Ford Repair: Experiencing hard starting, hesitation with ford 3.8v6, electronic fuel pump, fuel pressure regulator

Question
Dennis,
  Thanks for your help.

  I changed the vacuum line from charcoal canister to pcv.  It was fried and cracked.  Didn't seem to make much of a difference though.

  For the second time, I've gotten a code 32 when doing KOEO test.  What might the cause of that be ?

  Also,  There's fuel leaking on top of gas tank, behind right rear tire.  There's dirt built up there on top of tank and it's wet with gas.  Smell was coming from there too.

 Might that be a line or tank rusted through, in your experience ?

 Also, What does the SPOUT look like ?  I can't seem to find the darn thing.

 Thanks again for ALL Your help.
 Phil
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Followup To
Question -
My 88 cougar has recently developed a bad case of hesitation.

I've noticed that last week it was taking many more cranks to start it than usual. Then that stopped and the extreme hesitation started.

I have replaced the following parts in the past year: TPS, Air Bypass, plugs, wires, cap, rotor, filters, vacuum hoses to map and egr.

I cleaned the EGR and Manifold ports under EGR. I've used carb cleaner to do this cleaning.

I checked the timing and it appears ot be on the mark. The Oxygen sensor was changed a little over a year ago.

I'm starting to suspect either the electronic fuel pump (still original after 177K) or the fuel pressure regulator. Any ideas on how to correctly locate the root cause of this hesitation ?

Do you don't think it's the fuel pump or fuel pressure regulator then ?

Do you ever need to change the vacuum lines that are made of plastic. There's a long one to the charcoal box next to the radiator from a sensor near the egr that i've yet to change. When you stop the car, there a smell of gas coming from the right rear side of the car, where the gas fill tube is. I don't see any gas laeking, just the smell. The car runs better when warmed up, not perfect, but better. On highway, it seems to take the gas fine.

This car has EFI, so if I need to check the fuel pressure/pump, do i hook up the fuel pressure guage to the shrader valve on the fuel injection rail, right front of engine ?

What's the correct pressure ?

How do I test the Fuel pressure regulator ?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks Phil

Answer -
That's alot of questions at once, let's see what we can do. Have you checked for codes at all? That might lead somewhere.

Fuel pressure gauge hooks up to the schrader valve on fuel rail, pressure normally 35-40psi, 30-45 is usually acceptable. If the regulator is bad, it will either leak into the vacuum line, or the pressure will be too high.

Did you disconnect the spout and check timing? If not it may be wrong. 10BTDC is spec, without spout.

The plastic vacuum lines require no maintenance as long as they aren't broken, which in the 1980s happened a lot.

The long crank times could be due to a weak fuel pump. Or leak down in the system, which you can tell with a fuel pressure gauge.

Answer
The code 32 indicates the EVP voltage is lower than the specs. The EVP is a sensor mounted on top of the EGR valve. I recommend replacing both parts at the same time.

The fuel pressure I gave you in my previous answer.

The fuel leak you will have to drop the tank to find it, if there is dirt built up there then it has been leaking for a while.

The spout should be near the distributor. It may be taped to the wire loom near the distributor connector. It has two wires, grey connector usually, rectangular in shape. Take the plug out and then check timing.