The injector O-rings are supposed to go into the hole, NOT on top of it. You have the injectors seated wrong causing a big vacuum leak and making the engine die. If your not sure how the injectors are supposed to go back in, then find a picture here or have someone show you.

Yes after doing massive searches I kept reading people saying the O-ring goes past the hole. So i went back and fixed that, but still was getting the same sound and problem. It seems like all the o-rings go completely in the openings.


I smell fuel though, but i cannot tell if its fuel that spilled during the install or fiddling around with the fuel rail....but the car starting then the PSSST noise as if somethings popping out makes me think something with the fuel rail is wrong...but checking it out everything looks fine.

Would a vacuum leak on one of those three tubes I mentioned cause that PSST noise also?

Make sure that you press down firmly, (25lbs of force) on each injector while they are in the rail. And then make sure the bolts that hold the fuel down are completely screwed in. That should eliminate any problems with them not being seated. Also you may want to check the orings onthe fuel injectors. Is the oring on the fuel feed and return lines ok? Check to make sure those are seated correctly and didn't fall off when you put them in.

yes i checked that. all the injectors are sitting fine all the orings are fine.


my question is would the vacuum leaks make the car start fine then die then 2 seconds later you hear PSSSST really fast? Because if just those hoses being replaced can fix that then ill order them...if theres anything else wrong im just gonna have it brought to a shop..and i REALLY dont want to.


so unless its logical or common for those hoses to cause that problem i dont want to put more effort in.

ill most likely tonight take pictures and a video so you can hear it hopefully to help diagnose the problem.

yes it will. the engine needs vacuum at idle to idle right, otherwise your O2 sensor shows a lean condition and it will kill the car, because you are already lean with the IAC on and it is unmetered air that is comming into the engine, so the PCM cannot compensate for it, and it dies. either hose can do that also, because it is air that is not metered by the MAF. also the MAP will not work right and notice a diff in vacuum or pressure and that will compound the effect. the hissing you are hearing is the valve train shutting down letting the excess pressure and vacuum in the cyls and behind the valves back out. fix the hoses and you should be good to go. also the o rings are for a positive seat in the LIM, so make sure they go in the appropriate spots on the injectors, also did you notice if all of the plastic cones were on the injectors or not, those can cause vacuum leaks also. if they are smashed flat or wallowed out then you have to replace those also, because they will get brittle and break and sometimes seat behind the valve and make all sorts of problems also. and one more time. make sure your TB gasket is in one piece and also make sure both bolts are torqued down correct.

okay heres an update.

ordered the tubes that were broken and also a retainer for the injector.

i noticed one of the retainer clips for the cyl 6 injector was broken. so it wasnt held in tight enough. all the orings and "cone" things are in good shape.

when the parts arrive i will fix it all up again and see if it works.


Last few questions for now (sorry).

When seating the injectors is the injector supposed to go ALL the way in until the wider part is touching the opening..or just as long as the oring passes through?

Plus, how do you get that friggin vacuum hose from the rear valve cover to the intake to sit properly...it does not want to bend the right way so that the connection to hte valve cover is secure AND the intake connection is secure..its seems only one or the other...

The (exact, correct, and specific ) gm part number for those two parts ( the PCV valve to evap purge valve tube, and the larger black tube from the MAF side of the TB to the firewall side valve cover) FOR BOTH PARTS is 12581196. I paid $18.66 at the dealer parts counter, gmpartsdirect says $9.62

wow thats funny because the front PCV valve vacuum hose doesnt go to the MAP sensor, i gave him that number straight off the box. the tube you are talking about goes to the evap purge solenoid and also to the top of the TB and the front PCV valve. the number i gave him is for the right part, because i bought it that way.

also you can use a heat gun or hair dryer to heat and mold the tube to make sure it fits both places

gectek, I do believe you may have me there, but it sounded like the two pieces that he needed. I'll have to re-construct the 3400 UIM, it's in parts in my garage

well i have the diagram and the hose you are talking about right in front of me, they may sell them as a set, which is good to get, but he will still have to get the other MAP vacuum line. the small end of the hose from the front has a u shaped elbow on it that tends to take alot of abuse from all the gasoline vapors and outside conditions and likes to leak and crack, so it is a good idea to replace that as well, and also the PCV valve if it has a few miles/years on it

i dont understand what you mean, or how to do that. what's wierd is that this tube fit perfectly fine before I did the LIM job. now i cant seem to figure out what way it could physically have leverage to keep it in the rear valve cover...seems impossible..i dunno.

I had a problem geting that one to seat also. However i got it most of the way in on the valve cover and it worked.

I dont know if this has been brought up but it much easyer to remove the fuel rail with the lower intake manifold.

This is almost too painful to watch. ;) Wushdishmeen, if the line is going the right direction and routed the same way as it was when it was removed, then it has to fit. Period. If it's popping out of the valve cover, then, something underneath the line (that wasn't there before) is forcing it up. Look closely at how you have it routed, should be obvious what the problem is. Route that line UNDER the other stuff like wire bundles and such.

