Cadillac Owners Forum banner

1990 Brougham 5.7 stops & won't start 'till it wants to. (and where is fuel filter?)

6K views 11 replies 7 participants last post by  AElayyat 
#1 ·
1990 Brougham 5.7 stops & won't start 'till it wants to. (and where is fuel filter?)

So a couple days ago, I was letting an extended family member drive the '90. I got a call from him saying that he was on the interstate, and it just died without warning. It would crank, but wouldn't start back up. TDOT showed up & pushed him to the side of the road. A few minutes later, it started & kept running fine.

A few weeks ago I was pulling into traffic after it had been running for a good amount of time, and it died. But that time it cranked & started just fine. Months before that, I was driving and it felt like it stopped for a couple seconds, but then came back to life & kept going without me having to stop.

For a long time, I haven't run it below a quarter of a tank because if I do, it will die as soon as I take a turn too fast, or hit the gas too hard from a stop. But over a quarter, it usually runs fine. Fuel filter??

What might the problem be? I don't remember when the fuel filter was replaced last, records are at my parent's house. Was going to try replacing it first, but I can't find it. Where is it on the 5.7? This is the one car I don't have a service manual for, lol.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

-Ben
 
See less See more
#2 ·
Re: 1990 Brougham 5.7 stops & won't start 'till it wants to. (and where is fuel filte

I've never owned a 90 but I know they're fairly similar to the 87's...is it carb or fuel injection?

If it's carb, the fuel filter would be inside the fuel inlet nut on the carb. If it's injected then i would guess the filter is under the car along one of the frame rails...usually passenger side I think.

Could the problem be your fuel pump or maybe the "sock" in the tank?
 
#3 ·
Re: 1990 Brougham 5.7 stops & won't start 'till it wants to. (and where is fuel filte

It's a Fuel Injected 350. Will check along the frame rails, been dealing with carbs so long I didn't think to look there.

I know nothing about the "sock" so it could be.
 
#5 ·
Re: 1990 Brougham 5.7 stops & won't start 'till it wants to. (and where is fuel filte

Sounds like an intermittent fuel starvation problem. The fact that the car stalls out reliably below 1/4 tank makes me think about the fuel tank pickup being clogged. I'm not sure, but doesn't this car have two fuel pumps, one in the tank and one on the frame? The one in the tank may be clogged or dying.
 
#6 ·
Re: 1990 Brougham 5.7 stops & won't start 'till it wants to. (and where is fuel filte

There is an in line fuel filter, mounted to the frame rail. It shouldn't be too hard to change with a pair of open ended wrenches (you should really use line wrenches). It's AC DELCO Part # GF580.

There is a second one in the fuel tank, which gets replaced with the pump. It's the "sock" and it filters the gas before it goes into the pump inlet.
 
#9 ·
Re: 1990 Brougham 5.7 stops & won't start 'till it wants to. (and where is fuel filte

on my 91, the filter on the frame rail has plastic clips that connect the lines on(no tools required), and there is one bolt that holds the filter onto the frame.
That's where it is and no tools required other then the frame one.

FWD cars the same age can have a problem with the gas tank that if the gas gets too low they stall on corners. Never heard of a Brougham having that problem tho. The gas tank would have to have a lot of crap in it for the filter in there to have problems.
 
#10 ·
Re: 1990 Brougham 5.7 stops & won't start 'till it wants to. (and where is fuel filte

Thanks for the advice, guys. I'll take a look at the fuel filter as soon as I get a chance & see what's going on there. If that fails, I guess I'll take it to a shop. I don't have any tools down at my appartment to drop the tank... not that I'd know how if I had them, lol.
 
#11 ·
Re: 1990 Brougham 5.7 stops & won't start 'till it wants to. (and where is fuel filte

Dropping the gas tank is probably the easiest thing in the world, just a few bolt holding the straps to the body. More tricky is finding a lift where you can do it. :lol:
 
#12 ·
Re: 1990 Brougham 5.7 stops & won't start 'till it wants to. (and where is fuel filte

That is what I would do...start with the fuel filter. As other's mentioned the fuel filter is on the driver's side frame rail (that's where it is on my 90).

IF the fuel filter does not fix the issue...I hate to say...It may be a sign that your fuel pump is about to take a shit on you...my 85 had similar symptoms before the fuel pump died.

Good luck.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top