car stalls when hot out, PLEASE HELP!!!

[89saleen388]

i have an 89 5.0 and my car will run and idle fine if it is below about 65 degrees outside. If it is hotter than 65 outside then after my car is warmed up it will usually die during idle, and will not start for about 5 min. and then it will fire back up run fine for a little bit then die again and so on......

i replaced the ignition module, and that did not help..

i can hear the fuel pump running, and pump up right after it dies..

i had a shop look at it but they could not find anything wrong and since it is cold out again, the problem will not present itself. they said to bring it in when it acts up again....

does anyone have any ideas or suggestions on what the problem might be???

thanks for the help

[sedanman]

What mods are done to it?

It sounds like it is running rich. Because when it is cold out the air is dinser which makes the air fuel ratio ok. When it warms up the a/f ratio goes to **** since the air is not so dense. Then it won't restart tell the gas has time to escape out. Do you have diff. injectors? Do you have a AFPR? What is the fuel pressure?

[89saleen388]

there are no real mods that i know of except for being a saleen. i have only had the car a little while so i am not sure if it has bigger injectors.. i am not sure of the fuel pressure. there is something on the fuel rail in the way where i could measure the fuel pressure. not sure what it is. maybe i can go take a picture of it and post it here. it is like this plastic thing screwed into the rail.

[sedanman]

What color are the injectors? If they are orange then they are stock 19#'s.

If what you are talking about on the fuel lines is by the passanger side valve cover the plastic cap screws off and there is a fitting that allows you to screw a fuel pressure gauge on. You can pick up a external big gauge at autozone or something to hook up there. Or you can buy a small gauge that mounts permanetly.

[89saleen388]

this is the object i speaking of????????
is this? never mind you
tell me
thanks
bob

[Nixon1]

That looks like the Schrader valve to me, but....what the hell is that screwed up onto it? Some kind of gauge sender??


But I agree with sedanman....sounds pig-rich to me. If it's rich enough to stall when it gets hotter, that car must stink to holy hell. Maybe there's a sensor problem here, like the MAF. Doesnt throw any check engine lights or codes does it?

[sedanman]

Yep, though it has some kinda cap on it. Plug a gauge in there and see what it reads. Should be like 38 or something (not sure its been so long since I have been stock).

[ugp134]

i agree with the rich part. the pic was a little unclear to me but change ur pulse timing for ur jets or change ur firing timing that should help

[89saleen388]

thanks for all the replies.....i took that sending unit off and installed a fuel pressure gauge.... it reads about 32, is this too low?

i have a lot of check enginge codes, how do i reset them and start over...some might be on there due to what i have done to the car recently (xpipe, cold air intake, and so on)...

i did find an exhaust leak near the driver side o2 sensor and tried to fix it tonight.....if air was getting to that o2 sensor and it was measuring lean, could the o2 sensor make it run so rich it would die....????
thanks for the help, bob

[GhettoPop]

to reset computer, disconnect battery and turn on headlights for 20 min, this will drain capacitors. then SHUT OFF lights and reconnect battery.

[Nixon1]

Originally posted by 89saleen388
thanks for all the replies.....i took that sending unit off and installed a fuel pressure gauge.... it reads about 32, is this too low?

i have a lot of check enginge codes, how do i reset them and start over...some might be on there due to what i have done to the car recently (xpipe, cold air intake, and so on)...

i did find an exhaust leak near the driver side o2 sensor and tried to fix it tonight.....if air was getting to that o2 sensor and it was measuring lean, could the o2 sensor make it run so rich it would die....????
thanks for the help, bob

32 is DEFINITELY too low. This is with the engine IDLING, right? Now just priming the fuel pump? Stock SHOULD be about 40. At 32, you would run substantially lean. Maybe a bad fuel filter or a failing fuel pump could be the culprit.

The simple way to reset the codes is to disconnect the battery for a few minutes. That will reset the computer...along with your radio presets.

