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Chad Merry

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I need some help My ST will not start sometimes. It will crank, and crank forever but wont start. My scanguage says no codes, and eventually it started. Last night was the worst time it did this, it took about 15 minutes of trying to start it, and then stopping for a few minutes and it finally started. Any idea what I may look for? Has this happened to anyone else? It has done this about 4 times now with last night being the worst case due how long it took.



Thanks



Chad

 
Check fuel pressure, Spark plugs, Fuel filter....



When it happens you can do two things...



1) Press the throttle 1/4 ONLY and crank.... IF it starts the IAC motor is stuck or bad...



IF NOT



2) Turn the Key on do not start, wait 5 seconds... Shut the key off.... turn it back on, DO not start, shut it off... do that 5 times and then start the truck....



IF it starts right up, it is a fuel filter or bad pump....



Obviously these are the basics I have seen, There are more complicated things it can be, But this is the easy 2..



Todd Z
 
I'd have to say test the fuel pump. Hope everything works out. Your truck is my favorite ST out there.

:banana:
 
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Where is the fuel cutoff switch located under the dash? I wonder if that may be a possible issue? After reading the project to replace the pump, it appears that can cause issues as well. However my truck never dies when driving it?? Although now that I said it does not die when driving who knows what may happen now :banghead:



Edit: I did a search and found it...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I went and picked some some Autolite plugs APP103 and a fuel filter. So tonight I will do this work and clean IAC and see what happens.





Thanks for the help....
 
I've had similar problems with other mod motor cars. The first thing I do is find the Schrader valve and use the tip of a key to open it up briefly. If you don't get a nice healthy shot of gasoline, there's your problem. Sometimes the cutoff switch will pop for no good reason. If resetting it solves the problem, then at least you can drive it home.



If the switch checks out fine, and it still doesn't start, try disconnecting the battery for ten minutes, reconnect and try again. If this works, you're going to need a new fuel pump sooner or later.



Is the MIL lit up? If so, can you grab the codes?

 
I am thinking it is not the cutoff switch since i never touched it and the truck finally started. My fuel filter probably has about 60-80k on it, I only changed it once. My fault for overlooking some of the simple maint items.
 
Chad, I had similar problems to you, and I recently changed the filter with 139K on it! After changing the filter, I had the same problem and it turned out to be the pump.
 
That will likely be my luck since it looks like a PITA project since you have to drop the tank to get to it. But I found it at Rockauto for $198.00 so that is 90 bucks cheaper than the parts stores in my area.
 
Out of curiosity, we're talking about an in-tank pump, right? That seems to be SOP now. If it is in-tank, does it have one of those "sock" style filters? I'm guessing that there's an inline filter...does the ST not use any in-tank filter?



Pity the confused car guy... :sad:
 
Chad, yes, you have to drop the tank because the fuel pump access is on the top of the tank. I didn't do this myself, and had a shop do it. It's been 19 degrees here lately, and I don't have anywhere to do it out of the cold. I remember doing a fuel pump change on my 89 Bronco II and it wasn't a PITA as much as cumbersome. I think the shop only had a couple of hours in it, and that included diagnostics.



Mustang, yes, it's an in-tank pump. I'm not sure what in-tank filter is on this pump as I didn't get to see the replacement first since the shop ordered it for me. There's an in-line filter that should be changed periodically. Some guys change them every 10K, but it didnt' look like the original owner EVER changed mine, and I have to believe that had some contribution to the pump failing. :angry:
 
Well my inline fuel filter was NASTY!!! The fuel coming out of it was almost a black/reddish color. And my IAC valve was very NASTY as well. It took alot of cleaning but it finally came clean. Put in new plugs, and had to get new wires since my 8.8 taylor wires ripped the plug connection right out of the boot on 2 of the cables :angry:.:angry::angry::angry::angry::angry:
 
Mustang, you're quite welcome.



I just got my truck back last night and it runs so muc better now. The pump must have been on it's last legs for a while. The idle is much smoother now and it seems more responsive. Maybe it's just me, though. :driving:



I was getting a rattle between 2.5k and 3k RPM and I was afraid it was the timing chains. From what I can tell though, the rattle is gone or at least reduced and not as noticeable. Is there any reason for this? Asked the mechanic about it, since the rattle is really noticeable when the truck starts and he said it could be the catalytic converter failing.
 
My st feels to be running much better now since I did the work. I think it was a combination of the fuel filter and the nasty looking IAC valve. Plus new plugs and wires may have helped to.



Thanks to all who pointed me in the right direction. Of course now the truck is in the shop getting the tranny looked at again. It has been leaking for a while and I thought it was just a gasket or seal in the tail shaft, but the mechanic just called and said fluid looks to be coming out of the front to...:banghead:
 

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