Questions and Answers

Marquis Sputters, Bogs Down Q. 1993 Mercury Marquis 4.6 liter V-8 automatic transmission A/C and 108,000 miles. Car was idling rough on start up and had to let it warm up for about five minutes before driving it. Other wise it would bog down and spit and sputter. After it warmed up it ran great but the check engine light would come on after about ten minutes of driving but still ran fine.

I put it in the shop and they cleaned the EGR valve and replaced PCV hoses and valve. It ran great for about a week. No long warmup, no check engine light, no sputtering, no dying on start up and no rough idle.

After about a week, when starting when cold it would race for a few seconds then spit and sputter like it had gas run on then it would die. I would start it back up and if I didn't hold my foot on the gas a little it would die.

After warming up for a couple of minutes it would run fine. I took it back to the shop and they replaced the IAC and cleaned the fuel injectors. Still no luck. This is supposed to be a good reputable garage. They work on all the police cars in this town which are Fords.

So I took the car back to the same garage and they changed the spark plug wires. And wanted me to drive it for a couple of days to see how it acts. Still NO LUCK!! After a few hundred dollars worth of repairs it's still dying on start up if I don't hold my foot on the gas for a minute or so.

Maybe you can give this stupid woman some suggestions on what to have the mechanic check. Please I am getting desperate and broke.

A. If this problem is easily duplicated in the shop, it should be easy enough to track down. If it were me, I would put a fuel pressure gauge on it and see what happens to the fuel pressure when the problem occurs. At this milage I would think that a bad fuel pump is a very likely possibility.