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98 Ford Windstar occassionally cranks but won't start

Hi all -

I have a 98 Ford Windstar LX with ~ 48k miles on it. On occasion it will crank but won't start. It starts eventually within a couple of minutes, but it has taken up to several hours. This problem has been intermittent for about the last 8-10 mos, although I continued to ignore the wife on the subject until it happened to me :). Had it towed to local mechanic when problem last occurred but it started fine once it got there.

Mech recommended a fuel pump replacement saying he couldn't guarantee it would fix the problem but it was the most likely cause. Had the fuel pump replaced ~ 1 mo ago and on several occasions since then the same thing has happened, with the car eventually starting within a few minutes. Mech said at this point there isn't much he is willing to do unless we can leave the car with him for a few days (can't do) or get it to him when the problem is occuring (already tried that).

Hopefully someone has ideas otherwise my next step is to get a new van (something I'd rather not do).

TIA Marc

Reply to
Marc Rossi
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Why spend money guessing what the problem could be? Take your vehicle to a dealership or some other competent technician who can hook it up to n analyzer, determine the problem and repair it correctly?

mike hunt

Marc Rossi wrote:

Reply to
BrickMason

That would be my first choice (and what I tried). I don't have confidence in the local Ford dealership, but I do in the local shop that has been looking at the car. Since the problem is intermittent it seems to be a tough one catch. They said if they could keep the car for a week they might be able to track it down, but w/ 4 kids it's not an option. FWIW, reading the web/usenet, my problems do not seem to be that uncommon nor easily diagnosed.

Reply to
Marc Rossi

When it happened,did you ever try stepping 1/2 way the gas paddle during cranking ? The other thing I would try is to clean the throttle body , & check/clean all the components on it e.g. : air bypass valve, TPS... Good luck.

Reply to
ucm

============== Ford crank sensors are known to give an intermittant no start....

Reply to
Scott M

Thanks for the suggestion, after doing a little usenet searching (and bringing the car back to the dealer with no luck again) replacing the crank sensor sounds like a good thing to try. The local shop says they can do it for ~ $120, if it works it will be a lot cheaper than going out and buying that Odyssey I wish I purchased in the first place. :)

Thanks again Marc

Reply to
Marc Rossi

======================== let us know how it goes

Reply to
Scott M

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