Difficult Starting when cold

[odews]

Hey everyone... First off this is my first post since September of 2000. Secondly I now have a 94 ranger 2.3L (although it is a 94 the engine bay is identical to my neighbors 95 yet different from my friends 94??)

Here is my issue... (I am not getting any error codes)

When it is cold outside, my Ranger takes two to three starting attempts to get running.(sometimes five or six) The motor starts but dies immediately. I can hear the fuel pump pressurize and the pump and fuel filter were replaced 8k miles ago. Some other symptoms I have is that I lack power when taking off from first gear and when shifting into second. The truck also bucks a bit at low RPM's. I usually rev the engine a bit to keep RPM's up which helps in bypassing the problem.

My first thought is that I may have a vacuum leak in a line to the fuel pump or somewhere else. I believe that it is also possible that my fuel pump went bad.(I hope not)

Any thoughts/suggestions?
I would rather try a few small things before pulling the bed off and testing the fuel pump.

Thanks in advance.

 

[shatteredsoul]

Its doubtful your new fuel pump went out after only 8k miles.The biggest thing to go on EFI fords is the Idle air control motor and the dpfe sensor.I am ASE certified and worked at a Ford dealership for a bit.Id take off the IAC motor on the back of the intake and look for the plunger to be shiny which is a sign of carbon buildup and/or a wore out IAC or it could also be a fuel pressure regulator in which case you need to check the vacuum line to it ,also check the actual fuel pressure at the shrader valve on the fuel rail that will definately eliminate any fuel shortage issues.It could also be a clooged or getting clogged cat converter.I used to change a few IACs a week for sticking but it will usually cause an erratic idle.Hope this helps