86 Ranger Fuel Problem
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86 Ranger Fuel Problem
1986 Ranger 2.3 inline 4
I just recently bought an 86 Ranger from a friend. It had recently stopped working and had no desire to fix it. So here I am. The truck will sit in park and rev all day long, once its in drive it idols fine and moves its self down the street. The problem occurs when I apply throttle. It begins to bog down and I cannot get past 20mph. I have replaced the fuel regulator and also I took the tank down and replaced the fuel pump. The fuel filter is two months old, and the throttle response sensor is two weeks old. If you have any ideas or things to check it would be much appreciated!!
I just recently bought an 86 Ranger from a friend. It had recently stopped working and had no desire to fix it. So here I am. The truck will sit in park and rev all day long, once its in drive it idols fine and moves its self down the street. The problem occurs when I apply throttle. It begins to bog down and I cannot get past 20mph. I have replaced the fuel regulator and also I took the tank down and replaced the fuel pump. The fuel filter is two months old, and the throttle response sensor is two weeks old. If you have any ideas or things to check it would be much appreciated!!
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Joined: Jan 2002
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From: suburban atlanta
Do you have any codes? Some models did not have a CEL or SES light that warned of problems, depending on year and emissions package. 86 was still EEC-IV, and you can pull codes with a jumper wire and VOM.
If you disconnect the wire to the MAP sensor, the computer will 'guess' at fuel need, so if the MAP is bad, it will use a 'baseline' value which should let the engine run. Most times a bad MAP will have a bad idle, no stability.
You can test delivery of fuel by starting the engine with a fuel pressure gauge attached equipped with a bleed valve. Catch the fuel from the bleed over a measured time period, and multiply to determine gph. If you go 50 mph and are getting 25 mpg, you would need 2 gallons of fuel in an hour. For example, if the pump can deliver 1 cup in 30 seconds, two cups in a minute, that would be 16 cups in 8 minutes, or one gallon, so that pump will produce ~7.5 gallons per hour. More than enough to run the engine.
I still have the factory fuel filter cartridge in my old truck. Cannot remove the cannister with a belt wrench.
Have you checked base timing? How about cam timing? Put the crank pulley pointer at TDC and pull the plastic cap on the belt cover, down below the thermostat outlet. Look at the front edge of the cam sprocket. There should be a triangle embossed that is at or near the pointer. If not, rotate 1 complete turn and check again. If not there, I'd check the cam timing and belt condition further. A r_e_t_a_r_d_e_d timing belt setting will make the engine gutless, as will ignition timing that is not set with the jumper plug removed.
tom
If you disconnect the wire to the MAP sensor, the computer will 'guess' at fuel need, so if the MAP is bad, it will use a 'baseline' value which should let the engine run. Most times a bad MAP will have a bad idle, no stability.
You can test delivery of fuel by starting the engine with a fuel pressure gauge attached equipped with a bleed valve. Catch the fuel from the bleed over a measured time period, and multiply to determine gph. If you go 50 mph and are getting 25 mpg, you would need 2 gallons of fuel in an hour. For example, if the pump can deliver 1 cup in 30 seconds, two cups in a minute, that would be 16 cups in 8 minutes, or one gallon, so that pump will produce ~7.5 gallons per hour. More than enough to run the engine.
I still have the factory fuel filter cartridge in my old truck. Cannot remove the cannister with a belt wrench.
Have you checked base timing? How about cam timing? Put the crank pulley pointer at TDC and pull the plastic cap on the belt cover, down below the thermostat outlet. Look at the front edge of the cam sprocket. There should be a triangle embossed that is at or near the pointer. If not, rotate 1 complete turn and check again. If not there, I'd check the cam timing and belt condition further. A r_e_t_a_r_d_e_d timing belt setting will make the engine gutless, as will ignition timing that is not set with the jumper plug removed.
tom
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