Buddy has a 2.3 in a tempo 93 tempo. The car runs and drives well except in hot weather. Even with the temp gauge in the normal range it will just die. If he leaves it off for a while it will fire back up. Different shops have looked at it and can't figure out what's wrong. It sounds like a fuel issue, almost like vapor lock but someone said it might be a heat sensor reading overheating even when the engine isn't that hot and shutting it off. Any ideas or ways to check if this is it? Thanks, Matt.

 

I would suspect the ignition module. They have a neat little trick of getting hot and losing spark like that when hot. The next time it happens, have him immediately check the spark.

That FWD 2.3 is a different animal than the Ranger 2.3 we cover in here, offhand I'm not sure just how it's set up.

 

TigerDan, take a 200 6 and chop out the middle two cylinders. Same engine, tho 2.5 liters is in the 4 banger Taurus. Standard TFI, and throttle body injection. Hydraulic lifters and stamped rocker arm and a cast aluminum (some) oil pan. The intake is separate from the head, so maybe it is take a 300 and chop. Its been 20 years...
tom

 

Thanks for the ideas, we'll see what happens.

 

It is more than likely going to be electrical. A couple of tricks to make the problem occur. Use the wifes hair drier and heat the suspect electrical components such as the ignition module, coils, etc., and see if you can cause the symptom to appear. Don't forget the connectors, in fact I would do them first.

If you have access to an electronics store, you can get a couple of cans of freeze and go the other direction. Get the symptom to occur, then cool things off until it clears. jd

 

On third thought, I'd bet on the pickup coil inside the distribulator. They have a bajillion windings of hair-thin wire, will do exactly what you describe. Very temperature dependent. Two choices: 1)re-man distributor, 2)boneyard, or 3) take it apart yourself which is difficult as the driven gear is pressed onto the dist shaft and held in place with a roll pin. Most difficult to get the roll pin holes to line up. Other than that, it's a piece of cake.
tom