I'm talking about the black one with the rubber end and i'm sure it's gas it smells like gas at least....... any ideas?

Off hand, I am not sure what that line does, since it contains gas. Gas should be contained to your fuel rail, and lines.

Does anyone know if the fuel regulator is run by vacuum on the 3800? I cant imagine why he would be getting gas at a vacuum line off his throttle body. Just doesnt make sense. It sounds like we're getting closer to a diagnosis, though.

Yeah that plastic plug popping off scares the shit out of me it seems to build up quite a bit off pressure and it's actually fairly loud when it does it. I've never seen anything like this.

Have you followed that line to its destination? Where does it connect to at the other end? That will tell you where the gas is coming from. It would make sense if it was a vacuum modulated fuel pressure regulator, that was leaking by...

Which in this case, would start to explain things.

Yes i have followed it. It seems to be going to the fuel pressure regulator... at least i believe that's what it is. if necessary i can post a pic of where it goes to?
thanks for the replies

Please do. Take a closeup of the hose, and where it normally pops off and squirts fuel, also. I think you'll be replacing the fuel pressure regulator.

Picture will be up in a few hours or possibly minutes depending on when my friend gets here with my digital cam.
thanks
-dave-

ok well heres the pics. The first pic is of the rubber piece that pops out.......


And this picture is of what it leads to...


And here's a pic of the overview of them.

If you're getting fuel out of the vacuum line of the fuel pressure regulator, then the diaphragm inside it is leaking and replacement is necessary.

BTW, this definately would cause your engine to smoke good.....it's sucking in all that fuel through the intake....running reaaaalllly rich. Would also cause a stall situation. Sounds like it would get flooded after a certain amount of time, and then you could restart it once the fuel evaporated a little....then it flooded again...

Anyways, report back once you replace that bad boy.


TOC Admin
Brando

OK so that would explain then the reason that my car now even with a brand new fuel pump that clearly turns on will still not start except maybe for a few seconds?.... and then that plug pops off and a little gas splurts out? I'm just making sure before i keep throwing parts at it.

yes...the only reason gas would come out of their is the diaphragm is leaking inside the fuel pressure regulator...and it won't get any better on its own.

TOC Admin
Brando

ok cool well autozone quoted me 40 bucks for the fuel pressure regulator so i guess it's not all that expensive. I'll most likely order it tomorrow.

That will solve the problem. $40 isnt bad at all. Not sure what the replacement procedure is, but it doesnt look too bad. Let us know how that goes!

I'll definately let you know how it goes. Thanks a lot again to everyone for all the help so far. i'm actually going with a friend to a junkyard tomorrow that we're pretty cool with the owners so i might try and pick up the regulator off a junked delta for like 5 bucks. beats 40 even though 40's still pretty damn good. oh well i'll definately post up tomorrow again with an update.

-dave-

ok well i changed the fuel pressure regulator today and now it's definately improved but still wont stay on for more than maybe 5-10 seconds, and that rubber piece still pops off but now instead of shooting gas it shoots out a greyish smoke like what used to come out of the tail pipe....... and it's also smoking out of the throttle body??? I'm seriously stuck now on this..... i have no idea what would cause something like this. If it would help you guys at all i have a digital video camera and i can even video tape exactly what is happening to give you an idea of what i'm going through.

hmm the smoke coming out of the intake is actually really quick and sudden and it's almost like a "backfire" i found an article stating it's a possibility of a clogged cat............. http://www.aicautosite.com/garage/encyclop/ency03b.asp
What are you're opinions?