My daughter has a 1992 Ford Tempo, 4 cyl, - driving in very hot weather she has had a complete stall after losing power but after a few minutes it will start up again and run OK. I am replacing the fuel filter for her but am wondering if this could be a vapor lock as was suggested by the parts store. Also what is this misterious 'vapor lock' and where in the fuel system would it occur. This is a throttle body fuel injected system. One more piece of information: Ethanol fuel is being used, and the car has 102,000 miles.[[email protected]]

 

Ethanol? Why?

Use regular 87 grade fuel. Vapor lock can occur because of a fuel line too close to a heat source.

When it stalls and you try to restart it, have you checked for spark?

A likely cause is a bad TFI distributor mounted ignition module. Very high failure item on Ford products---so much so there is a class action settlement against Ford on it.

 

Joe: Ethanol because here in Iowa where corn is king the 90 octane eth blend is cheaper by usually 3 - 4 cents a gal.

 

True, but it can wreak havoc on the fuel system in high enough concentrations.

I have a friend in Portland, OR that is a mechanic out there who always tells me of poor quality fuel that he comes across.