I have a 83 Ranger 4x4 we put a new engine in a few months back. Engine runs great when sitting still. It came out of a 80 Mercury Capri. The Capri was a daily driver. Now that it is in the Ranger it runs fine until it starts down the road. Then it acts like it is starving for fuel. The fuel filter is new, carburetor has been rebuilt, etc. Problem is Ranger sat about five years before I bought it. Whenever I have bought an old vehicle before that has sat I have either had to replace the fuel tank or have it cleaned. So yesterday, on my way home from California with my (new to me) 1959 F250 I stopped at LMC Truck while passing through Kansas City and picked up a new fuel tank for the Ranger for $99. Now hopefully it will be back on the road this weekend!

 

Yep Rangers are great trucks.

 

Did you happen to get a new fuel pump while you were at it? The old pump may be weak. If it is weak, it will pump enough fuel to run the engine at idle, or for a short burst of throttle, but not enough for sustained running on the road. Fortunately, the pump is not an in the tank one but rather is mounted on the engine and is driven by it. Between the age of the truck and sitting unused for five years, its my guess that you problem is with the fuel pump.

Let us know how you make out.

 

Fuel pump is new. Good suggestion however. Keep them coming.

 

Blow out the fuel line from pump back to the tank before installing the new tank. It still sounds like there is a fuel delivery problem some where in the system. Also check out the in tank fuel pickup before installing the new tank. The pickup screen may be partially plugged.

 

Yep i thought of that. The tank has supposedly never been out of the truck before, and I am pretty confident the problem will be back there or in the line/ pick up tube.

 

Fuel pickup 'sock' may be getting plugged and restrict flow. Two solutions come to mind: 1)replace the sock or 2)remove the sock and install a see through filter under the hood that can be monitored for tank gunk plugging. That was my solution for my sisters Pinto back in the early 80's.
tom

p.s. some have reported they had an easier time propping the bed up to gain access to the sending unit than they did dropping the fuel tank. I think I'd give that a try as the bed bolts are out there in plain sight, and the only electrical are the brake/tail and license lights. You have to disconnect the filler no matter which way you go... and lowering and raising a tank is not attractive to me.
tom

 

What motor are we talking about here?

The 2.3-4, or the 2.8 V-6?

Dual tanks or single?

 

2.3 gas, single tank

 

Fuel system could not be simpler.....
Drop the tank, the filter sock is most likely plugged.

 

It was. Tank is also full of rust.