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1995 f150 start up issues

I have a 1995 F150 with the 5.0 L manual trans. Motor is stock other than cold air intake and throttle body spacer. I have seemingly random start up issues. She will crank but won’t fire sometimes. If she sits for long periods 4 or more hours she always fires. If I drive around then park and come back to her she will crank all day, will not fire. Originally thought it was a fuel issue because I would bleed fuel rail and get her to start. That trick doesn’t seem to be working so now I’m thinking it’s a spark issue. I have replaced the fuel pressure regulator but that didn’t do anything. Any help would be very nice, this is getting annoying!

Check for stored codes.
Hang a fuel pressure gauge to determine fuel pressure.
Check for spark.

More fuel pressure regulators get replaced as a guess when in fact they prevent the pressure from going too high.I would pull its vacuum line and look for the presence of raw fuel.

When it does not fire up - i.e. when it cranks all day but not start - check for spark at the coil. If it has spark, I'd bet it is something like the engine coolant temp sensor. If it does not have spark, my bet would be PIP sensor in the distributor or the ignition control module.

But yes, pull codes and measure fuel pressure at the rail on both tanks - this is the first step. Most places don't accept returns on electrical parts so throwing money at it can get expensive.

Thanks for the advice, I will try these and report back.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigBlue1124 (Post 6128212)

Motor is stock other than cold air intake...

CAI has been stock on virtually every passenger vehicle since 1975. What did you put on it?

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigBlue1124 (Post 6128212)

...and throttle body spacer.

Dead weight.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigBlue1124 (Post 6128212)

She will crank but won’t fire sometimes. If she sits for long periods 4 or more hours she always fires.

Get a Haynes manual & a digital multimeter (DMM), and start testing every sensor. Click these & read the captions.

https://www.supermotors.net/getfile/...l/hayneses.jpg
(phone app link)

https://www.supermotors.net/getfile/...rs22172dmm.jpg
(phone app link)

https://www.supermotors.net/getfile/...258e4oda2z.jpg
(phone app link)

https://www.supermotors.net/getfile/...oorsticker.jpg
(phone app link)

https://www.supermotors.net/getfile/...nsorvalues.jpg
(phone app link)

https://www.supermotors.net/getfile/.../dlc-eeciv.jpg
(phone app link)

https://www.supermotors.net/getfile/...ibutor9296.jpg
(phone app link)

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigBlue1124 (Post 6128212)

That trick doesn’t seem to be working so now I’m thinking it’s a spark issue.

Both are blind guesses, and if dumping flammable liquid onto a warm engine ever helped, it's blind luck you're not dead and just a coincidence that the engine ran afterward. Stop guessing & start diagnosing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BLDTruth (Post 6128501)

measure fuel pressure at the rail on both tanks

Thank you guys for the help! I have ruled out everything except the PIP sensor and Control module but also need more help with fuel system. Can you please direct me towards a thread regarding fuel pressure testing and acceptable pressures? Thanks again,
NIck

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigBlue1124 (Post 6141280)

There's a schrader valve on the driver side fuel rail - pop your gauge on there and then turn the key to the on position so the pump primes (you will hear it hum for a second or two), but does not turn on the truck itself. What's the pressure? Do this for both tanks, then do it again while starting the truck and seeing what the pressure is. It should be a solid 35-45 psi to keep the truck running well.

The fuel pressure regulator is there to lower pressure when its not needed, so if you pull the vacuum line off of it while the truck is running you should be operating at close to the maximum the pump can put out. This is a good way to diagnose the overall health of your fuel pumps and the flow of the system (i.e. if you have a kink in a line, a blockage, or a bad filter).