Stalling while driving.

[Skunkape]

05 tahoe 4wd 5.3 284k miles.
While driving 65mph state highway the engine stalled out. Just seemed to quit, no stutters, backfires or choking. Pulled it over with no power and turned the key off. After waiting a few minutes, it started right up with no issues.
After driving another mile or 2, it did it again. In the same way, I started it again drove a couple miles more. This happened 5 times in a 16 mile stretch until I reached a gas station. At this point it had just under a half tank of gas, so I thought I would fill it up just to make sure the fuel guage hadn't malfunctioned.
It took 14.4 gallons of gas to the neck, started right up and drove the remaining 24 miles home, on county roads, with no issues.
No check engine lights and the only code it's throwing is PO455. Any thoughts?
Fuel pump? Pressure regulator? Cam position sensor?
Thanks for your time.

 

[strutaeng]

That's an EVAP code, which doesn't typically cause driveability issues.

Could be fuel delivery issues, yes.

To diagnose you need a fuel pressure gauge with a long hose. Tape the gauge to the windshield and see if your pressure drops right before it stalls, then go from there.

 

[justirv]

05 tahoe 4wd 5.3 284k miles.
While driving 65mph state highway the engine stalled out. Just seemed to quit, no stutters, backfires or choking. Pulled it over with no power and turned the key off. After waiting a few minutes, it started right up with no issues.
After driving another mile or 2, it did it again. In the same way, I started it again drove a couple miles more. This happened 5 times in a 16 mile stretch until I reached a gas station. At this point it had just under a half tank of gas, so I thought I would fill it up just to make sure the fuel guage hadn't malfunctioned.
It took 14.4 gallons of gas to the neck, started right up and drove the remaining 24 miles home, on county roads, with no issues.
No check engine lights and the only code it's throwing is PO455. Any thoughts?
Fuel pump? Pressure regulator? Cam position sensor?
Thanks for your time.

My first thought was fuel pump, I'd follow Strut's advice to monitor fuel pressure in real-time.

 

[OR VietVet]

Sounds like a fuel issue except that you said it did not stutter at all, you said it just died. Definitely check fuel pressure with long hose and gauge on drive.

Plus, do not, I repeat, do not fill fuel up to the neck. Remove nozzle when the pump clicks off. You have now damaged the eval system and have fuel in the charcoal cannister.

I would bet, if a new fuel pump fixes the problem, you will still set codes for evap system problems.

 

[Skunkape]

Sounds like a fuel issue except that you said it did not stutter at all, you said it just died. Definitely check fuel pressure with long hose and gauge on drive.

Plus, do not, I repeat, do not fill fuel up to the neck. Remove nozzle when the pump clicks off. You have now damaged the eval system and have fuel in the charcoal cannister.

I would bet, if a new fuel pump fixes the problem, you will still set codes for evap system problems.

Thanks Strut. I didn't know that, but it makes sense. Won't be doing that anymore.

 

[Skunkape]

Thanks Strut. I didn't know that, but it makes sense. Won't be doing that anymore.

that reply was for Or VietVet

 

[viven44]

New fuel filter while at it

 

[Skunkape]

Update;
Test 1- fuel pressure:
With new Guage hooked up, key on, it reads 54 psi, but then it slowly (30-60secs) drops down to 38 and lower. Chilton says it should be between 55 & 62. The tps made a loud click before the pressure started to drop.
Started the engine and the fuel pressure jumped to 55 and held at idle but the needle vibrated the whole time. It was just the engine running I'm sure.
Chilton says if the pressure is low, it's indicative of clogged fuel lines, fuel filter or a faulty pressure regulator, both of which are part of the fuel pump assembly, in the FULL gas tank. I was guessing the regulator or filter when it was stalling out, especially since it started right up again.
Just for grins I'll test the tps. That's what a buddy says it is.

 

[strutaeng]

Update;
Test 1- fuel pressure:
With new Guage hooked up, key on, it reads 54 psi, but then it slowly (30-60secs) drops down to 38 and lower. Chilton says it should be between 55 & 62. The tps made a loud click before the pressure started to drop.
Started the engine and the fuel pressure jumped to 55 and held at idle but the needle vibrated the whole time. It was just the engine running I'm sure.
Chilton says if the pressure is low, it's indicative of clogged fuel lines, fuel filter or a faulty pressure regulator, both of which are part of the fuel pump assembly, in the FULL gas tank. I was guessing the regulator or filter when it was stalling out, especially since it started right up again.
Just for grins I'll test the tps. That's what a buddy says it is.

Do you have a way to monitor the fuel trims while truck is running? I'd be expecting to see fuel trims moving towards the lean side as the fuel pressure drops.

Also, what happens to the fuel pressure at say, 2k, 3k and 4k RPM? And the fuel trims? Are they within 1-2% of each other between bank 1 and Bank 2?


You could also monitor the throttle % on your scanner since you seem to suspect TPS. This is a drive by wife throttle body, right?

Edit: you can siphon some of the gasoline from your tank so you are not dealing with a full tank weight.