Just bought this 87 ranger 2.3 and installed new plugs and wires, air filter, fuel filter, cap and rotor is good has very good compression. When first starts it seems OK then it starts running rough and smokes (grey/almost black) and seems like it is running very rich. Idle is really rough and wants to die. When trying to rev it sputters worse. HELP!

Any suggestions?

Havent checked timing since maual says to disconnect the SPOUT-CONNECTOR which I cannot locate. I also have a 88 ranger 2.3 (which is my parts truck) and i found the spout connector on it but its not in the same location as the 87 Also checked/cleaned connections at all injectors. Anyone here have similiar problem or know where spout-connector is?

I also replaced the O2 sensor (which was a Pain in the A).

 

Check the fuel pressure. Sound like over pressure or possibly stuck injector... mebbe
tom

 

thx

Ill try replacing the fuel regulator (kinda didnt want to because its hard to get to).

 

Don't just throw parts at it, check the fuel pressure first and verify that it actually needs a new FP regulator before you change it out. It's pretty easy to check. Here's a little more info on the regulator:

http://fordfuelinjection.com/index.php?p=41

You can check it with an inexpensive tool available at Harbor Freight (among other places) or even just a cheap pressure gauge. Relieve the fuel pressure, remove the valve core from the Schrader valve on the fuel rail and hoseclamp a short piece of fuel line to it with a cheapo pressure gauge with 60psi or more capacity on the other end of the hose. Hit the key to energize the pump and read the pressure, then check it with the engine running.

Some people have been sucessful at checking it with a tire pressure gauge, but I find that most fuel system Schrader valves have the core set too far in to work with a conventional tire gauge.

 

I bought a pressure gauge w/schrader fitting, release button, and a small diameter tube to catch the fuel when you release the pressure for less than $30. I didn't remove anything when testing except the plastic dust cover. If you remove the vacuum line, and find fuel in it, your regulator leaks, and needs replacement without any more testing required. Some regulators (see 4.0) are expensive, and definitely worth checking before replacing.
Buy, borrow, or rent a gauge before throwing parts.
If you have a MAP sensor, it can cause a very ragged idle, and a MAF sensor will show up mostly as hesitation (along with other things...) I don't know which you have.
tom

 

Well I have another ranger (88 2.3L) and im parting it out (it has lots of DMV fees and no compression in a cylinder). So thats why ive been throwing parts at it.

 

It's always nice to have an available source of parts, but a little work in the short run may save you a lot more work later.

I know what you mean about those dang DMV fees. I have a '72 F250 that I wanted to register, but it was never non-opped and DMV said the back fees and penalties were so high they locked up the computer! After 10 years, I would have thought it had come off the computer but they said no, it was still on there...

 

lol, i think (or at least in California) the back fees stop at like $499. If they didnt stop at all i could imagine fees adding up to over $1,000 over 10 years.

 

No, they don't stop at $499, that's for sure. When I got the truck it had already been sitting for two years without being non-opped and when I went in to the DMV in Ukiah to register it after I got it running, they told me it would be $835 at that point. Now, that's after only two years. Ten years later...like I said, they told me it locked up the computer. I even called Sacramento and they couldn't tell me just how much it would be either but verified that it was off the scale. Multi-thousands of bucks...

They really build up on a commercial vehicle, because it's got the weight fees added in.

 

Maybe thats why it went past 499 because its commercial. I called a guy about a different ranger about a month ago i got the #s off of it and called DMV and they said that the fees stopped adding up at $499.

 

Ranger's still licensed commercial in Ca. Any pickup is, unless it's got seats in the back like the old Subaru Brat. (Which was built that way to get around being licensed commercial.)

The difference may be the weight fee. It takes a huge jump after you get over 4000 pounds curb weight. The Ranger's under that, but a full-size truck is over it.

 

Hm. We don't have a fee system in place here, but I decided to cut into the fat on my old Ford 250. I replaced the box with a wood deck & drop-in sides & back (saved ~500lbs), changed the front bench to a pair of light buckets (another 100lbs+), took out everything it didn't need to run (jumpseats, soundproofing, etc), ran it across the scales at just over 3100lbs. My point was to spend my fuel money on hauling freight, not unnecessary stuff; even overloaded, the truck went fine, and empty it was really good on fuel.

Don't know if California regs would react well to such mods, though...

 

I don't see any problem with the mods you mention if done here. California's only real concern is that the smog and safety equipment are left in place. If trimming the fat drops your vehicle into the lower weight class, there's not much they can do about it. I went through this on a '73 Ranchero I used to have. It came in from Nevada so it didn't have a Ca. weight fee on it. The A/C had already been removed and I stripped out everything that wasn't bolted down (and some that were!) when I scaled it, and it came in at about 3980, just under the 4001lb. mark that would have bumped me way up the fee scale.

 

Well anyway I swapped fuel regulators today and the the still runs bad. I also messed around with the spount connector and it didnt help. Id really like to get the thing running good before i swap the tranny.

Im also tearing apart another ranger and today i got a lot of stuff off if it including bed, doors gas tank and front end and My father and I could lift the back end up pretty easily. We hope to get the thing torn apart and out to the scrap yard and out of our driveway soon.