Hard to start Ford V10 Triton engine

[wrbrewer]

Our 2001 Born Free motor home with a Ford V-10 Triton engine developed a hard starting problem while we were in Alaska. The problem only occurred when the engine was at normal operation temperature and we stopped to fill the fuel tank. I had to engage the starter 3 or 4 times to start the engine.

We mounted at Ultragauge on our vehicle. The gauge plugs into the on board diagnostic plug (OBDII) which is usually located above the brake pedal below the steering column. The plug is on every car and truck manufacture from 1996 to date.

The Ultragauge communicates with vehicle's computers and among other things, the gauge will display trouble codes and potential trouble codes. More information available at http://www.ultra-gauge.com/ultragauge/.

In my opinion the gage is indispensable. It cost around $80.00. And installation is simple, plug in the gauge in to the OBDII input and insert the make, model, engine size and year of the vehicle and you are good to go.

Perplexingly the gauge did not display any trouble codes. Upon our return home we took our vehicle to our local Ford dealer. The mechanic check the vehicle and said that we should install new spark plugs. The engine was at 90,000 miles on the original plugs and according to the factory specifications required changing at 100,000 miles.

The sparkplug change did not fix the issue. When I called the dealer they told me that the starting problem was normal and not to worry.

I did not believe that opinion, so I searched of the WWW for solutions. I cleaned the mass air sensor and the throttle body intake but that did not fix the problem. Then I sprayed a can of Seafoam into the engine, but that too did not fix the problem.

Then I had a few drinks with a mechanic friend who works on racing engines and classis restorations. He suggested that I check the fuel pressure after the engine has been shut down for 10 minutes.

The For fuel pressure specification require 36 to 38 lbs. of pressure and after sitting for 45 minutes at least 35 lbs. of pressure.

According to the Ultragauge, the fuel pressure was 40 lbs., but after sitting for a couple of minutes the fuel pressured dropped to zero.

The plastic fuel line check valve is not working. Apparently the ethanol in the gasoline attacked the valve seal and over time if failed.

That’s bad news as the check valve is part of the fuel pump assemble which sit inside the fuel tank. A new Motorcraft fuel pump assemble is $335 and the fuel tank has to be drained and removed from the vehicle to install a new pump assemble. That is around a $700 repair if taken to the dealer. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/mof- ... /make/ford

Since the fuel pump is working to specifications I decided to install a brass and steel inline check valve.

I purchased the check valve from Amazon, $34.19 with all the connections required to connect to any type of fuel line. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0017RCK44/?c ... _lig_dp_it

The identical check valve is available, over the counter, at NAPA but it is about $10 higher

I discounted the braided fuel line at the point where it attaches to the steel fuel line and installed the check valve. The braided fuel line runs from the fuel tank for about 4 or so feet toward the engine and then attaches to the steel fuel line which runs to the engine bay.

I started the vehicle and then shut it down. I let the vehicle sit overnight and the next morning I turned on the ignition and determined that the fuel pressure had not dropped at all. When I engaged the starter the engine started immediately.

PROBLEN SOLVED!!!

[bcope01]

Good detective work and ingenuity!

Bill