car stops running

[Grand2000]

my car is a 2000 grand am se with 123000 miles on it. it has been a great car until recently. on Christmas day as i was driving home the car began slowing down then it died. when i tried to restart it the motor sounded as if it wanted to jump out of my hood. after a few minutes it started and i drove another 40 miles. then it died again. the engine light came on. because i have never replaced the fuel filter we put one on. after driving for about 10 minutes the engine light went off. well it drove fine for three days then as i was driving down the interstate it died again. the motor did the same jumping around and after a few minutes it started fine again. i took it to the mechanic and when he tried to check the codes, no codes were displayed. i failed to mention the second time it died, no engine light came on. the mechanic let it run for about two hours with no problems. what is going on?

[Grand2000]

could it be the fuel pump?

[rixGAphx]

It could be numerous things, including the fuel pump.

Do NOT go throwing money at parts yet.
We need some analysis first.

First, what's been done previously?
Belts?
Plugs/wires?
O2 sensor?
Cat converter?
The above are engine parts EXPECTED/INTENDED to wear out, generally within 80-120k miles.
Timing chain/belt (I *think* it has a chain that shouldn't need regular replacement).

Go elsewhere (often, to AutoZone) and get the codes read.
There will ALWAYS be something there, even if just the code for "all's well".

You *might* have major sediment in the fuel tank that is clogging the intake from the tank bottom into the pump.
But that would be very unusual.
The symptoms of sometimes good/sometimes bad are not consistent with a failing fuel pump.
It either works fine, works with consistently-declining pressure that can't supply wide-open-throttle, or it just fails kaput.

Please answer these questions, while we ponder possible explanations and cheap tests.

-Rick

[Grand2000]

the belts are fine and i had a tune up last year and put the platinum plugs in the car. the mechanic said it was not the o2 sensor. he never did mention the cat conv. however, my dad talked to his friend who is a gm mechanic and he said it was the fuel pump. i bought one and took it to the mechanic. he still acted like it was not the fuel pump. but that is my only car, i had to so something or it would still be sitting there.

[tenspeed]

First off, I just was checking on something else and saw your PM.

It's a strange problem because it comes and goes. I would expect that if a part was bad, it would be bad all the time.

It could be something like the fuel pump relay that fails when it gets too hot but then didn't it fail when the car ran for two hours?

I sounds like a fuel delivery problem but you've replaced the filter and pump.

I would expect a bad air filter to cause the engine to bog down on the highway but to pass enough air at lower engine speeds. It shouldn't kill the engine entirely.

Maybe it's a problem with the engine control module but I would expect that to throw a code.

I guess I'm not much help with your problem but I didn't want you to think that I was ignoring you. Let us know what the problem is when and if you find it.

[rixGAphx]

Originally posted by Grand2000
... i bought one and took it to the mechanic. he still acted like it was not the fuel pump. but that is my only car, i had to so something or it would still be sitting there.
So, where are we now??

New fuel pump installed?

Problem gone? YAY!

Problem still there? :(

-Rick

[Grand2000]

new fuel pump was put on and the car seems to be running better. keep your fingers crossed that the problem was fixed. I truly love this car and hope to keep if for several more years!! Thanks for your help!!