So, as some of you may know, 4 weeks ago I was just heading back to school and didn't make it 10 miles before my truck started to stutter/buck up hills and under a load. I'm about 95% certain it's a fuel pump issue and most likely the filter.

Since I didn't have the confidence to drive 230 miles, especially with all the hills in Vermont, I borrowed my grandmother Subaru Legacy GT. It's a 2002 with only 36k miles since she can't drive anymore because of her vision.

Although 28 mpg was nice, man did I miss my Dakota. I missed driving a manual and actually hearing my motor. The Legacy was sooo quite, nice, but not for me. Sometime this week I need to start working on my fuel pump purchase. Maybe my gas mileage will increase a mpg or two with a new fuel pump/filter.

Kinda pointless thread but I thought I'd check in with you guys...

 

Yeah when i take long trips I take the wife's car.. and I know what you mean.. I miss my truck quick..

 

Could be the PCM car computer not pump when my PCM started going it bucked was hard to start poor running just became a psycho Dakota it would run great a day or two then back to running like crap.

I think a shop could tell if it was a pump or the PCM by checking your fuel presser and fuel rail.

I think a bad PCM would show up easy.

Be sure what the problem is before you spend the big bucks both can be pricy to replace.

 

It runs perfectly other than under a load up a hill.

 

That does sound like a pump.

Only odd thing is when my PCM went crazy on me I replaced it and everything seemed just fine till a return trip from California going up the steep climb into AZ it started bucking on me intermittently then it would smooth out then the final 400 miles home just a few bucking troubles.

Had the PCM checked out and it turned out to be a bad new PCM they replaced that one and it’s been fine for three years.


PCM problems can be very strange I found out.

 

I see all too many people guess at a problem on this forum only to find out they replaced the wrong thing.

Get the fuel system checked out I would think a good shop could tell if that was the correct problem first before spending $$$ and the hassle of replacing the fuel pump, PCM’s are kind of an easy fix.

Just pay them to diagnose the thing first what maybe $60 for diagnoses service.

Just a suggestion

 

There's no CEL or anything. It's not the computer. It's clearly a fuel pump issue. Although hard to explain on a computer if anyone that knew what they were doing drove it, they would easily be able to tell it's a fuel pump/filter problem.

That part that sucks is that you can't replace the filter without replacing the pump. I'm still bitter about that.

 

Yeah I usually steal the car for long hauls too..... But its hard to miss the truck when the turbo on the wrx kicks in.

 

haha, yeah if I were driving a WRX I wouldn't have missed the truck quite as much. But driving an automatic Legacy isn't quite so fun.