newbie from sou. indiana....i just bought a 84 svo, anyways, the car will run on starting fluid but wont run when you turn the key. so, not getting fuel, i know very little about these cars, i was told the fuel pump relay was under the seat and i should check that first ? if that checks ok, i guess r&r fuel pump is next ? i have to drop the tank to do that right ? any other things i should check before dropping the tank ? also, is there a downloadable service manual avail ? thanks for any help...
Are you sure it's not getting fuel? Have you checked spark? When I rebuilt my engine I used a distributor that I thought was good. Got the engine all done, went to start it and it just cranked and cranked. I thought it wasn't getting fuel, but I pulled the plugs and they had gas on them. It ended up being something in the distributor (either the PIP or the TFI module, I'm not sure which), I swapped my old distributor onto the engine and it fired right up. TFI module problems are common on the 2.3's, so check spark before you rule it as a fuel problem.
Ah, duh. Brain wasn't working I guess. Does the fuel pump sound like it's turning on? You should be able to hear it when you turn the key to the "start" position (before you actually crank the car.) Makes kind of a whining noise. Check for that first...if it's not coming on, it's the relay or the pump. If it is, you'll have to check pressure at the rail, and see what you find. Could also be a weak pump, bad pressure regulator, bad injectors.
also your 84 svo has 2 fuel pumps..one low pressure in tank pump and a high pressure inline frame mounted pump..right next to the fuel filter..you could use a fuel pressure tester and hook in after each of them and see what you get..that could help narrow it down
if its the pump you can do away with the dual pump junk. and put a 255 lph in tank pump they are cheap on e bay
Then you also have to get a high pressure fuel filter to fit where the old external pump used to be. I think it's a Ranger part, but I forget what years.
