2 fuel pressure regulator in under 30k?

[Regimof]

So I finally bit the bullet and sent the yellow car into Shakopee Chevrolet and had their old, grumpy (but seemingly knowledgeable) Corvette guy perform surgery. At first he thought it was plugs, wires and possibly a coil (to the tune of 900) then after plenum removal it was discovered that the fuel pressure regulator was leaking. This is the second one. Close to 10 years ago it was taken to a local shop and they replaced by them.

As you can imagine this is perplexing because they don't make them anymore so finding one was tough. Had to go used or have a speed shop put on a universal one. I spoke to Mark haibeck (really nice guy) on the matter and he said go with a used one. Having a shop put one in would cost another grand that I'm not dying to spend and he's under the impression that this is a very rare fail. It's also perplexing because I'm not sure what's going on and what could possibly cause it to go bad. It spent a lot of time sitting over the years and dad put gas additives in it (Haibeck was quite anti Stabil). Is lack of us a probable cause? Gas additives?

To my knowledge once you're in the motor, the installation of the regulator is pretty straight forward. Is there a chance that someone could do something wrong at installation to cause a fail?

It's concerning because it's an expensive fix and the part is rare. Not looking to do this every other summer. Ideas?

[RussMcB]

Is the car still at the dealership, with plenum removed?

When you say leak, do you mean it was not holding the required pressure (and allowing too much fuel to return to the tank), or is it a leak where the fuel is dripping or spraying out of the regulator/fuel system?

I wonder if the mechanic checked the fuel pressure while it was all together, using the convenient test port. I hope so. That's a 5 minute check.

I'm not an expert, but thought I'd ask a few questions to help forum folks provide suggestions.

I think there's another recent thread with someone considering an aftermarket regulator.

Good luck.

[XfireZ51]

Your not too far from Chicago. U should bring the Z down here. You'd soend less money.

[Regimof]

Is the car still at the dealership, with plenum removed?

When you say leak, do you mean it was not holding the required pressure (and allowing too much fuel to return to the tank), or is it a leak where the fuel is dripping or spraying out of the regulator/fuel system?

I wonder if the mechanic checked the fuel pressure while it was all together, using the convenient test port. I hope so. That's a 5 minute check.

I'm not an expert, but thought I'd ask a few questions to help forum folks provide suggestions.

I think there's another recent thread with someone considering an aftermarket regulator.

Good luck.

He said that it was leaking/spraying from it. Apparently he was of the opinion it had been for awhile due to what he was seeing..


Xfire. Where is here in Chicago?

[XfireZ51]

He said that it was leaking/spraying from it. Apparently he was of the opinion it had been for awhile due to what he was seeing..


Xfire. Where is here in Chicago?

NW Suburbs. About 50mi. east of Rockford.

[Regimof]

Are you talking about haibeck?

[XfireZ51]

Are you talking about haibeck?

Marc is certainly one of the gurus we have here in Chicagoland. Pete is another.

[Regimof]

Pete?

You have more than one guru near you? That's an embarrassment of riches. The nearest guy to me is Doug rippie and hes not cheap.

[XfireZ51]

Pete?

You have more than one guru near you? That's an embarrassment of riches. The nearest guy to me is Doug rippie and hes not cheap.

Pete Polatsidis. Dr. Greekenstein. Just got my ZR back from him to address major oil consumption issue. Turned out to be a broken compression ring.
You can follow that on my thread "A bit of blowby...".
Al Dashto has done work on my exhaust. And I do custom calibrations on my ZR and some others. The FBI (Fast BoyZ of IllinoiZ) is an enthusiast group, including Marc Haibeck, that has pushed the envelope when it comes to the performance of the LT5.
And we have other enthusiast groups in other parts of the country like WAZOO in the NE Virginia area.

[Ccmano]

Do not! I repeat DO NOT trust the dealer! You will spend three times as much for at best questionable results. As you have already seen they will throw parts at it at your expense till they maybe solve the problem.

Take Dom's advise and take the car to Chicago to either Pete or Marc. Doug Rippie in the Twin Cities area might be able to help you out as well.

http://dougrippie.com

H
:cheers:

[Regimof]

Live and learn...

Dammit. Parts came in today. Should be done tomorrow.

I assume next go round I'll be heading to Chicago

[XfireZ51]

Live and learn...

Dammit. Parts came in today. Should be done tomorrow.

I assume next go round I'll be heading to Chicago

Let's see if they fix it first.

;):cheers:

[Regimof]

Let's see if they fix it first.

;):cheers:


Good Lord don't jinx m

[Z51JEFF]

I would think that spraying fuel would have been evident long before a mechanic found it. Either by smell or sooner by fire,the cats would pretty much be in line with a fuel stream from above. So greatful I work on my own stuff and don't have to relie on a mechanic.

[Regimof]

No smell or fire.

I generally do as much as I can but I don't know enough about plenum removal.

[DRM500RUBYZR-1]

I certainly hope that the replacement of the pressure regulator has a more pronounced improvement than the earlier replaced parts which had none.


The "easter egg hunt" method of parts replacement is always troubling.


I also hope that the regulator was not an egg that was broken while the other eggs were being gathered.


The earlier poster voiced a valid concern that a leaking one would have had distinct and easily noticeable symptoms, not to mention dangerous ones.


On the bright side, it apparently wasn't spark, so fuel is a good next suspect.


Wishing you the best!
Marty

[Regimof]

Welp... All is well again. No stutter during acceleration. It's good to have it back. It was almost not fun to drive for a minute.....


Almost.


Fun fact, apparently under the intake, a mouse family elected to try and nest there. They didn't make it. Thankfully no wores were chewed. Not sure what else I can do to keep mice out of that car aside from put it in a bubble.