Hi everyone!
I' m a long time lurker, but first time poster. I've got a problem with my car, and thus far have been unable to diagnose the specific problem. I was hoping if I posted a bit of history, I'd get some specific suggestions of things to test and/or replace to correct the problem.
The car is a 2004 cavalier with the 2.2l ecotec DOHC engine. It currently has 101k miles. It has been reasonably well maintained with regular oil changes, breaks, tires, an alignment, new plugs about 20,000 miles ago, a new fuel filter, and new front hubs. Otherwise the car is stock.
About 3 weeks ago (roughly 800 miles of driving) the car started idling roughly. Instead of sitting at an even 600 RPMs or so, it would vary between 500 and 800. During the rough idle, the engine also would shake quite a bit. At highway speeds the car seemed to operate normally, with no loss of power. I brought the car into the garage and examined it, looking for obvious vacuum leaks or other problems.
During the examination i noticed the PVC hose was broken free from the plastic throttle body air box, so, I fixed it to the plastic with a pile of silicon high temp sealer, with intent to replace it. I found nothing else, but decided to change the fuel filter as it had not been done, since I had purchased the vehicle.
The day I was bringing the car back into the garage to replace the filter and the PVC hose and rig the plastic box with a more permanent solution, the car started stalling out at idle. Since it had an intermittent check engine light i ran codes, getting P0172 rich fuel condition and P0300 multiple misfire.
The following day, I replaced the fuel filter, checked again for vacuum leaks again and the car would not start.
I have verified that I am getting fuel at the fuel rail and that there is spark coming out of the spark plug wires. I have checked the the oil filter for evidence of water and see none, nor is the coolant level low. The oil level is normal and the car is not leaking anything. I tried swapping around the relays for the fuel pump, looked at all the fuses, and Rechecked all the vacuum lines and visible parts of all engine seals.
It did not exhibit any other symptoms prior to not starting.
If you have any ideas as to what else I could check, I'd appreciate the help.
Thanks in advance!
When I release pressure at the value closest to the engine the fuel does spray out. After I attempt to start the vehicle again, it again will spray out. I realize I cannot determine if I have correct pressure, but there is pressure.
