2001 cougar
 

driving down the street last nite going about 35 mph,and suddenly the car dies and will not start,tried numerous times with no success, any ideas: fuel pump, fuel filter,any suggestions? Thanks

cam sensor, head gasket, fuel pump, clogged filter... check in reverse order.

Of course, check the fuses for the engine computer under the hood and under the dash.

turn the key to on, but don't start it. at that moment you should hear a hum from the rear of the car briefly. That is the fuel pump priming. If you don't hear that, take the gas cap off and get someone else to turn the key to on (without trying to start the car) and see if you hear the brief hum. If there's still nothing, it's the pump. if you hear it, try replacing the fuel filter. It's cheap and you won't be out much.

also, check the wire harnesses that go to the coil(s) distributor if you have one (I think those models only had coil packs), and such. if even one harness came loose, the car won't start.

if it's a head gasket, there should be some issues with the oil (becoming a milky consistency) or the coolant (getting oil in it) and possibly extreme lack of compression. But then you would have other signs with that one. One sign is the engine seems to try to fire up, but can't ever maintain anything.

That's all I can think of to check.