I have a 2000 monte carlo/3.4 with approx. 98,000miles... NO check engine lights are on

Car seemed to be running fine, one evening i turned it off & it would not start back up. I had it jumped and i made it home (2mi drive)

Next morning, car would not start. I had the battery checked and it checked out fine. Tried starter fluid, and still nothing. A friend took a look and said it was the fuel pump.

I had a friend (mechanic) replace the pump and everything was going great.

2 days later car died on me. It took 3 tries and car started up. Drove for 1 maybe 2 minutes and it dies again. Took another 3 tries to start. I made it home...

Friend (mechanic) came back over, said car was getting fuel, and that the pump was working. Checked Spark Plugs and they were supposibly the originals. Very black and tips were small. Replaced plugs & wires and it started up fine.

Car ran for approx. 3-5 minutes and died. After a few more tries, car started and stayed running for another 3-5min.

While car is running, there is no shaking, seems to be running smoothe. RPM meter moves a little back & forth by the "1" on its own without me pressing the gas or anything.

Any ideas? I am close to being out of money & honestly dont have the money for a tow to a shop or the shop's high cost. I am lost.... Please help!!! Thank You!

 

I am not a mechanic by any means but some things do come to mind.

Have you checked all your vacum lines to see that they are not broken or disconnected?

Maybe a bad sensor?

My step-son's 93 buick would start and not stay running this last winter his problem was a sensor (think it was the O2 sensor) and it was pricey to replace (On his buick)

If your mechanic friend has a code reader I bet the car is trowing out some kind of error code. Check engine lights are not always dependable.

 

Your concern can be caused by many things. Without being with the car it is hard to say. Could be O2 sensor. The egr valve could be stuck, could be a vacuum leak. Just a couple things that pop into mind.

 

Coils, alternator, vaccuums. All things that come to mind here, again hard to say without being there.

 

Could be the crank sensor, MAF sensor, bad ignition coils, bad ICM. Next time the car dies, unplug the MAF and see if it will start.

 

X2 with the MAF sensor clean it with something your supposed "mechanic" friend recommends. I bet it's just dirty and that sometimes won't set a code. Also if the fuel pump was changed but the filter wasn't the new pump could have burned out from forcing against the plugged filter. It's not the first faulty fuel pump I've ever heard of before either. Always buy ACDelco pumps or Delphi. They make the best ones but they are not the cheapest.

 

You need to get a scanner on this car and pull up some codes and read the data guessing will get you no where but broke. Master Tech for 23 years just my 2 cents.

 

Mine did the same thing. Took husband a while but finally found the Mass air flow was bad. My car finally quit running going down the road. Mass Air Flow.. check it out

 

I would definitely have the Alternator tested/replaced if necessary. If it is bad, your Battery isn’t being charged and that will cause your car to stall shortly afterwards.

 

Guys, this thread is literally 10 years old.