1991 Ranger XLT Fuel/Carb Problem?

1991 Ranger XLT Fuel/Carb Problem? **UPDATE 2/11**

I posted this on Yahoo Answers, and was referred to your community.

I am cutting and pasting what I wrote there, and if I need to clarify anything, please let me know.

Thank you, I look forward to getting to know you all. We've had our little "Cricket" for 10 years now, and we have no interest in losing him to age just yet

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1991 Ford Ranger Pickup Problems?
We have a 1991 Ford Ranger XLT...2 door, stick shift, 4 cylinder, 2 wheel drive.

The past week, when driving, it stutters like it's out of gas, even after we've filled the tank.

Husband looked at spark plugs, many were in need of replacement, so he replaced them all.

It still stuttered, but not as badly, so he put some Heet in the engine, and still did better.

Today, after he got off from work (25 miles one way), it would NOT start. We ended up flooding it.

Folks, this truck has 247,000 miles on it. We KNOW it's not in the best repair. We know it's starting to lose it's seals, etc.

However, this is a new problem...so, with stuttering and acting out of gas when it has gas in it...any ideas as to what simple things we could rule out before we "dig deeper" behind what is ailing "Cricket"?

Thanks!
12 hours ago - 3 days left to answer.
Additional Details
12 hours ago

I also wanted to add...even though it's a 4 cylinder, it has 2 valves per cylinder, which is 8 spark plugs and wires to replace, like a v-8.

We assume it's the original motor, unmodified, but we had never heard of that either, when we bought it 10 years ago.

Well, you have got a lot of info there but not much to base a diagnosis on.

Since it is at a refusing to start stage, do you know if it lack of fuel or lack of spark that causing that?

Since your husband replaced the plugs, did he replace the spark plug wires as well?

Generally speaking, with the vintage of your truck and knowing as little about it as I do there are two things, off the top of my head, that are likely culprits. 1. the timing belt, unless you know it's been changed in the past 5 years or so, and 2. the ignition module.

And BTW, welcome.

Update on 1991 Ford Ranger

Well, my husband and I went to his job and he put a new fuel filter on Cricket.

It drove ALL the way back to town (25 miles). We just KNEW that was it and it was fixed.

He parked it at mom's house to give her back her gas can (just in case it had ran out of gas, which we knew it hadn't), and when he went to leave...it would not start again.

This is what it does...and I'm sorry I'm ignorant to some of the "speak".

When it drives, when you accelerate, it hesitates, like you're running out of gas.

It got better after the carb/fuel injector cleaner, and better after the fuel filter was added today.

When it decides to not start up, you can cram the accelerator into the floor, and it will start, but it is a VERY rough idle, and as soon as you let off of the gas (sometimes while you still have it down), it will die.

Come back a few hours later, idles and purrs like a kitten, and then only Cricket decides when it actually will drive vs. sputter out and die, obviously. LOL

The ONLY repairs thus far have been a change of spark plugs, carb/injector cleaner in the tank, and a new fuel filter.

Dad is talking about taking out the injectors and manually cleaning them this weekend and showing hubby how to do it.

Are we on the right path, or with this information, is there something more obvious?

I appreciated the suggestion of the timing belt...but we did replace that about 80k ago, so can they fail that far in?

Any input, obviously, is appreciated, and thank you for the welcome!

Kristi

Id manually clean all the injectors and get them all shiney and new. Also I would check your air filter. Check your timing with a gun and see if thats set correctly. Replace your cap and rotor also.

Ok...air filter is brand new (within 5k miles).

I'm not sure what you mean by cap and rotor, but I know my dad will know, he's excellent on the "older vehicles" mechanically...well, he is on the new ones, too, until it involves the computers. LOL

Anyway, I'll pass that on to him, too.

We went ahead and left Cricket at mom and dad's being dad has all the goodies like the timing gun, tools, and our Chilton, etc...so hopefully we can get something resolved, soon.

Is there any possibility he got into some bad gasoline?

I only say this because he filled up at Murphy USA 2 weeks ago, and the problems started about that time.

Bad gas is also a possibility. Have him check to see if theres any water mixed in.

