*Help* Truck didn't start, day later it did. | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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*Help* Truck didn't start, day later it did.

urbansmoke

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September 1, 2015
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Year, Model & Trim Level
1998 Mercury Mountaineer
I was driving just fine went into the store and came out and the truck wouldn't start, came back next morning and it fired right up. What could cause this?

It's a 4.0l v6 98 mountaineer
 



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I forget if 98 had PATS but if it does did you trip the PATS system? If you somehow tripped the anti theft system, that will force you to wait 8 hours before the truck will start again.

So this begs the question. When you say didn't start did it turn over and not fire up? Or would the engine not even turn? Was your anti theft light flashing really fast or was it on solid?
 






Sorry I should have made that clear, it turned over perfectly. Just didn't start.
 






Always start troubleshooting by scanning for codes. Even without a check engine light, DTC's will be stored in memory unless they've been cleared. Most larger auto parts stores will do this as a free service, call around. If any are found, write down the number(s) and post them.

OBD-II Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs)
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2054355&postcount=2
 






Its very possible your fuel pump is at the end of its life-cycle. When the pumps are worn out, sometimes they'll work and sometimes they wont. Next time it happens, listen to see if you hear the pump hum when you turn the key to the ON position. If you don't hear it hum, try smacking the tank near its rear. There's a small teardrop shaped indentation in the bottom of the tank. The fuel pump is directly over this indentation. Sometimes that will get the pump to run. You can also see if the engine will catch on starting fluid. Sure sign you fuel pump isn't running. Another thing you can try is to switch the fuel pump relay with another similar, non-critical relay in the power distribution box to see if that's the problem.
 






Vapor Lock?
 












I would pull the codes with Forscan (or Forscan Lite on your phone). Pulls all codes from all systems, not just the ODBII codes.

When they get this old, even little things can cause problems. For example, mine had the temp sensor start to fail (still gave a reading, just colder than it should be). this was causing mine to start fine when the engine was cold, but hard to start when the engine was warm (computer was trying to start a cold engine). sometimes, I couldn't get it started until the engine cooled off. Drove me nuts because the check engine light never came on.

Good Luck
 






I agree with Koda, and I have been through this before. Time for a pump. Best wishes.
Doc
 






Vapor Lock?

Hit the nail on the head, exactly my problem, thanks for the help guys. I do have one other question.

My timing chain rattles a bit what weight oil should I use to make the chain last as long as possible?
 






Hit the nail on the head, exactly my problem, thanks for the help guys. I do have one other question.

My timing chain rattles a bit what weight oil should I use to make the chain last as long as possible?

urbansmoke -

* For clarity - is this a OHV or SOHC V6?
 






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