Cadillac Repair/fuel problem

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Expert: - 3/23/2011


Question
i have a 1990 cadillac fleetwood with fwd. when i drive my car for a little while, it will start to sputter. after i kill the engine for a while it will drive fine but eventually start sputtering again. i relized that when i kill the engine, i hear a thumpping sound and my gas petel will move a little. should i just replace the fuel filter and fuel pump?

Answer
Hello,

Guessing costs lots of money only to disappoint the owner when the problem shows its ugly head again. You are looking at big money to change a fuel pump because the tank has to be removed.

The quality of gasoline is highly questionable these days and yes just for maintenance, I would recommend changing the fuel filter no matter what. The car is more than 20 years old and you are not waisting your money. If you still have problems, then take the car not to a dealer but a service center and see if the problem is fuel or electronic (could be either).

As for the pedal, sounds like a normal condition with the idle stepper motor.

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Rob Painter

Expertise

Alarm system questions cannot be answered on this forum. These systems are not what I can answer. Without being physically at the vehicle and not knowing what kind of electrical service has been done on the vehicle, there is no possible way to give an accurate answer over the internet. My expertise is in Ignition/key based anti-theft systems. These issues include GM VATS (resistor chip in key blade) PASSLOCK (MRD)-ignition lock rotation based, no special ignition key and the PKIII Transponder (computer chip in key) systems. These systems are not alarm based and are integral with the starting of the engine. This is why I cannot diagnose alarm problems without physically looking at the vehicle: Alarm systems are a completely different annimal than ignition key/lock based anti-theft system. Many alarm questions come from vehicles 10 years old, and since older, many hands that had been involved over the years.I am an expert in all GM factory (ignition/key based)systems. Alarm system questions pose to many situations beyond my knowledge as to what has been done to the vehicle over the years. Some guy may have actually wired the stereo into the alarm system. Who knows? Over my past 30 years in vehicle wiring repair, I have seen unbelievable wiring disaters done by guys that consider themselves "mechanics." I have seen stereos and alarms intalled using surgical tape. I have seen modules burn up, un-fused circuits, wiring jambed between the doors and even lamp cord used for a starter kill. To answer alarm questions over the internet without examining the vehicle is like asking; What does it take to remove a dent?

Experience

Education/Credentials-ASE certified. 11 years with a GM dealer and 17 years with a repair facility dealing with only the repair of theft recovered vehicles.

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