jblueovalfan23
New Member
- Joined
- May 28, 2017
- Messages
- 6
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 0
- Vehicle Year
- 1996
- Make / Model
- ford
- Transmission
- Automatic
this poor ranger... i've always wanted a little pup truck to put around in. i haven't a real need for my fullsize truck, i decided to downsize. i bought truck not running from a relative. i've gotta admit i lost a bit of respect for this man after this. said it only needed a flywheel and starter. he bought after it sat for a few years. had a blown head gasket. at this point, it would easier to list what he done and i've done i think. he's slipping i think. he put new plugs, wires, a coil pack, fuel pump, head gasket, radiator, starter, flywheel and he "fixed" the filler neck. can't be much wrong after that but he wrecked the flywheel using the new starter he destroyed the bendix on. i bought it from him with the knowledge i only needed to fix the starter/flywheel problem and the filler neck needed more work. i got it and put the other coil pack on it and got it running long enough to get it home. i ended up putting a new timing belt in, it wasn't timed right, off a tooth, i addressed the filler neck problem, i also put and iac valve and fuel filter (helped more than anything, think it was original) on it and of course that flywheel/starter (used his warranty for those). i also found he must have used the wrong plug wire diagram because that was causing it to kick back on the starter (exhaust plugs firing against it when the valves were closed). it turns over fine now. i finally worked up the nerve to give it a drive after trying it randomly for a couple days. it ran great for a bit. put some gas in it and it was acting funny when i fired it up. i also noticed the transmission light wasn't working hitting the o/d button several times didn't do a thing. i thought i smelled burnt electronics just before i got gas. that smell quickly came and left so i assumed it just in the area we dove past. the transmission done nothing funny either. the engine though, it started running fine and then flat on it's face. that's my big issue. i took it straight home and in a few minutes of driving, it started backfiring through the exhaust and i had to hold it to the floor to keep it running. lost all power, it acted much like my old truck did when the ignition module went bad. i'm gonna buy a code reader on friday to see if it has any codes but i'm leaning towards the computer going bad. i was just hoping for some input from someone more experienced than myself with more advanced engine control. it's dumping fuel in it like crazy to, it stinks of gas when running. almost forgot, it's a 96 2.3 auto. sorry about the wall of text, just being thorough. thanks.