Engine dies when warmed up but restarts after an hour or so. 1989 2.2 auto 8900 miles on car

[Bill Sorensen]

Just hoping somebody has an idea of why my car would run until warmed up then completely die, Instruments included but won't start when I turn it over until I let it sit  for an hour or so. It runs rough as well.

[Nile]

Life is rarely this simple, but if your air filter box had a big rodent nest, your car might well behave that way.  Good Luck  -  Nile

[Reaper1]

Sounds like a fuel pump to me...

[pesd]

Mine has recently done the same, running fine then acts like someone just turned off the ignition key, I can wait fifteen minutes and it will start, I suspect the fuel pump mainly because after it runs for a while there is a high pitch noise coming from the fuel tank, noticed it about a month ago when I had it on a lift. has anyone else had a noisy fuel pump, is that common? going into storage for the winter in a couple weeks and was going to deal with it in the spring.  THX

[Hemi Dude]

Your TC is suffering from “over-storage” Fuel deteriorates and forms rust in fuel tank, then anything can happen. Cars need to be used year round or all fuel must be removed from fuel tank before storage. Too bad there is no drain on the tank.

[pesd]

Thanks Hemi,

Another friend / car enthusiast (NASA engineer, really) told me the same, In the spring I will replace the tank and while I'm at it, the pump, about $200 for both.

In the future can I also fill the tank completely and add a little dry gas to prevent condensation?

 

[Bill Sorensen]

Thanks for all the responses everyone. I guess I left a key problem when asking for help. When the engine quits there is absolutely no spark. Then when it sat it started and ran long enough to get home. I then went to start it another day and it ran very rough then died again. Unable to restart an hour later. several days later still will not start. I am in the process of changing out the coil, distributor cap, rotor and the pick up coils hoping that will fix it. I am a typical backyard mechanic replacing things that seem obvious but I am not too knowledgeable with electronic systems. The coil has power to the positive and negative side but no power out of the high voltage to the plugs. Anymore help will be appreciated

[Reaper1]

1 hour ago, Bill Sorensen said:

Thanks for all the responses everyone. I guess I left a key problem when asking for help. When the engine quits there is absolutely no spark. Then when it sat it started and ran long enough to get home. I then went to start it another day and it ran very rough then died again. Unable to restart an hour later. several days later still will not start. I am in the process of changing out the coil, distributor cap, rotor and the pick up coils hoping that will fix it. I am a typical backyard mechanic replacing things that seem obvious but I am not too knowledgeable with electronic systems. The coil has power to the positive and negative side but no power out of the high voltage to the plugs. Anymore help will be appreciated

OK, that sounds more like the HEP (Hall Effect Pickup) under the distributor cap/rotor. They are known for "going out" randomly, and usually heat related. There's a few ideas as to why, but like the old muscle cars where guys kept a ballast resistor in the glove box, TM guys keep a known good HEP.

[Reaper1]

Crap, should have asked it if is throwing any codes?

[Hemi Dude]

1 hour ago, Reaper1 said:

Crap, should have asked it if is throwing any codes?

Usually it doesn’t set a code, but figure your diagnosis is correct.

[Bill Sorensen]

Thanks again everyone. Looks like I can stop buying parts for a while as the car runs good now. I probably was going to get it running with the parts I had but most likely would not have known what fixed it without all your input. Thanks again!!

[Mattyjags]

Vapor lock possible 

[Hemi Dude]

3 hours ago, Mattyjags said:

Vapor lock possible 

With 55 lb constant available fuel pressure and fuel injection, it's a virtual impossibility.

[Reaper1]

18 hours ago, Mattyjags said:

Vapor lock possible 

Nah, not on this one. He looses spark, too. I mean, there's a possibility that he has a stuck injector or a bad FPR that allows the pressure to get low while not running, which COULD cause a vapor lock, but with the stock supply pressure, it shouldn't do it. I had a car that I was doing some hokey tuning to and I was using a really low base pressure (27psi or so). That thing would vapor lock something HORRIBLE! Got a decent tune and raised the base pressure back up...no more problem.