Car dies

[Budda]

I have a 1995 3.0 mtx sho. Before i replaced the alternator that went bad, it would very occasionally sputter out and die at idle and be hard to start. Now, the car seems to just up and die all the time, and absolutely refuses to start. It seems once every 4-5 hours i'll be able to start it, it'll run fine, but if it happens to stall or I turn it off, it absolutely won't start again, and occasionally makes a burping noise in the intake.

I don't even know where to start.

 

[sperold]

Start by looking for stored or active codes. It is probably trying to tell you something right now since the problem has been around for awhile.
Post your findings and there are lots of people who can interpret them correctly.

 

[Budda]

how do you retrieve codes on this car? Is there a way without a scan tool?

First places i'm betting is possibly a clogged fuel filter something otherwise. The check engine light occasionally comes on on the highway so it could have some info on that

 

[shocar]

Get a flash light and check the weep hole around the bottom of the water pump to see if there is any coolant leaking out. If the water pump is leaking, the crank position sensor is getting wet which will cause the car not to start. If you let it sit , it will start until it leaks enough water on the CPS to shut it down again. If you do find this is the problem, it is time for a 60 K service.

 

[sperold]

You can search this forum using key words like, Codes, or engine codes, or paper clip or CEL flashes.... and you will see a lot of threads on how to get the codes without a scanner. You use a paper clip, and count the number of flashes on your dash light (check engine light) and the codes translate into a message that is also listed on this forum in a variety of threads. It is a little tricky because there are separators between the different codes that you have to recognize as separators and not part of a code. The 95 will have 3 digit codes.
I borrow a scan tool when I do mine because it is easier for me, and the little booklet that comes with it has all the codes spelled out for me and it is easy to understand. The 95 is an On Board Diagnostic 1 or OBD-1 which means it is Ford specifiec. From 96 on, all the codes are the same for all cars and it is called OBD-2. Those old OBD-1 units are on sale these days as they are becoming ancient, so look around in the furture for one, but do the paper-clip for now.
Once you get the codes, post them on here and you will get a lot of help figuring them out.

 

[itwonder]

Scan for codes, but this sounds like a CPS; concur with post #4. How long since your last 60K service?

 

[riden2low]

go here for codes http://www.shophoenixproject.com/