Hey y'all I'm new to the forums so if I'm breaking any rules I'm sorry

I recently bought a 1990 ford ranger with a 2.9 @187,000 miles. That being said I went through and changed a few vacuum lines, the oil, air filter, pcv/grommet, and fuel filter.

The problem is it hates to start. I could crank on it for 10 seconds and not a single thing. Sometimes if i turn the key to the off position, wait a second, and try again, Ill get the truck to fire. When it does fire up it just reeks of lean exhaust. It also gives me some hesitation when I rev it. I did a fuel pressure test (KOEO) last night and it gave me 32 psi and within a minute the needle fell to about 25 psi. I hear the fuel pump run for only 2-3 seconds too.

I've already pulled the MAF off and cleaned it, replaced the TPS, and did a fuel pressure test. The fuel filter is brand new and I need help

 

Update: I retested the fuel pressure; KOEO was 8 psi, 2KOEO was 20 psi, 3KOEO was 30 psi, 4KOEO was 38 psi.
While cranking the psi remained the same at 38 and after i stopped it hit 40 psi

 

Yep, you definently have a probelm with the fuel pressure 3 things can cause it
1 A leaky check valve in the fuel pump. But it wont smell rich when it starts.

2 A leaking injector, it will smell rich when it starts

3 A leakying FPR/fuel pressure regulator will also smell rich when it starts.

Congrats on the new to you Ranger. I have an 87 2.9 & with the manual transmission it's a blast to drive. Just keep the pedal to the metal & the 2.9 loves to be pushed hard.

First thing to check is very simple. Pull the vacuum hose off of the FPR & if it's wet with gas theres your problem. it's at the top of the engine closer to the firewall.

 

I already checked the FPR hose and that's as dry as it can be. I did disconnect the return on FPR and that shoots a bout a 1/4 a cup of gas out which I'm not sure if it should or not. Keep in mind I still couldn't get the truck to start.

I did find a cracked hose by the fuel filter and replaced it. It came from the carbon canister.

Should the fuel pump run while cranking? I don't really see a change in fuel pressure until after I stop cranking. The thing is it doesn't smell rich at all. I don't have any engine codes so yay. But its stupid lean. Would that also cause the hesitation when I gun it?

I think my fuel gauge is a little liar because I was starting to get more air out of the return than gas.

Oh I love this little beast. When I'm blessed to get it started, it runs like a champ.

 

Update: I was really low on gas and after filling it up I found another cracked fuel hose. That being said I was able to get the truck to fire up and run!

Too bad though.. I forgot to take off the fuel pressure gauge and lets just say it's somewhere in the desert or on the streets.

After some smelling and observing the oil, I concluded that there was indeed gas in the oil which means more than likely an injector is leaking.

Now my next question: Would leaking injectors cause my lean problem?
Not only that but would a faulty air temp sensor or even IAC be the culprit? I'm not sure how to test either of those things.

 

Well since the FPR isn't leaking and if theres no leaks in the fuel lines the only place the fuel can be going is thru a leaking injector or fuel pump check valve. Strange theres gas in the oil but it's running lean instead of rich. Go figure.
When you turn the key one click the pump runs on a 2 second timer. When it's cranking or running the ECM/computer sees the ignition pulses & turns the pump back on.

IIRC a bad ECT will cause it to run rich. The IAC is only used to control the idle & wont cause it to run lean.

So your fuel pressure gauge is in the wind. ouch.

 

My thoughts exactly with the gas leaking through the injectors. I'll see tomorrow or sometime this week when I get the chance to pull the fuel rail.
When I say it runs lean I'm talking about at idle.

I took off the IAC and it doesn't close fully. I squirted a bit of brake cleaner in it and it went from one port to the other via the shaft.

I wanted to change the distributer cap, rotor, and wires, clean the fuel rail, reset the points on the valves, and clean/ rebuild the injectors.

