Fuel Pump?

[darin]

Hey fella,s I haven't posted anything here in a while and need some advise. I bought a 1990 festive a couple of years ago , it had only 35000 miles . It has been sitting up for a little over a year and I decided to get it fired up . It ran fairly well for a little while but now it hesitates when I step on the pedal but idles well. I checked all the things such as spark plugs, wires , vacuum hoses and different connections . I also changed the fuel filter but this didn't help .
My guess at this point it the fuel in the tank went bad and could have affected the pump. I drained the tank just a bit to see what came out . the gas that came out was a bit cloudy but not real trashy. I don't want to buy a pump unless necessary but I suspect that may be the problem being it did set up for for so long with that old fuel and that would be a problem caused by sitting up.
Also I need to mention that when I first crank it ,it runs well for a few seconds then the missing ( hesitation ) starts. If I shut it off and restart it , runs smooth again for a few seconds and over and over. I am thinking that if the pump was failing that it might have a good surge or pressure when it first starts then it quickly loses its pressure . What do you guys think. thanks Darin

[sam.1956]

Did you look at the "sock" (screen) that covers the actual fuel pump inlet, in the tank? It tends to get blocked up, especially if the car has been sitting for a while. Just my 2c worth.

You could pull the fuel pump out of the tank & then connect it to a 12v source & check the flow.

[wybnrml]

If it's hesitating with the year old "cloudy" gas then that could cause the hesitation. I would drain the tank of all the bad gas and do what sam.1956 said. By the way Welcome!

[darin]

Thanks guys , I am going to pull the pump out today ( and drain the gas) , just wanted to know if there was any other things I might check before this . Again thanks for the responses and the welcome. Btw do you know the pressure this pump should be pumping? I do have a pressure gauge and could check it.

[batstiva]

Per my Hayne's, at idle should be somewhere around 36-44 psi. Out of curiosity, have you checked the plugs/wires/cap/etc? If the gas was bad enough to foul the pump, there's a good chance it may have also fouled the fuel filter and/or the plugs. Plus, the car may have low miles, but you still could be dealing with wires/plugs/etc that could be who knows how old.

[TominMO]

Fuel pressure: see post #4 in this thread: http://www.fordfestiva.com/forums/sh...=fuel+pressure

Edit: D'oh! Bat, you just beat me! I was checking my Haynes too, but didn't find it easily, so did a search instead.
2nd edit: just found it in the Specs on page 4-1.

Darin, get a Haynes manual if you don't have one. They are still fairly available at the McParts stores.

[avitsefdrof]

intake

After cars sit for a long period of time things dry out.....I'd check the the intake gasket where it meets the head.....while its idling just spray some water around the gasket area where the intake meets the head and see if that helps.....if it runs better when you spray the water, chances are that the gasket has dried up and cracked and you've got a vacuum leak......just a shot.

Good luck

[darin]

Hey guys,I did check things such as plugs , wires vacuum hoses before anything ,also changed the fuel filter. I have just removed the fuel pump and the sock looks clean. I hooked up the fuel pump and it ran smoothly but have yet to check the pressure . I suspect a fuel pump can run smoothly but still not build up the pressure it is suppose to so I gotta find my pressure gauge.

[darin]

BTW, I checked the price for a pump at autozone ( 135.00) and the specs says it pumps at 60-95psi. Seems high compared to the Haynes manual you guys pointed out.