My '89 Ranger 2.9 seems to have little power. New plugs; wires; timing is perfect. It seems too sluggish. I cannot get any better than 15mpg, either. The truck has 189K miles. The engine was replaced at 90K miles when it was determined I had the typical 2.9 head cracking problem. Any ideas?

 

a ranger with no power? man i they were supposed to be powerhouses!! wht will i tow my 26000lbs trailer with now!!!

Ray

 

That comment wasn't needed at all.

My dad has a 2.9 Ranger (which is now mine, but will need some work before it can drive) he said the V6 was actually pretty peppy in that truck, considering most managed fine with the 4 cylinder.

Some basic things to check: Pull the ECM codes, clean air filter, run some injector cleaner through the gas tank. Also, replace your O2 sensor

If you still don't get anything, pull the upper intake, remove the fuel rail, and let the injectors soak in parts/carb cleaner overnight, and blow them off real good with an air gun. Remember to take off the rubber o-rings on the top and bottom of the injector. They will swell up like balloons if you don't.

 

Just giving out some hard time.. after all the thread title begs for that response!

Ray

 

The injectore may need cleaning, also a can of sea foam to decarbon the block may help. The miles are getting up there, so carbon could be starting to take it's toll. I'm sure others will have some sugestions as well.

 

Well we'll need some more good clues to make better guesses, so maybe begin by having the computer scanned for any set or pending trouble codes.

The low mpg, kinda suggests a air/fuel ratio problem & several things already mentioned can mess with that, including a clogged fuel filter, air filter & dirty injectors & carboned up engine or dirty intake manafold, stuck PCV valve, acting out EGR system, clogged cat converter, ect, ect, so we need to know where you are on due, past & preset scheduled maintenance items & that would include the PCV valve & any tests you've done & any recent repairs.

I see you've begun some good maintenance, with new plugs & wires, so we'll need to know which product you've used.

Have you done a inspection of ALL your vacuum lines???? Done a cylinder balance test, or compression test, or hooked up a vacuum gauge, something that could give us a feel for how the engines health is, mechanically????
Of all the above, the vacuum gauge test is probably the easiest & quickest to do & the most revealing in narrowing things down some imo.

If you've not done any of those things, a reading of the old spark plugs condition & deposis would help.

Just some more troubleshooting thoughts for consideration.

 

"O", by the way, the 2.9 is pretty peppy in a ranger. The ones I drrove seemed to be a little more peppy than the 3.0. Gearing and what not could come into play, but I thought the 2.9 wasn't bad.

 

Thanks for the replies, all. Well, all except Greythorn3's. Pulled codes last week. Only thing that showed was a bad electronic temp. sensor, which I replaced. That was a soft code, too. Now, no codes.

Am running a K&N filter in the box. Have run injector cleaner through many times over the years; as recent as last month. Have never soaked them; not even when I had the engine out some years back. Should've replaced them then. Did have the extra cash.

Have not replaced the O2 sensor in many, many years. The truck has the OEM cat on it. Mine has a "hole" in it and needs to be "replaced". Can one pull their cat and run without one without throwing bad codes?

Has anyone ever done the manifold/head porting that is talked about?

 

BTW welcome to FTE.

Seeing as how your running a oiled cotton gauze air filter, if your 89 has a MAF sensor, I'd opt to begn with pulling it & carefully cleaning it with a non residual spray cleaner.

Use a cleaner that says it's formulated for cleaning MAF sensors. DON'T touch the wire grid, or allow it to get contaminated on re-assy into the air tube.

Over time & with over oiling these types of filters, the MAF sensor heated element can become contaminated with oil & dust residue & that'll mess with it's calibration & ability to properly measure air flow to the engine & that sure can mess with engine power.

If the O2 sensors have never been replaced I'd sure have their switching rate checked, as a lazy O2 sensor will always be behind the power curve & can't keep up with the engines ever changing A/F demands.

A decarb isn't a bad idea either & if your of a mind to try it, I'd maybe opt for a 20 oz can of Chevrons "Techron Concentrate Plus", in a tank of Chevron or Texaco gas, then run most of the treated tank out, with some spirited high rpm blow it out sessions tossed in.

I'd do this after you address the O2 sensor question, but before changing the oil & flter.

Same with a Seafoam treatment if you decide to go that way, especially if you ingest it through a vacuum line, as the oil is likely to end up with a good bit in it, doing it that way. Not so bad if you do it slowly, by adding it to the gas tank.

Sounds like you need to get the cat converter problem fixed, as that kind of back pressue change can mess with exhaust tuning. These computer controlled engines don't like running without a cat conveter & it's unlawful to do so!!!!

Don't know about messing with porting this engine, but sounds like you have plenty of mantenance to catch up on, before you jump into that money black hole!!!!!

Just some thoughts to ponder.
Let us know how it goes.

 

ya i would take that oil filter out.and clean your maf with electrical cleaner.these oil filter's have caused a lot of problems.not sure if they get over oiled or what.but i won't run one especially on my diesel.they say to clean maf every time you clean the filter.just some thing to think about.

 

Thanks you guys. I will look into all recommendations and will let you know.