I've hit a snag in my adventure of just getting the car to run and drive. THe car sat in a barn for near 8 years. It was brought out of storage and a new radiator with new fan and a new battery dropped into it in 2010.

The car ran for an hour. As the family member was going to drive it away, it died a half mile down the road. That's the state it was in ever since. The motor would turn over, but never fire up.

Face forward to today. Curiosity and boredom, along with some extra money, have compelled me to try to get the Mopar going again.

Here's what have been replaced thus far based on previous information:
Fuel Pump + Gaskets
Fuel Filter + the high pressure hoses running to it from the lines
Distributor Cap - my fault as I cracked the old one
Ignition Coil
Plugs and wires
Air filter

Now, the car is sitting on jack stands in my garage. I put about 4 gallons or so in fuel into the tank. The car turns over and nearly all the electrical stuff works(the controls for the cabin air only half work).

Here is my current situation:
The car will only start if starting fluid or gasoline is put directly into the throttle body. It starts harder on gasoline, but still starts as I would expect an older car to. It runs for 2 seconds then dies. Either liquid causes white fumes to come from both the throttle body and exhaust. It smells similar to a day at a go-kart track 10/15 years ago.

Anyway, I checked my lines. I don't have the equipment to pressure test, but there definitely is fluid at least reaching the throttle body. I started to remove the hose when gasoline started to pour out so I quickly reattached it.

I checked out all fuses and they are fine. I don't have the test lead to check the electrical output to the throttle body. I am also by myself for the next week, so using a multimeter to check is near impossible whilst cranking the engine.

I am assuming that either A. The single fuel injector went bad. B. The fuel pressure regulator went bad. C. Somehow the throttle body is clogged?

Any other ideas on how to keep this badboy running after it has been started? It has high miles(170k) but the body and interior(other than that old mouse smell) are clean. I would like to get it going as one of those "feel like driving something other than my main daily driver today" cars.

The cost for either an injector or regulator is near $40 give or take. I might be better off finding a 2.5L in a yard and pull the entire throttle body off it if I can find one. Oh and if it helps, I dont have the air intake connected at all to the throttle body. I know there is a sensor in it, but I don't think it should completely keep the car from running.

Any thoughts?

 

PM sent

 

I have a 92 Shadow vert with similar history and issues. Sat for 6 years sunk on soft ground. Got it running after new plugs, wires, battery and alternator, and on dry land. Ran for about 30 minutes then only starts with fluid. Unlike you, I am not getting fuel from the tank. Everything indicates lots of rust and gunk, so the new tank, pump, sender have just arrived and I am replacing the fuel lines front to back along with rebuilding the throttle body, new injector, etc.
Replacing all brake lines while I'm at.

 

In recent news, I set the car on fire. With the fuel pressure regulator off, I turned the key over and it started and ran. Of course, it spit gasoline everywhere.

So, I put it back together on the throttle body and waited a while. I go to turn the key over again. Once more, the car acts like it's not getting any fuel but then it sputters a couple times when I touch the accelerator.

Dumb me goes: oh, just give it some gas.

I mash down the pedal then the car starts and runs....so does a fire on top of the throttle body.

Whoops.

Anyway, the only damage I could find after putting out the fire was a melted pigtail going from the harness to the fuel injector. The plug on the injector side is a bubbled very slightly, kind of like it has a rough texture. I think that part is fine. THe part that is melted already has a replacement on the way so no worries there.

I figured "what the hell" and went ahead and ordered a new pressure regulator. If that doesn't solve my problems then it has to be the single-point fuel injector inside the throttle body.

 

Well that could have been bad! Glad the damage was minimal and no one was injured. Lesson learned. I am still dealing with old parts corroded together or falling apart from corrosion. Ready to drop the tank for replacement along with lines, pump, sender, etc. Old stuff is UGLY.

 

UPDATE

The car is running!!!!

I wired the connector and installed the new fuel pressure regulator. The car had some issues at first. I had someone "prime" the throttle body by pouring very small amounts of gasoline into the intake.

It worked great. The car fires up everytime now. BUT, not all is good news.

The car has a missfire in the number 3 plug. That is the one plug I could not replace. It felt crossthreaded, so I didn't bother with it. My grandfather said that it could have been tapped once already with a coil in it for the threads.

Lovely...We'll find out tomorrow.

The car idles roughish(probably due to misfire). I have to pump the petal for a minute or so. Then the car can idle for about 10 minutes before it dies. It fluctuates between 1200 to 800 rpms. When it hits 800, it gives the system some fuel, which causes teh jump to 1200.

It'll stay at about 1000 for a bit then fall again.

I had a few codes via the ignition key method(on off on off on then check the Check Engine light blinks). Oxy Sensor, torque solenoid?, back-up mem fail(no battery for 4 years most likely)and one other I cant recall at the top of my head.

The heater/ac control vacuum line at the power is not connected. Where does a line need to run to from that spot? Google is not giving me any good results.

I also need a replacement heater hose as well.


Well, that's all my updates.

 

The misfire could be causing the idle issue, but I would lean more towards a faulty IACM.

All I can find is for the 2.5 turbo, but they're similar so it may help.


Great to hear it's running. Don't give up

 

Glad to hear its running! On to the diagnosis on the running issues.

I am a long way from that, just got the old tank dropped and drained. Pulling old exhaust next, then brake and fuel line replacement before I start putting all the new stuff on.

 

Any updates?