Hey all- I've had good results from forums before for other cars, so I'm looking forward to your comments/suggestions on how to tackle a current problem with my Bronc.

It's an '88 with 142k miles, and I bought it about six weeks ago, with no noticable faults related to my current problem. A week after I bought it, I started to have some hesitation during acceleration right after I started it. In the following week, the hesitation got worse; anytime I was driving it was prone to hesitation, decrease in power, and a sharp drop in RPM's. The hesitation was very erratic and unpredictable, althought I couldn't get a mile without some sort of issue. Sometimes when I layed on the throttle it would rev-up and be good for another couple of miles, but that only worked 50% of the time. Once I got it revved up above about 2300 RPM it would be better, but not perfect. It finally died while stopped at a light one night. I towed it home, changed the fuel filter and spark plugs, and that seemed to do the trick. At least for another week. Granted it didn't run 100% after I did these minor fixes, but it was better. It died again and I then changed both fuel pumps, which got it running yesterday morning for a while, but the hesitation came back.

I took it to the shop this morning for futher diagnosis, and they want to change the cap and wires, as well as install a new engine control module. But of course they want $500 to do this, which I'm not paying. So here I am, hoping that someone has another diagnosis from what I've written, or else can suggest another track to go down. Thanks.

 

if you can change your spark plugs you can do the cap and wires yourself. you might want to check your egr valve, my 86 had the same problem. not half as bad as your but it would hesitate after start up, and i cleaned mine and that fixed the problem.

 

i would start by pulling the codes..thay might lead you in the right direction as to what is causing the problem.it could be a number of things. egr as mentioned,tfi module,fuel pump could be on its way out,check your fuel pressure. i think it is supposed to be around 35-40 psi..hope this helps and keep us informed to what you find!

 

Check your throttle position sensor for correct voltage, with a voltmeter or multimeter. make sure you have the key on and engine off. If you dont know how, than just buy a new one. It should be inexpensive.

 

Same problem here.Pull code first like the other suggested.My problem was the Cat converter, my hesitation was off and on as well...

 

Pull codes first, but, many times a bad TFI module will not throw a code or will throw a whole bunch. Not a question of if it will go bad, but, when. So, having a spare is not a bad thing because a bad one can prevent the vehicle from starting.