Starting Issue

[SPSmith]

I know this has been covered somewhere, but I can't find it. The vehicle in a 1991 Explorer XLT... stock... 159K miles. Today I was heading home with 1/8 tank of fuel and it died at a stop light. Then it wouldn't start so my first assumption was no fuel. I put 2 gallons in it and no joy there either. We jumped it and cranked the living hell out of it. I was thinking even if it is not a normally aspirated engine I'd catch a whiff of fuel when I took the air cleaner duct off. Nada.

The only symptoms I've gotten are that I don't hear the fuel pump when turning the key from off to on. That and once in a great while I would get a small "surge" feeling going down the road. Prior to this it was running great after replacing the plugs a couple of days back.

I checked the inertial cutoff switch and it's in the normal down position. So here are my questions:

Fuel pump? If so could someone provide a link for a "How to" on dropping the tank and doing the R&R?

Fuel filter? I'd think there would have been a performance falloff over time and that's not the case.

Fuel pump relay?

I'd really rather not go to the trouble of dropping the tank, only to find it's not the pump itself. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[willindsay]

Sound's like it's most likely the pump or relay.

Checking the relay is simple you can find it in the power distribution box under the hood on the pass. fender. since it's a 91 the relay will be located underneath.
Check here for pics To check it just switch it with one of the known good relay's.

If that doesn't fix it you can try the fuel filter. You should replace it when/if you replace the pump anyways. It's on the driver side inside frame rail just below the drivers door. I doubt it is your problem though.

Now for the fun task of replacing the pump. You have two choices. 1. Drop the tank or 2. Cut and access panel in the floor.
Easiest would be cutting an access panel in the floor. Check out this thread on it.
Here's a link for 2nd gen fuel replacement. Should be pretty similar to a first gen.

 

[SPSmith]

Thank you for the great advice.

Interestingly enough, the A/C, ECM and Fuel Pump relays are not attached to the bottom of the power distribution box on my 1991 XLT. There isn't even a place for them as the bottom is completely smooth. The relays simply terminate the wiring harness and "hang out" between the power distribution box and the blower motor housing.

 

[Anime]

The only symptoms I've gotten are that I don't hear the fuel pump when turning the key from off to on.

Sounds like a relay to me.