If your fuel pressure is only 32, I find it EXTREMELY improbably you're running rich at all unless your ignition system is ridiculously weak. Sounds like it's stalling from LACK of fuel then, and the code could be from a failing O2 or caused by the exhaust leak. Old/failing O2's throw all kinds of rich/lean codes that aren't accurate.

[sedanman]

I agree with Nixon. Check the fuel filter first (its cheap).

[89saleen388]

hey i called ford service today before i saw the replies about 32 being way too low fuel pressure....the guy i talked to said 32 is ok?????

now i am a little confused....was he mistaken?

i have reset the codes so i am waiting for some new ones and it is getting warm here so i am sure my car will start dieing again soon....if the fuel pump is bad or going bad, will it put out a trouble code that i can recieve from the check engine light????

thanks for the help

[Nixon1]

Pull your spark plugs. That will tell you if 32 is ok or not pretty quick. Lemme put it this way. I ran 40, and my plugs showed slightly lean.

[89saleen388]

yeah you were right...it was warm out today and the car died on me again....i watch the fuel gauge and it goes from 30 to 28 then starts to get ruff idle and drops to 20 and 15 and dies

i let it sit for a while and the pressure slowly starts tobuild back to 30 and then i can start it and repeat the same process over and over.....so i am going to change the fuel pump tommorrow



one more question.....would running lean cause it to run hot also.... i replaced my thermostat but when it starts to die( no fuel pressure) it also runs alot hotter??????
just wondering if the problems are related.
thanks

[leathal injection]

Check your MAF and o2 sensors.

also whats your timing set at ? you might be running fat.

[Nixon1]

Originally posted by 89saleen388
yeah you were right...it was warm out today and the car died on me again....i watch the fuel gauge and it goes from 30 to 28 then starts to get ruff idle and drops to 20 and 15 and dies

i let it sit for a while and the pressure slowly starts tobuild back to 30 and then i can start it and repeat the same process over and over.....so i am going to change the fuel pump tommorrow



one more question.....would running lean cause it to run hot also.... i replaced my thermostat but when it starts to die( no fuel pressure) it also runs alot hotter??????
just wondering if the problems are related.
thanks

Yeah I believe running real lean could cause the engine to heat up, since that's going to heat the cylinders up cause there isnt enough fuel to cool them.

[Falcons Talon]

Some friends of mine posted this on another board...

Machine:

..for my 91 4-banger to shut itself down if there is an exhaust buildup?

See, the problem is that she shuts down arbitrarily sometimes for no apparent reason. She also bogs down (sluggish) after driving for a while. When she shuts down, she will not start back up unless I let her sit for a few hours (wtf?) For instance, she died on the drive home yesterday, and when I went out this morning, she started right up (and ran better than ever, too)

I hve checked the wiring, modules, sparks and wires, replaced the battery, changed the o rings on the injectors, etc. and she still has this problem.

I have been told that it's probably my convertor is clogged up somehow and the exhaust is building up. she does get very hot sometimes and I do get a gas/exhaust smell after driving her for a while, plus I get puffs of grey smoke sometimes when I'm driving

Could this be the problem?

GT40-PTech:

I had the same kinda problem on my 88GT, it was the FUEL PUMP causing "VAPOR LOCK" . Does it die while running or idling ? Also does it miss any right before it dies ? If so then it is your fuel pump. It can also be the pickup in the coil. Yes, I know that I am saying the SAME thing from your 88 problem, but Mustangs are so predictable

03mach1
Check your cats if equipped. When they get hot they expand and plug, especially if there orginal. Had the same problem with my 91 Chevy pickup

[89saleen388]

hey i had the fuel pump and filter changed but it did not solve the problem....the fuel pressure will slowly drop down to about 10 and die....

why cant i hold any fuel pressure, clogged fuel line or a leak???

the problem is very inconsistent now and does not have to be hot outside.

the car is back at the shop so what things should i make sure they do?

thanks

[Nixon1]

Have em check for fuel line leaks, do a leak-down test on the injectors, and make sure the pressure regulator isn't leaking and its vacuum diapgragm is working properly......