We did a motor swap in my ranger that had a blown 2.9 in it, we replace it with a well running 2.9 with low miles. while it was sitting ready to be swapped somebody Messed with all the wiring, the timing, the sensors and so on. I think it is mostly worked out but who knows. It starts, it runs, it drives (kind of, no power, no more than 35 mph) obviously It was running like crap so i changed spark plugs and wires, then the F.P.R. went out so i replaced that, Then the fuel pump, now it starts and idles (very rough) It is definitely running on less than 6. I ran seafoam through it an did an oil change, but it still smokes blue and white. The only thing i can think of would be injectors but we ran cleaner through it. The timing was way off along with the firing order, but that didnt seem to help any. I am just about out of ideas, and the truck has sucked up almost all of my money. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

You say you put wires and plugs in it... two questions, were they new and did you check the gap (never know). Also, check to make sure that all of your plug wires are pushed on fully at both the plug and the distributer.

When you ran seafoam through it, how did you run it? The best way is to run it through the vacuum line that connects to the brake booster while it's running. Once you suck about 1/3 to 1/2 a can into it, shut the truck off, let it sit for 5 min, then start it up again and enjoy the smoke show. By putting the seafoam in the vacuum line, it distributes it fairly evenly to all cylinders.

Does that motor have any kind of ignition control module? My 2.3L did that to me.

Try to drive it tonight, take it up to the 35 mph, or however fast it will let you legally go. When it feels like it is bogged down, stop and take a look at the cat. See if it's glowing red-hot. It's best to do it at night because it's much easier to tell.

Stan

 

I just poured it into the tank like i was told to do. The wires were new, and so were the plugs, Im not 100% on the ignition module but i do think it has one somewhere, do you think it could be the computer? It does pickup the power in the high revs, and it dosent like to shift out of 1st and 2nd, I think there might be some semi-serious electrical problems because it says it is idling at 1500 when it is barely running, and the other gauges work when the want to.

 

Did you hook up all the ground wires.

 

Yes i did, i think that when it was sitting waiting to be put in rust built up in the cylinders, then when i went to crank it the rust broke the rings and possible stuck a few valves with rust / ring pieces/

 

I don't think a little rust would cause this problem...Its probably in the wiring somewhere...I has similar issues with my S10 after I rebuilt the head.

 

I don't think a little rust would cause this problem...Its probably in the wiring somewhere...I has similar issues with my S10 after I rebuilt the head.

 

The power response makes me think the timing is way retarded.

Blue smoke is oil being burned.
White smoke is water vapor or anti-freeze, and may be normal depending on engine temp.

tom

 

The timing was way retarded, the most severe I've ever seen on a motor that still ran. I got that dialed as close to factory as possible (10btdc o think) but that only helped a little.

 

Ford motors are resilent though...I once installed on of my racing cams on my 2.0 DOHC 180 degrees off and it still ran...for those who may be like WTF...I got the cams without any paperwork and they were not specifically made for my motor...but I made them work!!!!

 

Did you disconnect the SPOUT connector when you set the timing? You can do that, or set the timing while in 'KOER' diagnostic mode. That got me into trouble, as I was not quick enough [i guess] to set the timing within the two minutes that the computer left it unmodified from static. Best to disconnect, and be sure that the computer is not retarding or advancing from normal.
tom