Haaatschi

Hi there,

I am considering to buy a 1989 Grand Marquis that is in very good shape except the fact that since a year or so the owner reports "somewhat hesitant accelleration" - a problem that gets worse and would not allow one to drive in moutaineous terrain. He sugegsts it is the fuel pump. How plausible is that? Here's what he writes:

"I have not had the car diagnosed by a mechanic, however I do have good reason to think its the fuel pump. I have the EEC IV diagnosis tool (a handheld unit that plugs into the on board computer and reads off diagnostic codes) and the only problem it reported was the EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) valve was not seated correctly. I refurbished the valve, but that did not fix the hesitation problem. Other possible causes could be faulty O2 or mass flow sensors, but the EEC IV unit reported them to be functioning correctly. I replaced the fuel filter and spark plugs, and 6 of the 8 fuel injectors I could reach with a stethoscope are functioning correctly (they make a clicking sound). So that points me to the fuel pump. A fuel pump costs ~$150, and labor for installation would probably be about that much. This is why I discounted the price $300 below KBB value. "

He is asking 500$.

Is this an overall fair assessment? I am not mechanically inclined to all I could do is buy the car for 500$, take it to the mechanic and have the fuel pump replaced. If that does not remedy the problem I have opened a can of worms I suppose. I am willing to take some risk but I need to be reasonably optimistic about it.

Other rcent fixes are: Brakes, exhaust, tires all under two years old. Fresh battery, oil, spark plugs and fuel filter.

It would be great to hear your opinions. If I buy it I would certainly become a regular guest here :-)

Cheers,

Tom

88grandmarq

the fuel pump could be the problem, a simple fuel pressure test would tell you right away.

retrieving trouble codes from an EEC-IV system is rather easy, but there are some steps you have to do to ensure you do it correctly, my personal experience is most do it yourselfers don't do the procedure correctly, as there are 3 different types of stored codes. Key On Engine Off, Key On Engine Running and Continuous (Continuous is stored hard codes)
most people only get the Key On Engine off Codes and miss the rest.

lack of power could also be an air intake restriction or exhaust restriction.

Haaatschi

So it is a can of worms of some sort :-)

So I should look for a Grand Marquis enthusiast in the San Francisco Bay area who would volunteer to take a look at the car with me.

Anyone here in this forum maybe?

Best and thanks for the info,

Tom