85 ranger help
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85 ranger help
Hey I am fairly new to this stuff but I just got a 85 Ranger 4x4 and its running pretty rough it will be fine then all of a sudden it will bog right out and want to stall so I have to keep my foot planted on the gas and it pops and spudders and eventually runs normal again does anyone have any ideas? Its a 2.8 V6 carb, Thanks
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From: suburban atlanta
Water in the gas... Funky EGR valve or controls... bad plug wires ... bad rotor/cap ... loose carb that shifts around on the intake .. bad fuel pump .. plugged fuel filter ... bad wires in the distributor that vacuum advance wiggles for you .. crud in the float bowl ... sticking float ...
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I would start by checking fuel quality by getting a good sample and allowing it to settle, looking for a layer of water to form at the bottom. Then check fuel flow & pressure, then inspect the float bowl. You can take the top off the carb if you fiddle with the choke junk, and replace it without having to buy a gasket kit if you are careful. You could look there for 'floaties' in the bottom of the bowl. Water looks like little beads floating {sinking?} in the gasoline.
tom
do you need more?
I would start by checking fuel quality by getting a good sample and allowing it to settle, looking for a layer of water to form at the bottom. Then check fuel flow & pressure, then inspect the float bowl. You can take the top off the carb if you fiddle with the choke junk, and replace it without having to buy a gasket kit if you are careful. You could look there for 'floaties' in the bottom of the bowl. Water looks like little beads floating {sinking?} in the gasoline.
tom
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From: VA
I'd suspect either electrical (distributor, coil, plugs &/or wires) or old gas before thinking about anything else. Replacing cap/rotor, plugs, and wires are a good maintenance item to do on an old engine anyhow, so it won't be money wasted if that doesn't completely resolve your issue.
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Yeah thats a good idea ill do that for sure. the other thing i noticed was these motors have a electric choke and mine has it but the guy who owned it before me jimmy rigged a manual choke with springs and such and going to the fire wall so i dont know if that might have something to do with it because when you play around with the choke it feels stiff and dosent seem to do much could it be possible that the choke closes itself off and when a floor it it eventually opens? maybe get a new electric choke part? Thank you for the replies very much appreciated !!!
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From: McKenzie River
Wire the choke plate open, then try driving it.
If still no help, try all the usual suspects, fuel filter, plugs, cap/rotor/wires.
I will not give any advise on trouble shooting the TFI EEC II ignition system and 2150A computer feedback carb, other than trashing it and replacing it with a new non feedback carb and Duraspark Dist. and ignition system.
After 30 years, there is not much you can do to get this complicated, unreliable system working up to snuff ever again.
If still no help, try all the usual suspects, fuel filter, plugs, cap/rotor/wires.
I will not give any advise on trouble shooting the TFI EEC II ignition system and 2150A computer feedback carb, other than trashing it and replacing it with a new non feedback carb and Duraspark Dist. and ignition system.
After 30 years, there is not much you can do to get this complicated, unreliable system working up to snuff ever again.
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From: VA
Yeah, could be your choke if the setup seems to be a bit sketchy...
Keep it held open and drive it like Dave said. That'll tell you if that's the issue.
Still not a bad idea to do the other ignition system maintenance (plugs, wires, cap/rotor) while you're working on the truck even if the choke is your issue.
On a side note, I once had a bad coil that made my engine do similar things to yours. It had lost all of it's oil (which cools it), and would make the engine feel like it was "bogging down" when it got too hot. New coil, and it ran perfect. This is probably a rare case, but I figured I'd share.
Keep it held open and drive it like Dave said. That'll tell you if that's the issue.
Still not a bad idea to do the other ignition system maintenance (plugs, wires, cap/rotor) while you're working on the truck even if the choke is your issue.
On a side note, I once had a bad coil that made my engine do similar things to yours. It had lost all of it's oil (which cools it), and would make the engine feel like it was "bogging down" when it got too hot. New coil, and it ran perfect. This is probably a rare case, but I figured I'd share.
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Ditto. Do the ignition clean up/tune up and give it some fresh gas to work with. If it was sitting long before you got it, it's probably crappy old gas. Wire the choke plate open until you can fix the manual choke...shouldn't be hard.
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well I drove with the choke wide open and it still did it so ill replaces all the plugs and wires and see if that helps and has fresh gas. also my fuel gage does not work and im not sure if its a fuse or wire or if its a problem on the gas tank end if their was a issue with the fuel pump that could possibly be killing my performance couldnt it? but i will start with plugs are wires cause it needs them pretty bad by the look of things
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From: McKenzie River
well I drove with the choke wide open and it still did it so ill replaces all the plugs and wires and see if that helps and has fresh gas. also my fuel gage does not work and im not sure if its a fuse or wire or if its a problem on the gas tank end if their was a issue with the fuel pump that could possibly be killing my performance couldnt it? but i will start with plugs are wires cause it needs them pretty bad by the look of things
Fuel pumps on a 2.8 are a torture to get to/work on, you will need to unbolt and lay aside the power steering pump just to get NEAR the fuel pump.
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well i got it running better which is good just curious what your guys thoughts are on my fuel gauge problem at the moment it only reads up to a 1/4 tank even though its almost full but its not stuck it will climb up to a 1/4 tank once the ignition is on thanks again for all the replys
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From: VA
That's also possible. I haven't dealt with Ranger tanks, but I know that the larger trucks of the era use aluminum floats, and normally don't have issues with the float sinking. Not sure what the float is in the Rangers tank.
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Don't know where your tank is, but there's a simple gauge test for pre-fuel injection ford trucks. On my 68 and 69 F100's, and on my 69 F250, the gauge was in the cab behind the seat. To test those, you pulled a wire off the sending unit on top of the tank and grounded it...if the gauge needle swept all the way to full, you knew your gauge was good and something was wrong with the float (not floating right) or the sending unit (dirty resistance unit). Both were simple fixes, but don't know if this will work with your 85...it should have a low-pressure, mechanical fuel pump, but the fuel tank could be underneath where it might be hard to get to the sending unit wires.