Jessejamesloeding

Well I'm back at it and still having an issue. I will sum up what I have going on. Couple weeks ago purchased 1992 f150 XLT 2 wheel drive with 4.9 inline 6 with just over 100,000 miles. Bought truck at auction for 500.00 bucks! Solid truck just needed someone to get her back in working order. The truck didn't run and was told it needed fuel pump and starter. Said starter went bad from trying to move truck with bad pump( sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't) they needed to move truck to avoid parking tickets. I asked about the other tank and pump and was told never used cause it had leak. So I tow it home and start to get to work. Here is the order in which I did things. ( by the way the truck came with new fuel pump and starter) I drop both tanks clean them up make repair to leak on front tank( tiny pin hole) replace both pumps figure I have tanks down might as well because I know if I didn't change out front pump too it would probably go out sooner than later ( 20+ years old). Hang tanks back up and move on to starter. No issues there. Then I put some new plugs, wires, cap and rotor, fuel pressure reg., coil, fuel tank selector switch( was hanging out on dash). Checked fluids but wanted to wait to change til I had it running and then give her some clean oil and fluids after tuned. So I start it up and she fires right up and runs well for about 2 or 3 min then stalls as if the key was turned off. No sputter or backfire. Try to restart and no go and to many attempts floods it out even without touching fuel petal. ( fuel injected) leave it sit a day will do same thing. I pulled codes ( only the ones you c an get when it's cold or as warm as 2,3 min will get it) last time I did it ( have ran codes couple different times and days) I get couple sensors temp out of range witch makes sense it's cold and the good old 111 all pass. I have good fuel pressure at the rail and good spark. I have run almost every check in Haynes manual as far as trouble shooting fuel and ignition systems and everything checks out as good as it can when truck not warm or running. Last time I had it running it ran for probably 4 or 5 minutes almost thought it fixed itself! Lol ya right. Any ideas what would cause this to happen? I'm stumped. Would plugged cat? Bad batt? I have year old batt I pulled from work truck shows 12.44 volts after I charged it but I know in the year we have had it in that work truck it had been drained dead few times and recharged. Worked fine on work truck but just wondering. That's how stumped I am. Lol and as far as cat goes I tapped lightly with rubber mallet and it sounds ok like maybe spoon of sand in it but I have heard sound bad cat makes and this one seems fine. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks!

fltdriver

Engine Coolant Temp sensor (ECT) could be your issue, sends a signal that coolant temp isn't in operating temp and shuts the engine down. More than likely I would think that's your issue, other common shut down items are PIP sensor in distributor and a failing ignition coil (not ICM, the coil that the middle wire on dist cap goes to). All three will cause shut downs but the last two are usually when they get warm.

Some things I would recommend:
*New fuses ($12 rockauto for 120ct asst), good practice to change 20yr old fuses so you don't have issues later on

*Clean up chassis grounds, battery terminals (cheap to just replace), and electrical connectors (brush male end w/brass brush, then spray with quick drying electronic clean <$4@walmart> and insert a few times into the female), coating the previously mentioned items with a SMALL amount of dielectric grease.

*Replace vacuum lines, I used 22ft of 4mm silicone from siliconeintakes (link to page), if you want to do the bigger hoses too just get the engine dress up kit + 12ft of 4mm.

*New bulbs, if ordered from rockauto you can get all of the exterior bulbs + interior + behind dash/controls for the same price as buying 2 headlight bulbs at an auto parts store.

*Drain and replace brake fluid/bleed brakes to get fresh to caliper-most people overlook this.

*Before you change the oil put a little bit of seafoam in the brake booster line (slowly) to help loosen/remove any buildup, then change with cheapest oil/filter you can find and run it hard for a tank of gas (I usually divide the rest of the seafoam between the two tanks). Change the oil after that (running engine for 30+min prior), you'll be surprised at how dirty it is so quickly just because it has sat.

Chris_1

iTrader: (1)

A plugged cat, you won't get much of anything out the exhaust pipe when it does run. So you can check that.
If you're sure you have spark when it won't fire, you can skip over all the ignition stuff for now. If you're sure. ('cause that does sound a little like a PIP (distributor pickup)).
Next thing to look at would be the TPS. I posted the instructions a few days ago on how to test it -"testing the TPS".
There's also the temp sensor (not the sender unit, the sensor for the computer). It's located right near the thermostat housing. A bad one of those can really mess things up. And you do have a code on that, so maybe it's not because it's cold.
Also "good fuel pressure" on a 92 4.9 is high 50's (45 to 60 psi is the operating range, 45 is real bad). So with that in mind, the operating range for a V8 is 30 to 45 psi.
Just to ensure that you actually have 4.9 pumps in there, a fuel pressure gauge would be the way to eliminate that as a potential source of problems. Again, KOEO you're looking for over 55 psi with new pumps.
A couple places to look for starters anyway. Hope that helps.

