When I put it under a load is sputters for awhile

WIRWIN

MEMBER
1998 HYUNDAI ELANTRA
13,000 MILES

So I have a 98' hyundai elantra and then finally gets going whats wrong? When it started it was very infrequent and only happened under a load and idled fine. Now it idles fine for about a half hour an then acts up. I thought it was a fuel issue so I changed out the fuel filter which was full of black fuel, changed the fuel regulators because it was leaking, put new spark plugs in and had a fuel injector test done. I was told by one mechanic that it was a blown head gasket so I did a compression test on each of the cylinders and they were all ok. I still dont believe that I have a blown head gasket but I'm out of ideas. I have had my buddy who is a mechinist look at it and he doesn't think it is a blown head gasket either. Any ideas of what could be causing this?

1 Reply

KASEKENNY

MECHANIC
18,907 POSTS

It is possible to have a blown head gasket so we need to start with this guide that will help with this:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/head-gasket-blown-test

Once we confirm there is not a head gasket issue, we need to move onto a fuel pressure issue. Here is a guide that will help with checking this fuel pressure:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-check-fuel-system-pressure-and-regulator

The fact that you found dark fuel coming out of the filter makes me think we are going to need to replace the pump as that fuel will be cycled back to the tank and that will damage the pump.

Please run through this info and let us know what you find.

Thanks

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