Cougar problem!

Gretchy · 28-04-2012, 06:36 PM

Hey guys,

I've been having some car trouble and was hoping for a bit of help! I'm a chick and I'll be honest I don't know a huge amount about cars.

I have a 2001 manual cougar and for the last few months it seems to be underrevving at stops and stalling at times. Also, when I drive it hard, particularly in third, fourth and fifth gear, it is really jerking and losing a bit of power.

I took it ford twice. First they replaced the spark plugs and then they replaced the ignition leads and it hasn't helped. I took to a local mechanic and he said he found the PNP switch to be faulty but he isn't sure if that's the cause of the problem because he doesn't know much about cougars.

Help! Thanks

Gretchy

REDDYZ · 29-04-2012, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gretchy

Hey guys,

I've been having some car trouble and was hoping for a bit of help! I'm a chick and I'll be honest I don't know a huge amount about cars.

I have a 2001 manual cougar and for the last few months it seems to be underrevving at stops and stalling at times. Also, when I drive it hard, particularly in third, fourth and fifth gear, it is really jerking and losing a bit of power.

I took it ford twice. First they replaced the spark plugs and then they replaced the ignition leads and it hasn't helped. I took to a local mechanic and he said he found the PNP switch to be faulty but he isn't sure if that's the cause of the problem because he doesn't know much about cougars.

Help! Thanks

Gretchy

Welcome to Australian Ford Forums Gretchy. You are at the right place and you will get lot of help here.

I wonder what PNP switch is? If it is park and neutral switch then your car shouldn't have one as it is a manual. Anyway,

Only two possibilities for your Cougar's problem.
1) IACV (Idle Air Control Valve) and
2) Vacuum leak.

Its easy to clean IACV. Its a common problem in Cougars that when carbon builds up in this valve it remains stuck open or closed. This is where it is located on the engine.

I would suggest to take it to your mechanic (don't go to Ford, they don't know much about Cougars and you will waste lot of money) and ask him to clean IACV. If this doesn't fix the problem then its vacuum leak. Ask him to check the for vacuum leaks. Am sure this will fix the problem.

Keep us posted on this.

cheers

Yogi

Gretchy · 29-04-2012, 09:17 PM

Thank you so much! Yeah Ford really mucked me around so I have no plans to go back there. It's surprisingly hard to find a mechanic willing to give servicing a cougar a go! Thanks for your help, I'll pass it on to a mechanic and keep you updated

thearrow · 30-04-2012, 09:00 AM

Welcome aboard Gretchy....we are here to help. Let us know how you get on and tell us all about your Cougar. Post some pics if you have them.

CougarGirl · 06-06-2012, 09:01 PM

Hi again guys! Long time no chat!
Has anyone heard how Gretchy has gone? Mine has this same problem! Going to get it checked out soon as $$$ comes in.

thearrow · 08-06-2012, 09:08 AM

Alomst certainly it will be a vacuum leak or something simple like that. The motors on our cars are virtually bullet proof however their operation is affected serverly by any sort of leak in the system.

The only other problem could be the dreaded fuel pump issue. Does the car behave thsi way only when low on fuel??

Burns · 09-06-2013, 10:18 PM

My car has just started having the fuel pump issue. If the tank is under half it chokes up between 3&4000 revs but if i fill her up she's fine. I read about a recall for the fuel pumps obviousely mine hasn't been done. Does anyone know if it will get worse or will it be ok if i just keep her topped up?

REDDYZ · 09-06-2013, 10:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Burns

My car has just started having the fuel pump issue. If the tank is under half it chokes up between 3&4000 revs but if i fill her up she's fine. I read about a recall for the fuel pumps obviousely mine hasn't been done. Does anyone know if it will get worse or will it be ok if i just keep her topped up?

