1989 5.0 Liter HO won't start

[KManiac]

I am hoping that someone can steer me in the right direction. I have before me a 1989 5.0 Liter HO engine that will not start. Mileage on the car is 163,000 and appears original. It ran fine when it was driven into the driveway. Now, when you attempt to restart, the starter cranks, the engine turns, but it will not start. The fuel pump buzzes when you turn the key. You can smell fuel from the exhaust pipes after you crank. The distributor turns with the crank. There is no detectable slop in the timing chain when you reverse the rotation of the crank by hand. And my inductive pick-up timing light flashes when the engine is cranking.

Is there any common trouble spot that might create this set of symptoms? It has the TFI-IV ignition system. Any help here would be appreciated.

[rhandwor]

Check the eeciv relay it should be beside the computer in the pass side kick panel. If you can feel it pulse it should be ok. Check the ground wire beside it.
Take a 12 volt test light and check the coil positive for voltage when trying to start. If it lights put it on the coil negative and it should blink when trying to crank the engine if it doesn't buy a rebuilt distributor. It takes a special puller to change the pickup. If it blinks pull the module on the side of the distributor.
Use white out and mark the spot where the rotor is close to the dist. base.
AutoZone or Advance will check for free. I would buy one from a parts store that sells motorcraft parts. Otherwise buy a standard or echlin but I think standard bought echlin out. I've had problems with cheap modules.

[KManiac]

Thank you for the ignition advice.

Unfortunately, I failed to heed my own personal advice, which is "Don't believe anything you hear and only half of what you see." The person who has this beast told me that the fuel pump had been replaced, I could hear it buzz when I turned the key and I swore I smelled unburnt fuel in the vapors coming out the tailpipes. Anyway, common sense told me to stick a pressure gauge on the fuel rail. When I cranked the engine, zero pressure! I disconnected the fuel line at the fuel filter, attached my gauge to the line (dead head) and again zero pressure. I dropped the tank and pulled out what appeared to be the original fuel pump. There was so much dirt and stuff around the opening that there was no way anyone replaced or even removed the old pump in the past. I installed a new pump assembly, bolted it back together, turned the key and it fired right up.

This should be a lesson for everyone, verify everything first and don't assume anything is good without verification. And be sure to verify first before you buy any replacement parts.