Hi Gents, over in the UK for another year and the trusty Bronco has been behaving for the past two years. But...Yesterday afternoon and today this afternoon I crank it to start and acts like it isn't getting any fuel, good crank no turn over. 2.9L 88 EFI motor. Bronco II manual. So pumped the gas once (I never had to do that to start it ever) and she started up. Like I mentioned same thing happend this afternoon (started fine this morning though..weird). Once it is started it runs without any issues, no hesitiation, perfect, no check engine light. Get home, shut it down starts right up. So what could be my issue? Could the fuel pump be getting ready to quit, why would it run so well once it is running? Thanks for any help as I will have to order parts from the US and wait for them to ship over, so if you have any ideas let me know.
Starting issue please take a look
- Thread starter alfie
- Start date
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bidibronco
New member
I would check the fuel filter first. Also, if you can get a guage on the fuel line to see what pressure you're running when you hit the truck to the "on" position without starting it.
Copy fuel filter, but wouldn't it run crappy after it started if it was a fuel filter issue? On the 88 looks like there is a high pressure pump and a low pressure pump, the thing that has me puzzled is the fact that once she is running, it is smooth with good response, good power, no hesitiation, not a bit of an issue at all. Thanks for your input.
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jsomedaysoon
New member
my 88 did the same thing. it did turn out to be the filter. i know it sounds strange that it would run fine when it started but once i changed the filter i had no more problems. how long has it been since you changed yours? of course not long before that it was doing the same thing and it turned out to be the fuel pump that time. i guess what i'm trying to say is always start with the cheapest fix first. 
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BroncoJoe19
Active member
Yes... prior to 1990 they had two fuel pumps, a high pressure and a low pressure one.
Do you have a guage so that you could test them?
If you have a guage, do you know HOW to test them?
I understand your logic regarding the filter, but it would be a kick in the a$$ if you didn't change it and that's what it ended up being.
I just found a great article on how to test for codes.
http://www.fordfuelinjection.com/files/self_test.pdf
This will be of particualr interest to those with 1984 through 1988 models, but is also excellent for those up to the 1995 models.
If one is to do some code checking there is a step where one would depress the throttle once, I think that is when the computer activates solenoids and stuff. Unless you are doing a test, I don't know if that is a regular function of the computer... to activate stuff even if it isn't in test mode.
OK... one thing though that I was thinking is that when you depress teh throttle, you are moving the ?throttle plates? within the throttle body. You might want to get a can of caarb cleaner pull your air hoses off, and try cleaning it out a bit. Perhaps it is getting a little sticky?
Good luck, let us know how we can help.
joe
