whts wrong with my car

[1987mercurygmq]

for the past week or two my car has been stalling out alot. if i start it, it will stall a few times until it warms up. some days this problem does not happen at all other days i cant even get it out of my driveway without stalling. when it starts up right before it stall it blows a bunch of black smoke out of the ehxaust. also when im driving it will hesitate alot before actually stalling and it makes the car buck real bad. any ideas would be appreciated thanks.

[Pirate]

Fuel pressure regulator is pegged at about 80-90 psi. Check fuel pressure first, and call me in the morning.

[1987mercurygmq]

how do i check my fuel pressure.

[87_crown_vic]

on top of the engine there is a a valve on fuel rails that looks like a valve stem end on it. buy/rent a fuel pressure gauge and put it on there, start the car and test for pressure. when was last tune up and fuel filter changed? also, have you changed out the transmission linkage grommet?

[1987mercurygmq]

the last tune up was right before summer dont remember changing the tranny linkage grommet wht would make happen. were can i rent a fuel pressure gauge.

[87_crown_vic]

check auto parts stores for tool rentals. the grommet costs about $5 and if it isnt changed from the plastic one, you will fry your transmission. so pay $5 for the brass bushing or pay alot more later. have you changed your fuel filter lately? if it is clogged it could choke off fuel supply

[Tiggie]

I've heard you can use an old tire pressure gauge to check fuel pressure as well, although I've never tried it. It just ruins the tire pressure gauge.

There is also a plastic vacuum line going into the fuel pressure regulator, make sure it isn't cracked. I think the line is red.

See http://www.lincolnsonline.com/tech/00052.html for info on the TV Grommet.

[87_crown_vic]

fuel pressure regulator is located on backside of upper intake/plenum. it is connected by a red line. it is more of the driver side hiding behind the upper intake/plenum. you have to be careful with the vac lines since the are plastic, and brittle. the snap and break easily. just had this problem with a car here. changed fuel filter and it is alot better now.

[gadget73]

I'd say leaky injector, or bad regulator. Pull that vacuum line off the regulator and see if fuel comes out of it. If its got a leaky injector, pull the plugs. If one is wet and black, thats your problem cylinder.

[Blackened300a]

Im going with fuel filter on this one. You wouldnt believe the amount of problems that filter will cause if its starting to get clogged.

[1987mercurygmq]

thanks for the info everyone

[1987mercurygmq]

i put a new map sensor on the car and the problem continued so i brought it to the shop and they said it was the ignition module so i put a new one on and it seems like its running great i just hope that was the problem.

[86GmLsCoupe]

Glad it worked out for you so far. You really should try and check for codes on the car which can help you a lot when troubleshooting. You can get codes from the car with or without a scanner, though a decent one shouldn't cost all that much. I prefer the scanner method because I'm lazy. There a couple good threads you can search on here advising you how to get codes and what kind of scanner you could buy.