Yesterday I got home and immediately Drew hits me with a complaint, I mean I had not even set down my lunch box yet. "my bronco is broken"... I asked what is wrong and in typical teenage fashion his answer was entirely vague and non responsive (mind you I did not get home until nearly 6:30 - he had been home since 3:30 and said bronco was not even in the garage). After more quizzing and pulling of teeth I was finally able to gather that it has no power, could not get it over 30MPH all the way home from school... Oh and he had to be somewhere 1.5 hrs ago.

So off he goes in his mom's car and I hop into his bronco to pull it into the garage. First of all - huge smell of unburned fuel.... hmmmm. Second - how the hell did he get this thing up to 30 mph. I can even get it to pull over the curb into the driveway. So Daniel helps me push it into the garage while Dan's petite GF gives her all the gas she can from behind the wheel, we get her into the garage but now I know why I am smelling unburned gas.

One of the fuel lines on the tank has come lose and she is spraying fuel at 55PSI all over the street and driveway. Easy fix I think. I go inside for dinner while I let the excess fuel drip off and evaporate. After dinner (I admit it, I got caught up watching the Voice too.... oh the shame ) I go out and connect the fuel line, one of the camps was completely loose. Hop in and fire her up, she runs and of course she is about out of gas so I head down to the gas station and notice before I get 2 blocks that she still does not have the power I expect... and seems to be misfiring. No back fire or anything just a slight stumble. Turn around and head home. Check the trouble codes and same ones as always - O2 sensor, something to do with the transmission (which we are not using anyway). Now it is after 10 and I am tired. I call Drew and he is just leaving the mall - yes there is a girl involved - and lucky for him, I remember what they can do to a young mans developing sense of priorities. I tell him to move his ass home I want him to drive his truck and see if it is "normal" or not. He gets there in record time. Hops into his truck and goes around the block. It is better - thanks dad! But still not right. Hmmm... Well lets get that O2 sensor installed then. So we find a nut that will fit, drill a hole into the cobbled up home made exhaust (home built because the budget will not flex another $600 until next year - it is just tapped out) weld the nut in and connect the O2 sensor. Add the ground and......

Better, not all better - but better. After doing some reading this morning it looks like if we disconnect the battery for 12 hrs it will reset the computer so tonight we will give that a shot. Otherwise, I am at a loss. Start checking for vacuum leaks I suppose.

I washed up and went to bed. Drew had homework to do.

Like 25% down on power, like missing a couple cylinders? 6/8 = 25% :-)

Sorry, that was a low blow. I know you've been working hard on getting this going. Hopefully it's something easy.

Its a 5.0 system I assume correct? I know on my Howell tbi its considered a closed loop system and without a o2 sensor mine ran like ass crack.. I would think when you delete all the stuff fro m a 5.0 harness it becomes closed loop? without o2 sensors would not be able to get correct air fuel mixture reading at temp ... I bet it does indeed fix it. mine is same unplug for 8-12 hrs and all better

Yeah JD. 25% fewer cylinders but less than 1% less cubic inches like 300/302 or 4.9/5.0 if you prefer

But thanks for the shot across our bow.

Have you looked at fuel pressure yet? Just throwing out alternative ideas.

New tank? New fuel pump? New fuel filter? New injectors?

Yes, fuel pressure at idle is at 55psi. Well within the range of 45-65 specified

May I recommend a 20 yr old disposable subcompact car that would be easier for Drew to push if he breaks it?

Yugo. =. You Go straight to the junk yard

Haven't heard from Drew yet if resetting the computer overnight solved the issues. I hope so