I'm curious how you manually clean injectors. I've seen one home rig for doing it, though it's not something I'd like to build just to clean 4 injectors.

akcskye,
Why did you start a new thread for your trucks same issue?

Was I not supposed to Dave? What few other website forums I've visit post updates seperately, so I just assumed.

I'm new here, don't go too hard on me.

When dad and hubby clean the injectors, I'll let you know how they did it.

It's better to continue with one thread per problem or related problem. That way it's easier to keep track of what the problem is/was and what solutions you have tried that either did or didn't fix the problem.

No big deal. I might even try to combine the threads later today.

Well, what do you know, it worked!

Will wonders never cease?

UPDATE on Ranger...still problems.

Well, Cricket is still down.

Dad and hubby pulled the manifold and checked the catalytic converter and the fuel filter.

Their next step is possibly looking at the sensors...but there is no check engine light, so me, being not as well versed, don't know if they can check them without a code being thrown.

They're thinking maybe the fuel pump now?

What it is doing now is it will turn, but even when you floor the gas, it just isn't getting any "umph", and will not attempt to start now.

The other day, dad started it, had it running for 15 minutes, shut it off, and it would not restart...just like when hubby made it home from his job.

Is this maybe temperature related, or has anyone else ever had these problems and can point us in the right direction?

I'm getting desperate...hubby is driving my 2006 Vibe and I'm driving mom and dad's 1986 F-150...sweet ride...YES...but gas GUZZLER!

Thanks in advance again.

They need to figure out if it is lack of spark or fuel that is causing the no-start. If they already know, please communicate that to us. My only experience with a no-start on my 1990 ranger 2.3 (same as yours) was when I didn't have the ignition module properly grounded.

We'll be able to be much more helpful if we knew weather it was a spark problem or a fuel problem.

Here is the procedure for checking spark: Take a spark plug out of the passenger side of the engine (must be the passenger side because only this side fires during starting/cranking) and hold it (with a pair of insulated pliars) against the engine block while someone crankes the engine. Look to see if you have spark.

Here is the procedure for checking for fuel: There is a valve on the fuel rail (looks like a tire valve). Turn the ignition on (without starting the engine) and depress the pin in this valve (just like a tire valve). If you have good pressure, fuel should spray out of the valve. This doesn't rule out bad injectors, but it does show you that you have fuel for starting the engine. If your dad has a fuel pressure gauge, hook it up to this valve. There should be ~30-40 PSI at the fuel rail. If there is not, then it's probably a fuel pressure regulator or a fuel pump.

And don't listen to that guy that said something about a cap and rotor. He obviously doesn't know much about the DIS (distributorless ignitions system) that your truck runs. And don't let the model year fool you, these trucks are just about as high-tech computer controlled as a brand new truck.

BTW, my 1990 2.3 has 242,000 miles on it and runs like top. No problems at all. These little engines can really go for a long time.

Another update

Thanks for the information.

Dad found the part to his fuel sensor thingy...LOL

The fuel delivery is 40lbs or something like that? So, it's getting fuel.

They checked the ignition module at Autozone...it was tested 4 times...it works fine.

They took a plug wire off of each of the coil packs (one side at a time)...one side fires...the other doesn't appear to fire.

So, would something as simple as a coil pack possibly be the answer to this problem?

We'll have to wait until next weekend to see...Autozone was out of the part and so were the other stores in the area...it's on order.

akcskye said:

They took a plug wire off of each of the coil packs (one side at a time)...one side fires...the other doesn't appear to fire

Click to expand...

That is correct, the driver's side plugs do not fire while the engine is only cranking over.

Have you tried squirting a bit of starting fluid in the TB? If you have spark, compression and fuel, all at the right time, the engine has to at least sputter.

It does crank, it just doesn't seem to want to do anything other than crank.

Honestly, how it acts is like it's out of gas...but I gave my dad $5.00 and he put that in the tank...still not working.

At least earlier, it would achieve a rough idle, and it would start sometimes and purr like a kitten, but then die once you got it in gear.

Now, whatever is causing the problem, had to have gotten worse, because of only being able to crank now.

So...where to look next...ideas?

BTW: Thank you ALL for this...I call my dad daily and give him these ideas, so it is definitely helpful!!!