93 ford acting up please help!

my GFs car ( 93 ford escort lx ) has broke down. it still starts, but idles kinda funny, and when you step on the gas it sputters a lil, when you put it in gear the idle changes and it runs like crap and the gas then doesnt really work and it will just cut off. the car has like 200k miles and has a little knock to it, but it still runs, any ideas on what to check im guessing its fuel related maybe a tps or idle air valve or something even like the fuel filter, just checking so see what the gurus think. thanks for your help in advance!

Some simple things to check...

1. Fuel filter - if it has never been changed, could be clogging. It's on the firewall.

2. Plugs and wires - plugs so old the gap is huge? wires have breaks in insulation?

3. Air filter - clogged?

4. Water in gas - try some 90% isopropyl alcohol

Some simple things to check...

1. Fuel filter - if it has never been changed, could be clogging. It's on the firewall.

2. Plugs and wires - plugs so old the gap is huge? wires have breaks in insulation?

3. Air filter - clogged?

4. Water in gas - try some 90% isopropyl alcohol



dont happen to have a diagram of where the fuel filter is on that car do ya? im more of a honda guy

On a 93 1.9L, the fuel filter is near the firewall, about 6" toward the passenger side from the master cylinder reservoir. It's right below the socket of the passenger side wiper arm. It's silver with a hose going to the fuel rail.

another thing, this all happened when she stomped on the brakes, and now her brakes are kinda stiff and dont stop too well.

"when you hit your brakes hard you might of had your pwer brake booster diaphram rupture or the vaccum line going to it that would explain the stiff brake pedal the running issue sounds like a vaccum leak also as far as your check engine light you can have that checked at like auto zone good luck"

this is advice i got from someone else...

It's good advice. Could very well be the problem. There is a check valve in the vacuum line running from the engine to the booster. Take it loose and blow into it. You should be able to blow into it towards the engine. If it flows air both ways or not at all, replace the line and check valve.

we took it to autozone to check the check engine light and he told me since its a 93 he cant check. said that only obd2 cars can be checked like that, and since ours is obd1 we would have to take it to the manufacture because they have the proper harness to hook it up.... he might have just been lazy cause he didnt seem like he wanted to even go out there.

Autozone doesn't check 1996 or older cars...(they may check some 1996 1/2 when OBDII came into production). OBDI can be checked either with
1. a $30 handheld scanner or
2. Counting the Check Engine flashes and tranlating into a 3 digit code.
You use a jumper wire into the ?EEC? module in the engine bay (located just under the dashboard VIN #). The Haynes manual clearly details the procedure.

I've used both and found the handheld scanner not worth buying (heck, I borrowed it and took it back to my neighbor w/o using and just counted the check engine flashes). The difference is you're looking at flashes on a box vs flashes on your dash...I don't see any benefit with the scanner.

Eg: Flash Flash Flash Pause Flash Flash Flash Pause Flash = 331

Get a Haynes and check this procedure.

P.S. You can't prove the autozoner was lazy because he wouldn't check it as they don't check pre OBDII cars...now, he could be REAL lazy, you just can't prove it here. LOL