Fuel Problem HELP!!!!!!

[415 JEEP]

At least i think it is a fuel line.
Welcome to my wonderful life... so i stop to get gas, my jeep's been running great for the last like month, so im all stoked... i fill up to the top from like 1/8 tank and LO AND BEHOLD...the fawking shit dont start nice, its all like glub glub and un-even so i kill it right away.
wait 30 seconds, try again, same crap except this time it died right away by itself.
i know its not starter, battery, plugs, cause after fuckin around it will start up super nice, purr for like 2 revs and die every time, giveing it gas during startup kills it right away. this is what i thought first.

1. fuel pump is out
2. fuel filter is clogged
3. a fuel line is clogged
4. im retarded

another thing i noticed, when i disconct the fuel line at the front of the fuel rail ( one most toward the front of vehicle) and put a rag in there to soak up the gas that shoots out of the fuel rail the engine runs all nice. my guess is that this is a fuel line going from out of the fuel rail and back to the gas tank. i disco'ed this same fuel line at the other end right before it goes into the fuel pump and tank area, where i cant get to w/o dropping the tank at least halfway.

when i disconect this line at the gas tank end and drop it in a bucket, the jeep doesnt run except to start nicely then die, just like if the line were connected backl to the fuel tank. a little gas drips out into the bucket.

judging from the amount of gas shooting out of the fuel rail into the rag when the jeep is running nicely and the fuel return line is disco'ed at the rail and the much smaller amount of fuel dripping out of what i think is a high pressure line leads me to conclude that there is some sort of jam up in this fuel return line. im gonna go to kragen when they open in 20 mins buy some bulk flex fuel line, hopefully find that they sell quick disconect ends like the ones on the jeep, a new fuel filter... anything else should i buy?


oh yeah, i could be stranded someplace worse than a gas station in the next town from where i live, so my options are this:

1. replacing the fuel return line fixes the problem, i get it fixed b4 noon today, the world is wonderful and i drive off to work.
2. not the fuel line or filter, get a tow to my house where i fawk with it more, and possiably call my buddies jeep guy (to come to my house and fix for me) tow + smart mechanic = bucks
3. leave it at the gas station and get them give estimate and maybe fix for me, also = bucks

does my diagnosis of the fuel return line having a jam sound on target?
so has anyone else had a similar problem? how did you solve it? anyone more knowledgable about engines that myself want to lend their expertise? all is much appreciated. am i off my mark totally... call me today at 415-564-5153. im really stressing out here, plus i gotta be at work at noon.


-jamie

[TrojanMan]

I bet battery.

[Jim311]

I'm betting TPS or IAC. I don't think it's a fuel problem.

[ATL ZJ]

Other more off the wall possibilites:

Was the tanker truck filling up the tanks while you were there? Sometimes those will stir up crap at the bottom of the tanks, that will get into your gas and clog your fuel system.

About 4 weeks ago (here), gas manufacturers switched from "winter formula" to "summer formula" gasoline, but they had some problems with their mixtures (additives or whatever it is) for a while. I work in a lawnmower shop during the summer, and that stuff clogged up many many a fuel system. Your climate in the Bay area would be reaching the same point temperture-wise that were at here in Atlanta about a month ago. But, I would think that the ZJ's fuel system would be able to handle gasoline inconsistencies better than small engines though.

[415 JEEP]

So i go back in the morning and she starts up fine.......WTF seriously!

my hypothesis is that the pressure in the tank was so high that the it was preventing the fuel return line from letting any gas back into the tank... and that sitting overnight allowed the fuel to cool down and was therefore more dense, reducing the pressure in the tank. also I let agood amount of fuel out of the line into a gas can , reducing the amount of fuel in the tank. thats my guess, but im probably wrong, so if anyone has any suggestions im listening.

BTW, after driving home, i drove to work, on the parking lot that was the freeway that day. there was an accident on the bridge and i was in stop and go trafic for like and hour and a half, my jeep ran fine and didne even pretend to die on me, so im tankig that as a sign that whatever is wrong with it stoped at least temporarily. i didnt do anything to her... although im changing the fuel filter for good measure, and buying a new batery cause ive known mine was crappy for a while now.

TPS or IAC ill look at these closely, but since its been running great for a couple days now, im thinking nothing serious is wrong here

any other suggestions?

thanks everyone... if no one responds after this ill just let this fake tech just drift on down to the bottom :smt002

-jamie

[ELLLLLIOTTTTT]

maybe its because you're running a D35 and a D44.

[gsh]

Couple of things come to mind, in

Isn't there a regulator somewhere in the fuel line circuit? I know they changed things a bit from year to year but don't know when or what. What makes me consider this is your unhooking of the line up front making it run, but not at the back.

The other thing is the tank pickup screen. If it wasn't for having to drop a tank or cut a hole in the floor, I'd be cleaning or replacing the pickup screen on a 50k mile interval. I have cleaned a handful that have worked fine since. A clogged one will produce similar symptoms to a clogged filter or a bad pump. Carb cleaner cleans them up nice. They aren't expensive, just some are almost impossible to get. For ours it's almost impossible to replace just the pump or pickup screen, you can get whole plastic module assembly though ($$$$).