mattoney, I may have missed it but did you change the plugs after you swapped distributors? If the plugs couldn't fire right they'd be all fouled out and most likely need a tossing. Good Luck.

 

They're clean. I checked em all and the gaps are set. It just acts like it hits a certain RPM and it won't go above it. the exhaust starts popping and carrying on, the engine misses out and there's absolutely NO power. It still acts like a fuel issue but I dunno what else to do other than tear the dang motor apart. I've tested all the sensors and the wiring. the sensors are good, the wiring is a bit iffy, and I will address those situations, but its in places where it shouldn't affect the performance of the engine too much.

 

They may be clean, but that don't always mean the're good. I ran into that problem today. Plug looked great, random mis-fire, especially when the engine was cold.

I did small engine repair for several years. You would be suprised how many new and new looking plugs were bad.

Take the known good ones out of the other motor and give them a try.

 

Exactly yardbird, a good looking plug is not always a good working plug.

 

Well this morning I took every spark plug out, cleaned it, gapped it, and tested it on the spark plug tester. Indeed two were bad, so I replaced them. Amazing how I've changed so many spark plugs over the years, without a problem. Then on this particular application, I get not one, but two. Last time I buy anything automotive from Wal-Mart. Always cheap parts, always. Anyways, I replaced the two bad ones, and that helped the engine reach some higher revs I haven't heard before, but its still extremely lacking on power. If I push the gas too hard, the engine will flood out. 4 of six spark plugs all had gasoline visibly on them, and the other 2 smelled of gasoline, so I know that all 6 are still get getting fuel at least.

Thanks for the advice and keep it rolling.

 

I'm having similar symptoms on an 87 ranger w/2.9..
I found the black canister back by the tank bolted to frame .. took it apart and found that there was no filter in it. Also, you could see a valve assembly in the upper part. The valve had a spring that appeared to be positioned wrong, but never gave it much thought. Just cleaned some of the gunk out of the canister and installed a filter and put it together, bolted on. Ran great for a few minutes then began idling very rough and bouncing around.
Now, three weeks later, I drove it into the garage and start tinkering with the schrader valve and realized there is air in the fuel rail. With it idling (rough) , I push down on the valve and air comes out briefly before any gas comes out. After that , it smoothed out for a short time, then idled rough again. Push down on the valve and smooths out.
2 days later I try to show my brother the way it's acting and it wont do it.... Started right up and ran fine for 10 minutes. I did not try to drive it yet, but suspect that when it will re-occur. It seems to be picking air up somewhere in the fuel system, may have something to do with the valve in the black canister. But why does'nt let the air go to the return line or through the injectors. I'm at a loss. I will drive it through the yard later or tomorrow and see if it re-occurs.

 

Okay. Uhm, this is just me here, but I would get one that is the correct PCM/ECC/ECU/ECM for your make/model vehicle. The 3.0 engines use a MAF, not a MAP, and that could be part of the problem -- the fact that the computer, although possibly having the same or "correct" part number, could be culprit and not working with your truck. Yes, the 2.9 and 3.0 use the "same" computer per se, but I don't think they are calibrated / programmed the same. Just my $0.02

 

Wow. I had actually lost the thread to this posting. I'd been trying to find it but so many new ones cropped up it made it very difficult. I suppose if I browsed the site more I could probably figure out a way to find it in about 2 seconds...

Believe it or not, having a computer marked "for 3.0 sable only" is very common in the Ford Ranger and Bronco II. Nobody really knows why. I think I've determined the cause of the problems anyway. Just waiting on the time and money to fix it.

1. The thing needs a valve job.
2. The Radiator was plugged up and I wouldn't be surprised to find the heads are cracked.
3. The oil appears to have been changed once in 185,000 miles, and I did it right after we got it!

There's a nice thick coating of dried sludge all over everything. If anybody wants to see pictures let me know. I'll figure out how to post em on here. The thing looks pretty darn nasty and I'm surprised it hasn't already blown up yet from lack of lubrication. So eventually we'll pull the motor out and take a gander and see what's salvageable. Then we'll go from there.

You guys have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and I'll try and keep ya posted on what all we've done to the poor thing.

