1984 2.3 ranger automatic carb issues + more

Hey everyone! well im new to the ranger forums, and its my first ranger truck ever. yay me! lol. anyways long story short, i bought the truck for $1000 from a craigslist buyer. according to him they replaced the carb with a junkyard one (which they rebuilt with new gaskets) truck runs good or what not but the pedal feels heavy. is this normal for these older rangers? its been a while since i drove a carburated car. anyways, i struggle in the mornings to start, and sometimes when i drive it, i can feel it bogging out. also everytime i make a right turn, the truck stalls out and shuts off, unless i foot it. this morning on my way to work, i started it, let it warm up for about 5 minutes, and i was on my way. 4 blocks down it died on me and did not want to start! (it would crank but not turn over, plus i had a half tank of gas) so i left the truck where it died, got a ride from my girl to work, and when i got off and tried to start it, it started right away!! what the heck! lol. anyways i drove it home, parked it and tried to start it again, and it wouldnt start again i took off the air cleaner assembly and saw a little bit of gas leaking from somewhere in the carb when you would try to crank it (had my nephew crank while i was under the hood) maybe the previous owner didnt do a good job regasketing it?


has anyone ever had this problem before? this truck is in immaculate condition and it kinda sucks that its doing that, but hey, what do i expect for 1k right? lol i really want to fix this truck up, but kinda on a budget, as it will be my daily. since it would be my daily, i want to do any upgrade i could do for a little bit more power and efficiency if possible. ive browsed through some posts in the forums and saw people doing intake manifold swaps, carb swaps, blocks, etc. its an 84, and its the original engine. so im not sure how many real miles are on it. what would you guys reccomend? like i said before truck runs good, feels kind off slugish though. pedal is real heavy also. since its an 84, i was thinking of putting in a newer block, regasketing it and resurfacing the head, and just putting all the carb stuff on it. if i was to put a newer block, could i use that head also? ive also heard about using a efi lower itnake with an adapter for the carb, and a marine manifold as another option. sorry to be posting all these things at once, just kinda excited to see what i can do to this truck lol. for the meantime i want to get it running right, and eventually a week or 2 from now go to my local junkyard and pull a newer motor out and build it from there.

Carbs suck..................there I said it.

I would get a can of Quick Start(ether), next time it dies or won't start, open carb top and spray some down the carb.
Then try to start engine, if it starts then yes carb is the problem.
If it still doesn't start then Spark is your problem

Carb issue could be float issue, gas in the bowl could be too low causing stalling or too high causing flooding.

have you looked at the choke plate, is it closing when engine is cold and then opening all the way when engine is warm.

RonD said:

Carbs suck..................there I said it.

I would get a can of Quick Start(ether), next time it dies or won't start, open carb top and spray some down the carb.
Then try to start engine, if it starts then yes carb is the problem.
If it still doesn't start then Spark is your problem

Carb issue could be float issue, gas in the bowl could be too low causing stalling or too high causing flooding.

have you looked at the choke plate, is it closing when engine is cold and then opening all the way when engine is warm.

Click to expand...

the choke plate is half open when its cold...weird. thanks!

Howdy and welcome to TRS~!

Your situation sounds more like flooding. I had that on my Motorcraft 5200 where it would run and start fine but every once in a while it would simply die and no amount of anything would work...except taking off the breather and let the (excess) gas evaporate from around the top...it would start right up in a few seconds.

This can be caused by a few things...but the main culprit would be the float set too low...other things is the needle in the carb is simply dulled to the point where it allows fuel into the bowl past the closing point even with the float set correctly.

Another possible cause is you have a different type of fuel pump...electric probably...that is pumping higher than the 4-7 PSI that the carb can take and it has blown past or even blown out the needle.

I found an electric fuel pump (can't remember part number) at a local parts store for $50 that replaced the manual pump on the block and ran perfectly for 5 years before finally croaking.

These pumps will pump until the needle closes and will not force fuel past a properly set needle. When the float drops and the needle opens they will start pumping again and simply repeat the process as needed.

You can get a fuel pressure regulator for pumps that are producing more PSI and that might help your situation (if using a higher pressure pump).

Anyway...as for why right or left turns would affect yours...maybe the pump is shutting down due to a failing part (if electric) that is affected by gravity...only way to test that is to either swap out the pump or go with a manual if possible.

I would go back to where the PO said he/they rebuilt the carb (it must have been screwed up or he would not have messed with it). Not everyone, and by that I mean most, cannot rebuilt a carb made past the late 60s/early 70s. They are way more complex and have a lot more things that can be done wrong when rebuilding. I agree, modern carbs suck, really and literally!!!

That is why Redline/Weber makes replacement carbs for so many vehicles. They are simple and crude and easy to work on and they work. I am not recommending going the way, just old man's observation.

And, if fuel is just dripping into the intake when it is just sitting there, it is screwed up.

And, carbed engines start differently that injected ones.

You should have a three stage choke. The choke plate should be completely closed when engaged and engine is cold. Carbs do not feed fuel into engine until it is running, so to start you pump the peddle two or three times. That sets the choke and puts fuel into the intake. It starts on high idle, after about 5 seconds, tap the peddle and it goes to intermediate high idle (about 1200 rpm) and the choke plate should be partly open. After another half a minute it should be ready to drive. And the choke plate will continue to open until fully open when engine is warm. All these setting are adjustable.

When the engine as set for more than say 15 minutes, any fuel in the intake is evaporated/gone. Again, a carb does not feed fuel until air sucks it out of the carb and into the intake. If the throttle is completely closed, no air, no suck (the good old venturi effect). So you need to push the peddle about halfway down, smartly. And, it should start. However, a carbed still needs to crank long enough to get air mixed with fuel into the cylinders. Remember, it isn't injected.

From the read, it could be rich or lean. Can't tell. If lean, then push the choke plate closed and crank... if it starts right up, you know. If rich, get a screwdriver and prop the choke plate as open as you can get it, push the pedal to the floor, and crank. The wide open throttle plate should allow enough air to get a mix that will fire off. Slow, wide open will pull little fuel, but a full charge of air.
The choke needs to be set, the pull-off needs to be set, and the high idle and cam need to be set. If the choke is rich or lean, adjustment is needed to have decent cold performance. If the pull-off is not working, the choke will feed too much gas after the engine starts. Engine vacuum will pull on a diaprhagm and rod, and pull to open the choke a bit as soon as the engine starts. The high/cold idle cam needs to be adjusted so that the throttle plate is open and on the high setting when the choke plate is closed. Push on the gas pedal with the choke plate closed, and watch the linkage. It should have a 'stepped' cam that can fall into place and hold the throttle open for a good cold higher than normal idle. As the engine warms, the linkage will move, and eventually the steps will be out of the way, and normal idle speed will be the result.
tom