bit lower is ok, but anything 10psi or less than spec is bad.
Another you might want to check is that you installed the fuel filter
correctly. It is meant to have fuel flow through it only one way, and if
it's backwards that will cause a problem too. If it has different fittings
on each end, where it only goes on one way, then you should be ok
there. Other problems that may be related are a bad crank sensor,
faulty fuel injector, bad pcm, or other electrical problem. A clogged
catalytic converter can cause an issue like this too.