 

Progress pics are de best! Before and after, and even during projects like this! I was looking through the entire thread, and I am guessing you've already put a new TFI module on the distributor. Another thing, yeah, no way in hell a 4.0L cam will fit, it's too large. I would suggest at the bare minimum OEM replacement head castings, if they are cracked, but preferrably going with the World Products replacements. New cam/bearings, lifters, oil pump, main bearings (and crank if need be, depending on how much wear you have on everything), and hell, you might as well do a rebuild on it all. What you may also find is uneven wear on the rings as well. I would definitely give the engine block a good soaking in solvent... for about a week! Anyhow, yeah, keep us posted, post some pics, show and tell us how it goes. It may be a learning experience for everyone! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year right back atcha bud and good luck on your BII project!

 

Well guys, rest assured I'm still alive after a short hiatus. College tends to take it out of you. Anyways I haven't gotten much done to the ol Bronco other than pulling stuff off the engine. Jacked it up and got the oil pan loose but its not wanting to come out.

I am preparing to remove the engine entirely, following the instructions provided in the Haynes Manual for 1983-1992 Ford Rangers / Bronco IIs and I was just wondering if any of you all out there with experience in this type of removal has any suggestions the book doesn't cover.

Thanks everybody, and have a great weekend.

 

Well I've got the engine pulled apart. So far, I've managed to find alot of grease I pressure washed off, I found some silicone in the engine from where they over gooped the water pump, but so far everything looks mechanically sound (surprisingly). I'll figure out how to post some pictures up here and let you guys take a look, sometime here soon.

One thing I do want to ask is about the EGR tube that runs from the exhaust manifold to the valve. Is there anything special (high heat resistance?) about that tube, or is it just a plain old steel tube? I've read on other posts you can't buy them from parts stores and I've looked a little bit and haven't found anything yet. So I'm thinking I'll just go to the hardware store and buy something and make it work unless there's something special to it.

The old tube rusted in half, and I tried blocking off that port to see if it made the engine run better, but that didn't work. I think going after a steel tube and a couple fittings would be cheaper than getting a computer out of the junkyard for a 2.9L that doesn't have an EGR system. Thanks y'all, and have a good one!

 

Your best bet for a replacement EGR tube is to get new fittings that match the old ones and have one made (preferrably stainless steel). You may also want to check/re-check the canister that JMR mentioned, as well as your vapor canister under the hood, driver's side, mounted to the radiator core support. The fact that you said the plugs were heavily coated with fuel indicates that there is a weak spark, or that the fuel injectors are probably leaking by, I'm thinking. You may need new injectors or rebuilt ones. I forget, did you put new plug wires on this thing? Could be some bad wires as well, or your ignition coil may be weak. Glad to see you're back at it, hopefully things will come together soon.

 

This thing keeps lurking around like a shark on "Jaws". It just keeps coming back and biting me in the....

Anyways, some of you might be curious about whatever happened with my 1987 Bronco II. I kinda disappeared off the boards for awhile because I ran into a bunch of legal trouble with the title. My dad and I fell for a conman basically, and had some issues getting the title. That and school takes top priority, and the girlfriend, so I don't get much time to work on it these days. But here it is almost a year later, and we have a title for the Bronco, and I picked up another 1990 Bronco II for $200.

Since the new Bronc transmission is blown, we've pulled its engine to put in the 1987 for now. Don't worry, both will get fixed up and run, it'll just take longer and cost more than I ever thought.

So I guess what I want to ask is this. I know the 1990 doesn't have an EGR system built onto it, and the knock sensor was eliminated somewhere along the line. I know I have to change out the computers (good thing they're both 5 speeds), and the wiring harnesses aren't exactly the same, but is there anything else that I haven't seen yet that needs changed?

Have a good rest of your week, and a great weekend!

 

hey everybody. just wanted to drop in and say it finally runs! one engine "borrowed" from another Bronco II seems to be working great. Gotta put exhaust system on it soon. I have it figured out that the other one was so caked up with sludge there's no way it could have run right. It will get rebuilt in time and I'll have fun with it too someday.

In the mean time, thank you for all your help! I hope this post will help any people out in the future that are having similar problems to what I have dealt with over the past year. Thanks again!

 

Glad to hear the good news. The one thing you can do for more oomf on the '90 motor you put in the '87 is to swap the throttle bodies, among other intake-related mods. That's a whole 'nuther story though. Again, glad to hear you finally got some satisfaction after all of the headaches.