Jessejamesloeding

Wow! Thanks for advice. Sounds like you fellas know your stuff. When I ran codes last ( after running for few minutes then shutting down) was 636 which is the above mentioned trans. Sensor. So I will check that out first. I did go through and checked all connections for corrosion and good contact. Also checked vac. Lines. The truck is real clean and appears well kept. Even has oil change sticker from local Ford dealership from 1300 miles ago. Clean motor with no apparent leaks or fluid issues. I was going to get it up and running and do some body work on it ( only rust is around wheel wells) other then that it's real solid. But even with these issues which I will figure out sooner or later the truck is growing on me! Lol just feels right when I sit in it. She is just a little sick right now. Lmao! Anyway out to the garage I go. Thanks again for advice I will check back in couple hours for an update. I know you guys will be on the edge of your seats. Lol have a good one fellas!

broncojunkie

I don't recall from your other thread, but when it won't start back up, did you try starting fluid? It should fire up and run at least for a couple seconds, if you have spark. You say it's flooding after attempting to start it a few times, which tells me you are getting fuel. Like Chris1 said, though...check to make sure you are getting correct fuel pressure.

One more thing: The flooding issue, although sounds like it could be a normal result of trying to start it over and over, I'm wondering if you could have an injector or two leaking internally. Have you checked your oil lately to see if it smells like gas? It can leak its way around rings and into the crankcase. If it's real bad, your oil level may have risen above the full mark. That could possibly explain why it will start back up after letting it sit for a while. The fuel could be seeping out of the cylinder(s) slowly.

Jessejamesloeding

Boy you nailed that on the head! I just happened to check oil today cause had few drops on floor and it has been in my garage almost two weeks and hadn't seen that before. Oil level did go up and I can smell fuel in oil. I hope this doesn't mean big big trouble? I've done compression test ( one of first things I did) every cylinder was within 5 to 10 lbs of each other. All right around 125 on three cranks. When I pulled plugs they didn't look fouled but covered in black burnt smoke( suet). So maybe I have stuck injectors flooding it out? Maybe that's why it seems to run longer each time I get it to run? Maybe trying to clean itself with the fuel? It did sit awhile I guess before I bought it. But at auctions ya don't get much info? I'm pretty good with my hands and have manual is pulling injectors tough job?

Chris_1

iTrader: (1)

Fuel pressure gauge will tell you if pressure is bleeding off. KOEO you should get high 50's and then it should hold it - for at least a few minutes if not longer. If it bleeds off fast, that's probably stuck injectors.
The tps signal has a lot to do with what happens to the injectors too, so that's worth doing the test on.
And yeah pulling injectors gets a little involved. Not that you won't be able to, just you don't want to go there if you don't have to. Injector cleaner in the gas tank might help eventually. If the seat gets dirty, they don't seal well when they close - inj/cle helps clean the crap off the seats and plunger.

fltdriver

If it is the injectors, and you don't need the truck right away, the best and cheapest route is to pull them all and take/send them for cleaning. It'll be half the price of buying cheapest new injectors. Whether you have them cleaned or replace them, do all of them. You want an even spray pattern from each injector, it won't hurt only doing the leaking/stuck ones but you will get better mpg and more HP from them all functioning the same.

Jessejamesloeding

well I'm back! After performing all test and checks discussed in previous posts a friend and I towed ( 1992 Ford F-150 XLT with the inline 6) the truck to nearby auto repair shop. Two days later and 320.00 bucks I'm still in same spot. Was told timing was eight turn off from new distributor install but other than that that's all they could find. He said he had it running but anytime he would give it gas it would kill. He said he wanted to preform back pressure test but couldn't get O2 sensor out. Said he had it " cherry red" and still wouldn't move. He told me he wouldn't rule out plugged cat. Kinda got the impression he didn't want to work on it anymore. I got it home swapped out plugs he said they where bad and I couldn't get it to run any longer than three or four minutes. Cut cat after sensor. Same thing! However! I did notice something interesting when I went to turn the ignition to check for spark at dis. ( wire from coil) when I turned the key to the on position I got a single spark from coil before key was even close to start position. This is not normal right? Also when it does run for few minutes I happened to catch the voltage meter gauge in the dash and it's acting goofy. Switching back and forth from low number to high number and the idle seems to be insync with one another. Any ideas? Thanks!

Chris_1

iTrader: (1)

For your $320 did he do a fuel pressure test ? Or a TPS voltage test ?