I have a 99 Ford explorer V8 5.0 2WD limited and having starting problems. It's hard to start cold or hot. Sometimes it starts right up and other times it takes 5-10 seconds. It was doing this before and after the following changes, oil change, spark plug and wire change, fuel and air filter change, coolant flush and new battery. Any help will be great!

 

Since there could be a list a mile long for possibly why it takes longer than usual to start.
If we try this it would eliminate a possible fuel problem.
When you go to start the vehicle just turn the key to the on position , wait a few seconds, then do it again one more time then go to start the engine. do this every time you go to start it for the next day or so and if the problem is still present we'll go try something else. What we were checking is the check valve in the fuel tank module. The check valve is supposed to prevent the fuel from draining back into the tank once the engine is shut down. If the fuel drains down to the tank the engine has to crank longer for the fuel to get back up there. Let us know if this worked or not.

 

I will do that and post my findings. Thanks for the help!

 

Sorry for the late post but, when I turn the key twice, it seems to start alot better.

 

OK, now that we seemed to narrow it down some, the next step is to prove/confirm what we suspect is the problem. This requires one to connect a gauge to the fuel pressure fitting and watch what it does after the engine is shut down. If it drops that confirms a fuel system related problem. Some systems have a fuel pressure regulator in the engine compartment while others have it in the tank. If the return line is blocked with the regulator in the engine compartment and the pressure still drops that would confirm the check valve in the tank unit is defective.
If the pressure regulator and check valve are in the tank module, an the pressure drops ,it is defective and will require replacing. Before replacing a tank unit that can cost in the area of $300-500 plus labor the pressure tests should be done first.

 

OK, I thought it was a pump issue so I replaced the whole fuel pump assy, that has the floater and everything. But after replacing that the problems still exists. Should I still pressure check the system?

 

Yes, and leave the gauge connected to watch if the pressure drops. This may take a few hours to confirm, but can save you some time and money.

 

I know this thread is totally dead, but did you ever resolve the issue?