The car starts cold. after 5 min it will stall. It cranks but won't start for about 20 minutes. it starts again and runs for about 2-3 minutes and the whole thing repeats itself. If I keep my foot on the gas all the way when it wont start it comes close and may even start but if I take my foot off the gas or release the key it stops. It's fuel injected, 1971 142 E, It doesn't overheat but it seems to be related to the temp. I removed the connectors from various sensors to no avail. Please help me!!!

Hardwire coolant temp sensor plug to bypass it, it is best to use resister in wire but five minutes should not hurt.

Check the spark plugs after it stalls. My bet is that they'll be black and wet from over-rich mixture followed by flooding.

Possible cause: The return line from the pressure regulator to the fuel tank is blocked. This causes fuel pressure to gradually increase until the motor floods. Let it sit for a while, and the pressure slowly bleeds off through the blockage and you get another normal start.

Check the fuel pressure with the motor running.

Removing connectors from the sensors defaults to a signal that increases richness, and aggravates the problem. A failed coolant temp sensor (or open associated wiring) will cause a very rich mix, but not usually enough to stall the motor.

The return line is not connected, the car has a 2 port fuel pump. It been like this as long as I had it without a problem. My old '73 wagon would do the same thing and it did not have a return line.

How do you regulate the fuel pressure without a return line??
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George Downs, Bartlesville, Oklahoma, Central US