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2.3 L Ford Ranger 2WD - rough idling and stall upon acceleration


danielwd

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Vehicle Year
1994
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Ford
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FWIW, FoMoCo injectors are not a common failure point. Not saying they don't fail, but it is uncommon. Personally I would not replace them if they are functional. Likely you will not note any change in performance as they are likely functioning to spec.
If you want to do something, you can have them professionally cleaned and checked, removed from the engine and sent off. Some will do the cleaning and poking around for $20 each. Some will even return the injectors along with a flow graph to show how balanced they are after the process.
tom
Initially, I thought the injectors were fine based on an audio test with a stethoscope. I will admit, it was quick test, and the injector that failed was under the intake and difficult to get to with my stethoscope. So, as I said, it was a 'quick' audio test. I finally realized there was a problem with the injector after designing a hook tool with a piece of steel long enough to reach the plug-in from under the upper intake. I unplugged the injector with engine running rough, and there was absolutely no drop in RPM's; whereas, disconnecting the others greatly affected the RPMs. I had been ignoring this one injector because the others were fine and because it was impossible to get access to. Big mistake.

After removing upper and lower intakes, fuel rail, and testing the injectors, that particular injector had a reading that made no sense. The others were exact.

So I have no doubt it is bad. I have seen on Youtube how to actually apply voltage and make the spray, but I don't think I care enough about that right now. I'm going to put the new injector in and see how the truck does at this time.

I want to thank you and all others for the help and instruction you've provided. I will update soon after I get everything back together.
 


danielwd

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Joined
Dec 23, 2010
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Vehicle Year
1994
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Ford
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Manual
Final post. I have reinstalled everything back. I test drove the truck last night, and it drove great.

The worst thing about this whole situation was that fuel injectors are expensive. I thought I would just replace one, but after inspecting the others, I had to change all of them. Although three of them tested within specs for resistance, they broken to pieces, literally. One had a disintegrated tip (that goes into the head port) and another had a broken plastic tip that goes into the fuel rail. They were all in really bad shape.

I have replaced all four. It was a super expensive fix for such an old truck, but at least it is running great.

The one piece of advice for anyone experiencing rough idle, and is following this thread, is to simply start unplugging stuff....spark plug wires, injectors, sensors...etc... If the engine doesn't change in RPM's, you know you're on to something.

I learned alot through this experience, specifically backprobing sensors with sewing t-pins and how better to diagnose rather than throwing parts at the truck.

I still threw a bunch of parts at it though because the bad fuel injector must have been slowly failing because sometimes the truck would run great, making me think that something I had done or replaced was a fix, when it wasn't. That was very frustrating.

One more note for anyone following - when installing all new injectors, don't be freak out if the injectors don't seem to line up perfectly in the fuel rail. I was getting very mad because it looked like the aftermarket injectors were too long or didn't fit right. But as soon as I gave up with how they looked, and tightened up the bolts on the fuel rail, it pulled the injectors into the fuel rail so they fit perfectly.

Thanks to everyone for all your advice, and unless something goes wrong with the truck that pertains to this particular thread, I am signing off.
 

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