This is strange. I see more and more cougars are facing this problem. Can you provide more details of how this issue started? Has it started after you left it without driving for long time or is it after changing fuel type or fuel brand? Do you usually drive with low fuel all the time? or have you used some kind of fuel injector cleaner? there has to be something thats triggering this issue as its happening in more and more cars. Luckily mine is still in good spirits. Recently I happend to drive almost to bottom of time with only a litre left in fuel. No dramas though. I always use Shell unleaded 91 octane and nothing else. Tried V power couple of times and tired e10 as well (thanks to Sydney with no unleaded in most of shell and bp pumps) no issues with any of these.

I strongly suggest to replace just the pump with the after market high performance pump. When I say just pump am talking about the pump not the sender unit or harness or filter or the assembly. There is no guarantee that changing fuel pump (even with a genuine one) would fix this issue.

Cheers,
Yogi

REDDYZ · 09-06-2013, 10:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Burns

My car has just started having the fuel pump issue. If the tank is under half it chokes up between 3&4000 revs but if i fill her up she's fine. I read about a recall for the fuel pumps obviousely mine hasn't been done. Does anyone know if it will get worse or will it be ok if i just keep her topped up?

oh sorry to answer your question, it doesn't get worse nor get any better. As long as you keep tank half full you should be good. Other words imagine as you only have 35 litre tank now.

Burns · 10-06-2013, 08:32 PM

I don't run the tank low, use basic unleaded, I have started doing more km's lately 180 a day
I found this recall online somewhere................

Originally Posted by RECALL INFORMATION
EXTENDED COVERAGE PROGRAM 04N02

Certain 1999 through 2002 Model Year Cougar Vehicles - Fuel Delivery Module

This program extends the coverage of the fuel delivery module (FDM) to 10 years from the original warranty start date of the vehicle, with no limit on the number of miles that the vehicle has been driven. This program provides replacement coverage, and is automatically transferred to subsequent owners.

VEHICLES COVERED BY THIS PROGRAM

Certain 1999 through 2002 model year Cougar vehicles built at the Flat Rock Assembly Plant from Job #1, 1999 through November 30, 2001. Affected vehicles are identified in OASIS.

REASON FOR PROVIDING ADDITIONAL COVERAGE

Some of the affected vehicles may experience engine hesitation, loss of power, surging, and other similar symptoms as a result of contamination of the fuel pump. Because the contamination of the fuel pump is progressive, it may ultimately become sufficiently blocked to cause the engine to stall completely. Although the symptoms noted above can occur under a variety of driving conditions, they are most likely to occur when there is less than one-quarter tank of fuel and/or when the driver is attempting to accelerate while making a turning maneuver (such as entering a highway through a cloverleaf) or while driving uphill.

SERVICE ACTION

If the customer informs you that their vehicle exhibits stalling, engine hesitation, loss of power, surging, or other similar symptoms, replace the FDM. There is no need for further diagnostics prior to FDM replacement. Owners are not to be charged for any diagnostics or repairs related to the FDM replacement.

Prior to performing service, tell the customer:

Ford will replace the FDM at no cost based upon the customer's description of the condition without performing any diagnostics.
That without performing diagnostics other conditions that may affect driveability, if any, would not be addressed by an FDM replacement.
That diagnosis and correction of any remaining driveability issues, if any, are the responsibility of the customer unless the vehicle still has remaining Basic Vehicle Warranty coverage.
That after FDM replacement, a road test will be conducted at no charge to determine if the driveability concern has been corrected.
This Customer Satisfaction program only covers replacement of the FDM.
Please note: It is not necessary to replace the in-line fuel filter due to this issue. Fuel filters should continue to be replaced at normal maintenance scheduled intervals.

Also note, the "some vehicles" means late 99-02 Cougars. The early builds with the return fuel system is not covered....but don't worry, those fuel pumps are not the ones failing.

Understand that the newly designed fuel pump will be available in late June. Be sure to schedule an appointment when this pump becomes available or else you will eventually be in the same situation again.

UPDATE:

The new fuel pump is now available. Ford part number XS2Z-9H307-CA. Please be sure to get the update part installed.

REDDYZ · 10-06-2013, 09:34 PM

As far I know all Cougars in Australia are return fuel system types. I am interested to see if XS2Z-9H307-CA fuel pump can address this issue.

thearrow · 11-06-2013, 03:47 PM

As it happens I am just about to replace my fuel pump (amongst other things) is the recall still valid???

