I noticed my car was running rough the other day hard for the idle gauge to stay still...tonight I went out to run my car and it cranks for as long as I try to start it but will not start. I notice that right after I stop trying to start it I heard a loud motory like noise coming from the fuel tank for about 10 sec...Uh oh. I think I know what the replies will say.....but anyways not trying to confuse this post but I recently made a post about white smoke coming from my exhaust http://www.bonnevilleclub.com/forum/...ic.php?t=72665
and after reading the replies and people were suggesting that it my have been a UIM or LIM problem which I never saw water in my oil or anything even though I’m losing antifreeze quick, but this problem sounds like a fuel pump prob. do you think that my fuel pump was going bad the whole time and started to give the motor too much gas and thats where my white smoke prob came from? by the way my fuel level gauge stop working also. it reads wrong all the time..please help... I really like this car it'* real nice and I plan on keeping it for a long time but I have a lot of issues and mechs are not honest they just want money.... so for now on, "I'm" going to do all my repairs. i can trust me. i'm not going to lose this battle!

Remove a front spark plug and stick your finger in there. Is it pretty wet? Might be getting too much fuel. Does the white smoke smell like antifreeze?




P.*. - Like your Boba Fett.

Well, it certainly sounds to me like you may have more than one problem going on at the same time.

It is likely that your fuel sender at least is bad, as the typical symptom is the gas guage going nuts. Your fuel pump may not be bad, but depending on your situation, it may not hurt to consider replacing that while the tank is dropped.

Additionally, it sounds like you are probably in denial regarding a likely UIM or LIM gasket failure. If you have white smoke and unexplained coolant usage, along with rough running, then you are looking at the top indicators of these problems.

I also say you should pull a couple plugs and observe what they look like. I expect that you'll find moisture on at least one, if not more of them.

Did you ever try and smell that white smoke coming from your exhaust?

Also, do not continue trying to crank it until you know more about what is going on.

I agree that you need to check out the spark plugs. My advice would be to pull all the plugs. While a failed UIM can spray coolant throughout the manifold putting coolant in all the cylinders, a more common mode of failure is for just a couple of cylinders to ingest the coolant. And, a failed LIM gasket is not likely to put water in more than one or two cylinders at a time. So, to be sure, you need to look at ALL the plugs checking for evidence of coolant.

Ooh yeah Boba Fett Rocks...ok just got up I'm going to try everything you guys said and one thing I already did was got down and smelled the exhaust when the car was running the other day and it smelled like regular combustion exhaust no sweet smell. I also checked my dip stick and looked into my valve cover at my oil and saw no apparent evidence of antifreeze. I do see dried up green antifreeze just below and to the side of the TB on the metal part of the engine just below the UIM in the nooks N crannys. When I do pull the plugs today what if they are wet what do, just leave the plug holes open and let em dry out or what? I know I have all my senses and thier working fine the last time I checked but the more I take the car to mechs the more stuff all of a sudden is wrong with my bonney....

If you find one or more plugs really wet, the safest thing is to turn the engine over by hand at least one revolution to expel any coolant that may have collected in a cylinder. This will possibly save damaging the starter. Even if the plugs look dry, with the plugs out, if possible, have a helper turn the engine over a few times while you look for mist coming out of any of the cylinders. Might be a good idea to disable the fuel pump and ignition when you do this. ( I'll go ask someone the easiest way to do that.) Anyway, if you see any evidence of moisture on the plugs or coming out of the cylinders, you will need find and repair the cause of the leak. That is, LIM gaskets, and/or UIM change/repair.

You can disable the spark by unbolting and unplugging the connector to the ICM underneath the coils. I think this might disable the injectors too, but will find out for you for sure.

[edit: Technical Ted advises that both spark and fuel pump can be disabled safely and easily by pulling fuse #6 on the passenger side (behind the kick panel).]

Also let us know if it'* wet with fuel, but not with coolant. I have a sneaking suspicion that you may be getting too much fuel, or none.

I'm going tomorrow to buy all the tools I need to start the job. I’m really going need you guys help for a while so can anybody tell me what I need for the LIM and UIM job like specialty tools or whatever. I’ll keep you posted with my progress. Thanks for everything

Gasket scraper, green scrubbies, razor blades for scraper.
10, 13 and 15mm sockets, preferrably deep 6 points.
1 flat blade and 1 phillips screwdriver
1 can of throttle body cleaner
4 cans of brake cleaner (cleans gasket surfaces for new gaskets)

Tool wise..that'* probably all that'* required.

..and a torque wrench that reads in inch pounds.