93 escort fuel problems???

HI everyone. I bought my son a 93 ford escort, from a used car dealer. as is :( When we test drove it, is ran and sound good, nothing wrong. We bought it, got it home didnt drive it much the first day, instead we put tires on it and changed the oil. 2nd day was a nightmare. my son 16 drove to school and it keep shutting off. let it sit for a while it would start up and run good for about 15 mins then shut off like it was running out of gas, it had a full tank. I went and got new wires, plugs, battery, and filters. It did good again for another day, then started doing the same thing again, but this time, we could smell gas really strong inside the car. I took back to my brother`s. Doug took the back seat out and there was gas under the seat and in the seat. He checked the gas tank, and couldn`t find a hole anywhere. we clean the gas filter, and tank. Thought maybe there was trash in the tank. Once again it ran good for about 30 mins then started acting up again. I am calling the ford place in the morning. But any help would be welcome.

wonder if I can take the dealer to court for my money back??


RoseFromSC

Sounds odd... I was about ready to suggest you had a vacuum leak that was killing the car, but the leaky gas tank certainly changes things. Can't say I have heard that one before. Make sure that there is a good gasket sealing the tank at the opening under the seat. There is a pump inside the tank that may be bad.
First things first, get the tank to stop leaking. It sounds as if someone had already been messing with the tank before you got it, so your problem will most likely be in there. If it keeps up you should have that pump inside the tank checked out.

Find the leak.
Than if that does'nt fix the problem, it sound's like the car need's a new O2 sensor.

Thanks for your help. I am also calling the ford place in the morning. I will keep you posted

Rose

I took it to the shop and it ran hot on the ran there. I got it to the shop and after he checked it. he said the heads was crack. 1400 to fix.
Boy I have bad luck. thanks for all the info.


RosefromSC

That sounds suspicious to me. The things you describe don't really point toward a cracked head... and the only way the shop could be sure about that is to remove it and look, which I doubt they did. You might want to get a 2nd opinion at another shop, and if you do don't tell them the first shop said the head was cracked.

Hi again. well the guy at the shop wants to charge 200 to take the heads off. but he did say there was water around the spark plugs. and the spark plus wires some were melted, so that cant be good either. The car ran hot on the way to the shop, and my son drove it for 10 mins running hot, dang boy. He also said all the sign I told him pointed to the heads might being bad. now it wont even start. we had to pull it home. I tried calling the ppl who sold me the car but of couse they wont call me back. I have ppl telling me if you buy an used car you have 30 days, and some tell me I am stuck. if it wasnt for bad luck I wouldnt have any. But Thanks For taking the time to offer you help.


RosefromSC :)

If you bought it and signed something agreeing to take it "as is" you are pretty much stuck with it, but you might want to check the laws in your state to be sure what your options are. If you can prove that the dealer knew about the problem and did not tell you about it then you might have a case.

Without looking at it I don't know that I can offer anything else. If your mechanic is certain the problem is with the head you can let him do it, but make sure to have the agreement that the repairs they do must fix the problem. I say this because while it is possible you have a cracked head, the cracked head may not be the cause of yoru starting problems.

Try this as a test... drain the oil from the engine. Watch it closely as it drains. If you see water and coolant coming out with the oil, the you certainly have a leak coming from somewhere and the head will need to come off. Also check and see if the coolant level appears low.

Hmmm... water on the plugs might also indicate water in the fuel tank rather than a cracked head.

I wounder if there was water in the fuel and it might of caused a prob... even cracked the head or block... I would look at the paper work and make sure you didnt sign for the car "as is" if they gave you a warrenty then take it back and demand they fix it. Hope it works out.

Uneven compression between the cylinders, coolant in the cylinders, coolant/oil mixing, abnormal pressure in cooling system, gas bubbles in cooling system with engine running, loss of coolant, overheating - these are all indicators of a blown head gasket or cracked head. While the head may be cracked, it is more likely to be a blown head gasket. Let state/local laws guide you as to recourse with the selling dealer. And there's nothing like bad press to get an unscrupulous dealer who sells you a lemon!

Thanks for your input. I am going to make a few calls tomorrow to see what I can do. have a nice weekend

Hi
Try the fuel pump or seal on top of the fuel pump.
Also change the PCV valve to get rid of fuel smell.
Good Luck
Jo Jo