 

I would check that the oil, just changed, smells of gasoline. Fuel in the intake manifold would take a LOT of fuel to contaminate the oil in the pan. The intake is supposed to feed air into the engine via the intake valve. There is no direct connection to the sump, so gas must fill a cylinder and leak past the rings to contaminate the oil.
In addition, if an injector leaked that much fuel, it would NOT be lean, it would be hard to start because of being too RICH with fuel.
Put some gas in the tank (I think that was an original source of problems) and try cycling the key from OFF to ON, pause, and back to OFF. Repeat several times, and you will build pressure in the injector system. Try starting. If it starts fine, you know the injectors, ignition, and engine are good. But, you have a leakdown starving the injectors at cold start.
tom

 

I certainly have leaking injectors because the oil smells just like gas.

I agree with you with the leaking injectors causing a rich start but that's not what I have and that's another thing confusing me.

What do you mean by leakdown?

 

Leakdown is the loss of pressure and/or fuel in the fuel rail that feeds the injectors. The whole injection system past the high pressure fuel pump is designed to hold fuel and pressure after shutdown. If the check valve in the pump leaks, or the fuel pressure regulator leaks, or the injector(s) leak, the fuel pressure will dissipate, and some fuel will leak back into the tank, or into the intake manifold.
What is the oil level in the crankcase? If it is above full, quit driving until you get the fuel system fixed as there must be so much gas in the sump that it is no longer usable as a lubricant and the engine will seize.
What is the route the fuel is taking to get into the crankcase? How long does it take for the pressure to leak down?
I still think if an injector was leaking into the intake, you'd have trouble starting and black smoke rather than a 'lean' condition.
How did you decide it was a 'lean' condition? What symptoms? Smell just doesn't cut it in some cases, as an over-rich mix will also be smelly.
tom

 

The fuel pressure is lost between the injectors and the fuel pump. I pulled off the return hose after shutting the truck off and with a fuel pressure gauge in hand, I watched the pressure fall while no gas leaking through the return. The oil smells strong of gas but doesn't have a noticeable change in the level of oil. Therefore, an injector must be leaking.

I never looked into how long it takes for the pressure to drop down to zero.

I actually went out and after cycling the ignition a few times the truck started and wouldn't you know it, black smoke through the tail pipe and absolutely no hesitation upon throttle.

Going to pull the injectors in a bit.

 

I just got inside from pulling the injectors. With the fuel rail outside and still connected to the fuel pump hose and return line and injectors' electrical disconnected but still in the fuel rail, I cycled the key a few times and found an injector to be leaking like a SOB with carbon all over it. Then again all of them where covered in carbon. I cleaned the injector tips with some carb. cleaner and using a 12v battery and alligator clips I shot carb. cleaner through the injectors. The O- rings on all of them were quite brittle so I'm getting new ones soon. O-ring on the fuel regulator was nearly gone and was causing another leak.

While I was also in there, I checked the distributor cap; the rotor was black and the contact points on the cap had quite a bit of deposits on them. Replaced the cap and rotor.

 

Did the cleaner make the bad injector quit leaking? I think I would have put them all back into the fuel rail and done the key-cycle process to see if it was working.
One thing to note is there is another check valve in the system, that of the fuel pump. It could have been leaking back into the tank and you'd never have known except for the pressure drop after shutting down.

tom

 

I finally got around to installing the injectors into the fuel rail and connected that to the pressure and return line. All the injectors held up with no leaks!!

I put everything back together and wouldn't you know it, the truck won't start. After going nuts for a minute I realized: I didn't air remove the air out of the fuel railing...

Long story short the truck runs rich.
I ended up putting in a new distributor cap and contacter (both heavily worn and blacken).

I pulled my IAC off and the resisitance in it is 9.27 ohms
Should the FPR shoot out any gas upon starting pressure?
I took the return line off and gas shot clear out.

 

Just got a Ford OBD1 tester.
I have codes 67 and 95 and both are KOEO