Where did you see it??

thearrow · 11-06-2013, 03:59 PM

Just googled it and Ford USA did issue an extended warranty recall but it was only for 10 years.

Darrenxm · 14-06-2013, 03:43 PM

Hi folks.My recently aquired Cougar does exactly the same thing - let it get down to quarter full and its all over.Glad I stumbled over this excellent forum as I was going to spend money on chasing a fix that probably won`t work.Would be nice though to one day utilise the cars full range - around town it doesn`t matter but a long trip could be dicey without proper planning on where to fill up.

thearrow · 14-06-2013, 04:19 PM

Have done a lot of research on this and the only place who can supply the correct fuel pump is the following www.fordpartsuk.com. I had a price from them a few months ago and it was well over A$500.00

A new fuel pump is on my list of things "to do" but at the moment I am struggling with replacing my transmission.

Darrenxm · 17-06-2013, 10:47 PM

thanks Arrow. Good luck with your trans. My Coug went to the panel beaters today after a roo ran into the side of it (behind the front wheel - no chance to avoid). On a different note I notice on the Net there are squillions of cold air intakes available - is the K&N the way to go? From the outside they all look pretty similar but I don`t know anything about them.

thearrow · 18-06-2013, 02:05 PM

Absolutely K&N is the way to go IMHO. Sorry to hear about your accident.

bobofkew · 01-01-2014, 10:13 AM

2000 SW Auto 140,000kms has just been sold; over the period I owned the car I had the fuel pump issue several times replacing 3 pumps.

With the last pump replacement I had the pump tested when it was removed and it tested OK which caused the dealer service department to re-investigate the issue further. They did not really come up with an answer but exchanged the EFI and Fuel Pump Relays which appeared to give a more satisfactory result.

However, the correct answer is not to let the fuel tank level fall below 1/4 (and do not overfill the tank as this can prevent the Swirl Pot from working correctly - return fuel from the injector system) and even then, when the fuel tank quantity gets low the is a tendency for the engine to misfire.

Since selling the vehicle I have available For Sale 1 Fuel Pump/Sender Unit which was removed form my vehicle, tested and found serviceable with the test certification available.

I am asking $325 for this pump plus postage at your cost (located Eastern Suburbs Melbourne) Last time I checked Ford wanted $2750 for the pump Sender unit; wreckers Price around $375 and last time I checked Mercury dealer ine the US U$465 plus UPS?Fedex

Contact me here with PM or check eBay and Gumtree where the pump is advertised.

AD26 · 02-01-2014, 02:36 AM

I addressed this in another post but I read through and researched as much as I could about the fuel pump issue to find a fix and the problem seems to be the original design of the pump in the car. The recall in the US(doesn't apply in Aus, I tried lol) with Ford part number XS2Z-9H307-CA is the same as the part I bought for my car which has solved the problem. I didn't even know Cougar's had a low fuel warning!

I'm not sure when the change happened exactly but Cougars from 2000+ are returnless fuel pumps and the pump assembly is stuck to the floor of the tank. The pump itself has a mouth like the symbol >. Fuel tanks inevitably get filled with gunk, the bottom entry point is being clogged which is why at the 1/4 tank mark the pump is struggling to get the fuel to injectors for firing.

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/more...426&cc=1387795 <-- part I bought. Motorcraft PFS-289 is the same as the part XS2Z-9H307-CA mentioned above, it's a whole assembly which hangs in your tank instead of being stuck to the floor. I've tried hunting for the receipt but I'm pretty sure the labour cost for install was around $180

stevie-gee · 25-01-2014, 05:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thearrow

Have done a lot of research on this and the only place who can supply the correct fuel pump is the following www.fordpartsuk.com. I had a price from them a few months ago and it well over $500..

Just trying to think outside the box a bit; would there be anyway that an auto electrician could separate the pump from the sender unit - so that it still worked (making the rest of the unit just an intake) and then fit an electric fuel pump under the bonnet?

Steve