I can gladly name my list with everyone else. Mine just went at 111,000. My garage Gave me an estimate of 250-300 to get it done. This is the garage that has always done great work and gives me an honest answer on seems like everything. Im waiting to see what another garage says. But I thought there prioce was a bit low.

That is pretty low. The lowest quote i got was 550

guys, when searching for a retainer clip for the injector i found one that was a package of 6 of them which was like $22, then someone on here gave me a part number that was for one retainer, then the guys at puritanparts said "yea the retainer you selected is for a 2000 grand am please advise if you want this order to continue"

arent all the retainers the same?

what i meant was to use heat to change the shape or curve of the tube so that it will fit. check routing though. also it would have been ALOT easier to leave the fuel rail in the LIM when u take it off, i did and didnt have any injector problems, o ring problems or anything like that

Just got another estimate for 375. These seem kinda low from what everyone else has said.

yea i didnt realize you didnt have to take the rail off..but i was following the walkthrough step by step so since he did it so do i...im wishing i never did though hah

oh well.

so, will a 2000+ injector retainer clip work on a 99? They look slightly different but the same concept of how to keep it in, so it should right?

I can't imagine that they changed the fuel rail or injectors from 99 to 2000 but GM has done some silly things. Man if you were close i'd drop by and try to help.

Your right those price quotes are low. Are there any hidden parts or labor charges?

hey BHermis, im in levelland, and i go to lubbock every day...lol. my car is wrecked right now, but ill be running it at Idalou pretty soon, maybe ill c u there

I made it quite clear in step 16 that you did not have to remove the fuel rail for the lim gasket change

Yea but because you put the step and its "optional" and you did it and finished your LIM successfully i figured maybe its good to do that, might as well while its apart. i didnt realize it would cause all this trouble...

nonetheless i ordered everything i needed to replace so hopefully when that comes and I bolt it all up again it works good...

When I got the quote they both said that was including labor, parts, Changing out the dexcool, and oil change. I still say there way to low.

Hey man if they are offering it then I might take it. I'm a first time mechanic and I had a hell of a time doing mine. The job itself is not that hard. Its all the inbetween stuff. Accidently screwed up my belt had to repace than, and then screwed up the tensioner pulley, replaced that, screwed up interior threads of tensioner pulley bolt, (can't easily replace that), pinched two MAP wires together, coundn't diagnose so i had to take it in... $400, fuel line oring slipped off while installing, had to replace that and now.... I some how created a leak in my WINDSHIELD WASHER RESEVOIR!!! so yah its fun to do yourself, a little too much fun.

Replaced the parts now the car works great, tightly sealed no leaks! :applause:


Only thing is how do I bleed the power steering pump? It's making a whining noise and i'm guessing it's because I dissassembled and reassembled it.

What do i do?

I think my instructions said to run it for like 30 sec to a min with the cap off to let the air bleed out, but you might wanna double check that info.

no leave the cap on it will bleed itself, just let it run for a little bit, then turn the wheel both directions to lock and hold it there for a minute, then turn back and forth, and it should be bled then

i had the same prob when i took out my rack to change the upper seal...works like a charm now

glad to know i was wrong getek. I knew i had stuff backwards. THanks for the correction.

its ok, that is the shortcut method, the gm method has u buy a bleeder kit and it takes like 30 mins and would cost alot of money to do and its a bunch of crap about pressurizing the system and all this jazz, but the way i said is the easiest, it even worked on my friends 96 lumina also, he did his rack the same time i did mine

How in the hell did you remove the valve cover bolt behind where the alternator was....I cant get it and am stuck...I am working on it as I type!!!!:banghead

you must remove the alternator bracket and the tensioner pulley and its bracketry.

Is there a hidden bolt...I removed the 2 side bolt and the back bolt and it is still tight as ****.

yea power steering is bled now...everything is fine except the SES light is on..?

any suggestions or way to reset it

disconnect your batt cable for a few mins then put it back on, the neg batt cable that is, on the other deal

yes on the alt there is another stud right in the middle with a nut on it, you can take the nut off and leave the stud in the bracket

Im getting my lim done this week and I had a question. My car is at 111,xxx and it has had dex cool from day one, and sine I am having this done, should I go ahead and have dex cool put back in or go with the green stuff, or something else. Thanks

Well...I am halfway through and I have two points.....

1. You CANT do this job without a swivel attachment for the socket set...you need this to take off the power steering pump, there is NO other way.

2. After removing the alternator you MUST take off the alternator bracket to get to the last bolt on the rear valve cover gasket there is NO other way...there are FOUR bolts on the bracket one being the bolt that holds the tension arm on.

Everyone of my lim bolts were loose!!!!

The inside of my engine is black as midnight. Will an oil treatment clean this crap out????

You should stay with dex cool. Dex cool last longer (if thats true) and also if you get dex cool and the green stuff mixed together your coolent water jackets will be filled with this yucky pasty stuff. Thats never good. Thats my point of view.

do 2 flushes and then run water for a little bit, then drain and flush, then fun the yellow stuff, its better

also on the other situation with the dark knight living in your engine, yes seafoam will help, but dont use too much. also clean anything you can take out of the engine and make sure its good and dry, use chemtool to clean with, but wear gloves because it can give you chemical burn if you use it too long.