i bought this 1991 v6 bird a week ago. Since we bought it, it would normally take two tries to get the car started, and it'd be fine. Then it got progressively worse over the week, at one time taking 4 tries to get it to start. The other day my gf couldnt leave the house because it just wouldnt turn over. It would crank, but not turn over. she went back later on and it fired right up. My buddy n I did a tune up on it last night, and replaced the pcv valve, cap, rotor, and plugs. ( wires were fine). So we got it to fire up on the first try, but the car runs rough. It almost sounds like it's got a cam. When you put it in drive, and attempt to drive it down the street, the car has no power at all, and backfires. We made sure all the wires were routed correctly. The fuel pump is relatively new, and so is the cat. What could possibly be wrong?

my buddy said that it could be either the fuel pressure regulator, fuel pump, maybe timing.

 

Here's some easy stuff to try......

Make sure that all of your Vacuum Lines are present and in good condition. if there's a place that's missing a vacuum line, plug it. you can get little rubber plugs at the Auto Parts Store. I had to do alot of this. I can't believe there were so many open Vacuum tubes on my car. it's a wonder it even ran.

Timing MIGHT be an issue, but in 1991, you should have alot of Computer control. Perhaps it's a Sensor? Did someone put a Carb on there? If so, check to see if your Distributor has a Vacuum advance or not. Also, if it has a Carb, It might be running too lean or rich.

My 1982 didn't have a Fuel Filter when i bought it. I could hardly believe it. The Fuel filter is kinda like a check valve. That might make it hard to start. Check to see if it has one. If it does, replace it for good measure. they're cheap.

I also had to Adjust my Idle. Perhaps yours is set too low. I don't know about a Throttle body, but with a carb, all you have to do is turn a screw at the throttle linkage.

 

Well i replaced the spark plug wires today, then I noticed something else...there was something leaking on the ground. I checked her coolant tank and it was empty. So there's a coolant leak. a bad one. I was gonna replace the fuel filter, but i decided to just take the car to the shop down the road.

 

Well, that just recently happened to me too. I found out where the coolant was going. It was dripping onto my Passenger Side Floorboard. The Heater Core was toast.

 

My car is really a POS right now, LOL. I got my work cut out for me. I hope yours isn't this bad.

 

it looked like it was coming out from below the water pump in the block. The tank for the coolant was bone dry. I really really didnt wanna take it to the shop, cuz it's $90 just to diagnose it, but i couldnt help it. so i guess ill find out tomorrow...

 

good luck. A water pump shouldn't be too hard to replace and shouldn't be too expensive either. I think you'll be okay.