I have a mess on my hands 06 Grand Marquis

1311 Views 6 Replies 5 Participants Last post by radiobender, 2 mo ago

bamajips

Discussion Starter · 6 mo ago

I bought a 110,000 mile, 06 Grand Marquis with known issues really cheap.
It bogs on acceleration under load... Falls on it's face and stumbles but idles fine and revs great.

The wrench in the works is it has a custom tune on it with a cat delete pipe installed with flowmasters so I felt like this is the root cause of my issues but have mechanical anomalies I want to get sorted first.

Mechanical fuel pressure test by the fuel pressure regulator - have a "bouncing" 28-35 psi (~40psi on scanner with the pump running at ~17-30% capacity according to my scan tool). Mechanical gauge shows 50psi just after the fuel filter, almost directly off the fuel pump. Is this enough PSI? So the car bucks and barely runs with throttle, under load (and the fuel pressure dips) - but then when you disconnect the fuel filter, drain and reconnect - the car runs fantastic for a few miles before the symptoms start to creep back up. No obstructions that I can tell in the fuel lines - air flows fairly well through them.
So I was wondering if:

The PCM/ECM controls the fuel pressure since it's a returnless system? I've disconnected the fuel pressure regulator vacuum line and even the electrical plug and no real change in symptoms. It baffles me that I can drain the fuel filter and then get it to run relatively fine for a while - is it possible some cavitation or something is building up in the lines?
Is 30psi enough at the [self installed] shrader valve?

I only bought the vehicle because its so low miles and it was a steal - I could recoup my money just by selling engine/tranny easily - but Id like to fix it.
I initially, and still think that since the cats are deleted and some unknown custom tune has been installed that this is the root of all my issues - and I cant detect it on my scan tool - the computer is fooled. I do have codes in every module - so I was thinking if the PCM controls fuel PRESSURE then I have a computer/tuning issue rather than a physical faulty new fuel pump. This one is scratching my head - I wish I could have the stock tune put back on and just deal with the codes for lack of 02 info - at least Id be able to diagnose the issue.
Im thinking I really need ~40psi at idle at the rail - but dont understand why the issues go away when I disconnect the fuel filter??

Any ideas?

See less See more

Save

1 - 3 of 7 Posts

bamajips

Discussion Starter · #3 · 5 mo ago

Thecardoc said:
Hey man, whats happening, I have read your post. Two things came to mind. First, I would disconnect the fuel line after the filter and take a sample in a jar. Water in the fuel will appear kind of cloudy. You should not be getting that at all. Even if you have to pour a little bit out on dry concrete away from things. The gas part will dry up quickly. The water if any present will stay wet after two minutes. The second contaminate is Diesel or Keorsene. They will foam if shaken a little bit in a jar. If you get that, that is not acceptable either. If all of that checks out okay, the next place I would look is at the MAF Sensor. You can take it out of the air cleaner snorkel. Inspect it and make sure the filliament or hot wire is clean and no burned on dirt particles are present. If that much is okay, put it back in and crank the engine and let it idle. Next, open the air cleaner lid and blow a little air at the "Hot Wire" at the bottom of the MAF Sensor. The engine should react. If it doesn't, I may not be sending the needed signal to the ECM. So swap it with another one and see what you get. Remember, some Ford MAF Sensors have four wires and some have six. Now, as far as the O2 Sensors, it may run without the post cat sensors, but it would definitely have to have the upstream sensors online for final Metering. Good luck with that. Holler back when you can on what you found out. Peace T

I was able to get the car on the lift at my shop a day or 2 before Christmas... The bungs welded into the cat deletes look like a 5 year old did it with a flux-core welder from K-mart

Having done some research over the past few days I am going to swap relays, diodes and check all my fuses and test light/meter everything all the way back to the fuel pump. I am embarrassed to say I was ignorant of how the returnless style fuel pump systems work on Ford vehicles with the Fuel Pump Driver Modules in place (I much prefer the return style that pressure is regulated via the vacuum diaphragm fuel pressure regulator on the fuel rail... anyhow - This video is INDESPENSIBLE and AMAZINGLY short and to the point

I am not so worried about the tune as I was before - I had initially assumed they had hacked the 02 sensors out of the car and just cobbled everything together. My THEORY right now is that the fuel pump is being commanded to pump but there is some pulse that hits ON/OFF/ON/OFF/ON/OFF constantly when the engine is under load - so I am leaning heavily to the ECM being the fault and or possibly the FPDM in the trunk of the car - I wont know until I get back to my shop (friend owns the shop) and I am able to probe and see everything live. The easiest fix would be if the fuel pump is just crapping out (despite it being relatively new according to the friend I bought it from) - Its super easy to swap out and i hope IT is what is testing bad. The car is SUPER CLEAN underneath and Id like to get it up and running. I included the pics here so you can laugh at this HACK JOB of an exhaust. I wish some people were barred from touching things trying to "improve" them! 06 Grand Marquis Underneath

See less See more

Save

bamajips

Discussion Starter · #5 · 5 mo ago

mora512 said:
sounds like u have some bad coils? COP's should give u a code after a while. scan codes!!!

nah definitely not - pretty much narrowed down to a faulty ECM - ordered another - hooked it up today - I need to have it flashed to my VIN and then deal with the PATS issue --- hoping this resolves it. Maybe a better question is what is the best standalone performance tuning option for Vics?

Save

1 - 3 of 7 Posts

Top Contributors this Month