[drumdude]

Hey everyone,

New to the site but need some help. I have a 1989 2.3lt mustang that i have had for 9 years when we bought it we had to have the engine rebuilt and just about everything else user the hood replaced due to the previeous owner set fire to the engine. Well two years ago i let the car sit for about a year and since i have been driving it again. I have horable gas milage though. It smells like its coming straight out of the tail pipe. I have replaced all the simple parts oxygen sensors, reset the timing, new plugs, plug lines, roter, roter cap. Nothing is working and today i go to start it and it starts but then acts like its not getting any fuel and dies with the check engine light coming on. Im not sure what the problem is i dont want to take it to a shop and pay someone tons of money to fix it. Does anyone have any suggestions for me to check.
Thanks

[heavy metal]

welcome to the site,enjoy.....check fuel pressure....

[drumdude]

ok figured out why the check engine light was coming on the temp. sensor was unpluged but i still have the strong fuel oder smell and man im having alot of black water stuff coming out of my tailpipe. I ran some seafoam through the tank i know that thats why most of its there anyone thing that this could be part of the problem. Dirty injectors?

[sleeper_inc]

Pull codes, you have them stored.

[PotentPony]

My 2.3 does the same thing by the black water coming from the tailpipe. I have all the sympoms your having but I have no codes come up to explain. If you find the cure ..let me know and I'll do the same

[drumdude]

Ok guys, i checked my fuel pressure and the book says it should be between 30-and 45psi. In park it was right at 30 psi and in drive it was about 33psi. Anyone have a quess now?

[heavy metal]

that pressure is sorta low,with the guage on remove the vac. line from the fuel pressure regulater and see if the pressure goes up or stays the same....have you changed the fuel filter lately?

[drumdude]

just changed the fuel filter a week ago..

[heavy metal]

check the pressure regulater and see what you get....

[drumdude]

Ok i'll check it this weekend and let you know. Thanks.

[Mac The Knife]

Hey, I gotta 89 lx to,,,, although I bought mine last fall,,,,,, I had to do am engine swap,,, and had the same problem, running to rich, black smoke,,,,, I had not reconnected the Map sensor back up!!!!

Check your vacuum lines. with low vacuum, the computer thinks you are under load, and dumps fuel through the injectors. I have since gotten my 89 Lx up to 28.5 MPG on the highway.

[drumdude]

checked the fuel pressure again un-hooked the vac. line from the pressure regulator and the pressure jumped to about 40 psi what does this mean.....also could the fuel smell be coming from the e-vac system but would this also cause the bad fuel mileage
thanks for yalls help

[drumdude]

I found a crack in the vacuum line that runs from the egr vacuum regulator could this cause some of my problem?

[turbo4cobra]

ive got a 79 mustang with a clogged egr valve and have kinda the same problem. mine's carbureted, and i had the black water coming out of the tailpipe as well, and got to thinking. with an egr system, the unburnt fuel from the combustion chamber is sent through the tailpipe and rerouted back through the intake to be burnt again. im not sure if the same is true on yours, but a broken vacuum line may have something to do with it. hope it helps!

[drumdude]

hey heavy metal guy.....you told me to check my fuel pressure with the vac line off i did that now what did that tell me?