[highpowered]

My 96 SE V6 (109K miles) runs great unless I go more than 100 total miles on the highway. It starts hesitating, then the check engine light starts flashing and it dies out, leaving me at the side of the road. When I try to restart, it will fire up then die immediately, with the red ! and CEL coming on. I get it towed home, then it starts up and runs fine again until the next long highway drive. What's strange is that it only happens after I drive 60 miles or so, park it for an hour or two, then get about halfway home on the highway when it dies.

I've read other posts which describe a similar problem. The closest diagnosis seems to be a crack in the fuel pump diaphragm. The fact that it happens the way it does, and that it starts and runs again after a rest period seem to rule out other possible causes. I don't have access to any testing tools or a garage, are there any simple things I can check to confirm this? And if this is indeed the case, what is the procedure for changing the fuel pump on this specific model? I hope it's not too tough or eeks-pensive. Thanks!

 

['97 Saab SE Turbo]

Our fuel pumps usually fail and never restart, so my guess is it's not the fuel pump. However, if it the origional pump, plan on it failing before 125-k miles. And, yes it's expensice to have someone change it. A dealer, if there are any left, might want $1-k, since they will drop the tank and likely change out the entire pump/fuel level sensor. The pump itself can be bought for $60 or so and changed with the tank in the car. But, it's a pretty hard DIY, especially if you break either of the plastic connectors.

Your problem sounds like a heat-induced electrical problem. I had a 280-ZX that did something similar - it would stop after about 15-20 minutes - just enought time to be in downtown traffic. I started the engine, and used a heat gun on the components of the distruibutor. As soon as I put heat on the ignitor module, the engine stopped and I knew what the problem was. I wrapped some tin foil around the distributor to keep the module cool until I found a replacement. This happened in the Spring and got worse as the temperature rose. Since you have a distributor, I would start there... Ron

 

[highpowered]

Thanks for the info, Ron. I'm sure that temperature does have something to do with it, though it takes a while for it to happen. For instance, when it happened yesterday, I had driven for an hour straight on the highway starting at 9:50am and got to my destination with no problems at all at 10:45am. It ran superbly, going from 70 to 90 in a flash and blowing many surprised BMWs and Audis off the road. It's a reason I really like this car. But I digress...

I was at my destination for about 3 hours, then started driving back. I got about twenty miles on the highway when it started acting up, and acting like it was running out of gas. I pulled over to the side and checked the engine, everything looked OK. A county tow truck towed me to a gas station. I had a check engine light that had been on for weeks, and I thought that maybe a stored error code was causing some trouble. I unhooked the battery for a couple minutes, cleared the CEL, and it started up just fine (the CEL has not come back). I headed for home again, and got about 35 miles on the highway when it started acting up again, died, and wouldn't start up again.

I called for a tow, which arrived within 45 minutes. I tried starting it a couple more times while waiting with no luck. After the tow truck dropped me off about 30 minutes later, I tried starting it again and this time it started up just fine and has been OK since. Just this week Monday I had driven about 150 miles (75 each way) and had no trouble at all. It only seems to happen when I drive south on the 15 - weird. Maybe the hills have something to do with it.

What should I look for when checking the distributor? I don't have a repair manual, so if you can give me any guidance on that, I'm grateful.

Thanks again!

- highpowered

 

[highpowered]

I think I may have narrowed it down by identifying what each incident had in common, because distance driven was not a consistent indicator. What was the same was that the fuel level was below 1/2 tank and I was driving on the highway. I remembered something a mechanic told me a few years ago about how keeping the fuel level above 1/2 tank keeps the fuel pump submersed in the fuel and keeps it from getting overheated. I put this theory to the test by heading out on a 100+ mile trip with under a 1/2 tank of fuel. After 5-10 miles on the freeway the hesitation started. I managed to pull into a gas station before it could die completely as it had previously. I topped of the tank and continued on the trip. There were no problems.

Am I right in thinking the fuel pump itself needs replacement at this point?