i was having intermittent starting issues with my 3.0. when i turned the key, i could hear the fuel pump, starter was clicking, but it would just crank and not turn on.

after reviewing the FSM, i wound up changing the ECT sensor. While doing this, i think i may have stripped the sensor, but i tightened it by hand at the time and it seemed tight enough. more importantly, it worked and started more often (like 3x as often)

since then (about 2 months ago), my truck will start one day, then may or may not start depending on how i drove that day. Seems like when i drive it hard(ish), it will not start again if i turn it off. It has to sit and cool down for sometimes overnight. Then it will start again. Otherwise, it will crank but not turn on.

If it does start, and i drive say...4 miles (easy...ie slow) itll be fine and usually starts 1st try. At one point there was like a 3 week streak with it starting everyday! then yesterday it stopped because i drove it rough.

I dont get any codes on it or anything. Anyone have an idea what this might be? think i should just replace that ECT sensor again? My truck is just pms'ing?

 

update: i got home from work and tried to start it. no dice. but...when i was listening to it, i can hear what i think is the fuel pump. sounds like its sputtering.

im assuming thats not a good thing right? should be a constant "vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv"? it sounds like its doing morse code.

can i test the fuel pump function without dropping the tank? i know i can check for fuel coming from the hose under the hood if i disconnect it. but if its sputtery, thats not necessarily going to work right?

 

On the 22RE, there's a couple terminals in the diagnostic plug that you can jump to force the pump to run for testing. I assume the same is true with the 3.0, but someone else will have to chime in on that.

Is your fuel filter good? Any running issues once it does start?

 

my fuel filter is good, i actually just replaced it about 400 miles ago. prior to all this happening, once the car is running, it actually runs pretty good. slow, but good.

the last time i drove it, i was in a hurry. it was driving fine. but it hasnt started in 2 days which is sort of a record...for not starting.

ill check and see the if i can jump the box under the hood. i did use it to run codes before, but i dont get any right now. though, im not sure that a broken fuel pump would throw a code.

 

so i checked and got a codes 12 and 24. so i checked the FSM and found that i need to start looking for connections from the distributor as well as stuff from the AFM. at least thats what i gathered from searching this forum s interpretations of the codes.

i dont have a voltmeter/ohmeter so i began by just checking the contacts on the distributor cap. theyre pretty much ground flat. ill see if i can take pictures later. but...that doesnt seem right. they appear relatively clean but have a bit of white powder on them. it looks like the rotor is too big and scraped the contacts all the way down to the plastic, though, ive never actually looked at a distributor cap before, so...maybe thats normal? im going to autozone to see what a new one looks like. worse case, its only like $12.

question though...

i took off the afm so i can check and see if everythings clean in there. the little door in there moves about freely and theres not really any dirt in there. theres also a little white rod thaat hangs from the top...dont know what that is but i dont think it moves anywhere. i see pictures of people taking off the black plastic cover where it plugs in. but i dont see any way to do that other than to just pry it off. Am i missing something here? i dont want to just pry it off and be stuck later. How does one glue it back on?

 

Razor blade to cut it open, pry it with a screw driver carefully after cutting around sides, and gasket maker to seal it back shut.