Automotive Forums  Where Car Enthusiasts Go to Discuss Cars Online

I purchased a 1998 Ford Windstar Van about 1 month ago.  About 3 weeks ago While I was driving my vehicle acted like it had no power and started to slow down, if you pressed on the gas pedal it just kept "dogging down".  I finally pulled over and shut the vehicle off.  I didn't wait but a few minutes and started the vehicle again,went down the road a few miles and it started doing it again.  Thinking that perhaps it was the fuel filter I changed that out, still  does it.  It seems that you have to drive it like 75 miles or more before it does it.  If I drive it around town it doesn't do it.  I drove to see my daughter which is approximately 80 miles away, going down to her house it didn't do it.  But coming back home it started doing it again.  If I pull over and shut the key off-wait approximately 3-4 minutes and restart the vehicle it will sometimes go ok, and sometimes you will have to pull over and shut it off and start it up several different times.  I have put heet in with the gas and it doesn't help.  I seems like the vehicle just doesn't want "to come back home".  My wife drives the vehicle to and from her work, she will drive like 25 miles to her first client with no problems, and continue on during the day to the difference clients that she sees.  She doesn't go more than 30 miles between clients and the vehicles doesn't mess up  but come the weekend if we go to see the grandchildren, it won't mess up until we are on the way back.Any thoughts?  

It's most likely the fuel pump. Windstar fuel pumps are known to get weak, and when things get too warm, they eventually don't provide enough pressure to stop vaporlock. Bad news is, you have to drop the fuel tank to replace it. Heet is the worst thing you can do, because the alcohol in the Heet actually vaporizes faster than gasoline, causing vaporlock even faster.
BTW, this migt be the reason somebody was getting rid of it!  

there is some issue with the fuel pump

used-auto-transmissions