I'm hoping some of you mechanics out there can give some help with a little problem I'm having with my car. I've got a 98 Mercury Tracer, 95,000+ miles. It runs really good but, some mornings, on a cold start, it has trouble kicking in. Sometimes it takes 5-6 tries before it fires up, then it's fine the rest of the day. It's only on a cold start. Also, I've noticed the last few times I've put gas in it, that for a short while afterward, it kind of deels like it's going to stall out when you accelerate from a stop. There's some hesitation, then it gets going. I don't know if both things are related but, it's got me stumped along with the place I take it to. I've had it there twice for this and they can't find anything wrong. I even left it overnight and they said it started right up the next morning. They checked the fuel system, did some kind of procedure to it but, it didn't help.
I've had the fuel filter replaced and I mentioned the fuel pump but, they were hesitant about doing anything with that because of the expense of it on my part. They said they didn't want to get it all apart and find nothing wrong or replace it and find out that was not the problem and that I had to pay all that money for nothing. Like I said, it's only some mornings it does that. All other mornings, it starts right up. And the other problem, it only does it when I give a near fill up, usually over 3/4 of a tank. If I, just put enough gas in to put in just over a half tank, it's fine. It can't be the gas either, because the last three times I filled up, it was at three different stations. I'm wondering if there's sediment in the tank and a fill up stirs it up causing it to get into the fuel system. Whatever it is, if anyone has any ideas, I'd appreciate whatever you have to say. Thanks.

 

I'd check for codes first; that will help you look for clues. This will help you look for hidden problems like a faulty EGR valve, etc. Sediment in the tank wouldn't cause this because it's going to be at the bottom regardless of the fuel level. Hesitation is usually caused by a lean condition or incorrect timing. You're close to 100,000 miles; a tune up is probably a good idea. How do your spark plugs look? How about wires? I was going to suggest to replace the fuel filter but it sounds like you've done that. It's very possible the fuel pump is causing this, but you'd have to check the fuel pressure to verify. I would suspect that the fuel level correlation you mention is really just a coincidence. I think you need to check your fuel pressure - if that checks out OK, do a tune-up. If it doesn't check out OK, replace the fuel pump and do a tune-up if needed.

 

You can test the fuel system without removing the pump. Although it's unlikely to be temperature related, but if you're not getting sufficient fuel pressure when the engine is cold, it could cause that problem, maybe marginal pressure is causing a relatively lean condition when the engine is cold and needs to be run a bit richer.

But yes, check for codes first, then go from there...

 

Thanks for the info. Now, how do you check for codes? I've heard the term but, not being anything close to a mechanic, it's all Greek to me. Also, the car was tuned up less than two years ago, time wise. Miles wise, probably about 5,000 miles ago. It could be possible that one or all the plugs could be fowled but, who knows. As for fuel pressure, I believe the place I took it to tested that and said it was ok, at least at that particular time. Now, in the last couple of days, it's beginning to become hard to start more often. And today, I put gas in the car, up to the 3/4 full mark and it was ok. It just seems that when it goes past the 3/4 mark to the full mark, it runs a little crappy till the fuel level goes down.

 

You need a scanner or a code reader. If you haven't got one or a buddy that has one, some of the local parts stores that do repairs (PepBoys, Autozone) will sometimes scan them for you for nothing. If you don't have a check engine" light on, you'll be looking for pending" codes, which are errors that have been detected, but not yet logged in memory...

 

Well, it turned out to be the fuel pump was leaking. Had it replaced and now it runs like a charm. Hopefully, that'll be it for awhile. With the way the economy is going, this car has to go maybe at least another year or two.

 

Glad to hear you got it worked out.

 

Thanks for the follow up Jimmy...

Mind if I ask how it was determined that the fuel pump was the problem? Was a pressure test enough, or was there some other test they did? Just trying to get any extra info that might help the next guy.. who might be me!