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Best way to do a cylinder power balance test?


bbb0777

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I'm not looking for a dead cylinder, but rather if one of them is under-performing on my 2.3L 1995 Ranger.

First thought: Hook up vacuum gauge and ODB2 scanner, start car, and disconnect/reconnect electrical connector for each fuel injector - record vacuum & RPM changes.

Second thought: 3/4 of those connectors look difficult to reach...so instead...spark plug wires...but two per cylinder and...

What do you think would be the best way of going about this on this engine? Thanks,
 
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tomw

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You may be able to do a balance test using the EEC-IV system. Some had that feature.
Otherwise, get the engine warmed up, remove all 4 exhaust side pluge, block the throttle plate wide open, and use a compression gauge cranking ~4-6 cycles per cylinder until you note a peak. Record the peak values and repeat for the other 3.
The values should be within 15% I believe to be acceptable. 140-140-150-140 would be reasonable (from memory- I did not memorize they are ballpark.
If one is significantly lower, squirt a Tbsp of oil into the spark plug hole and re-test. If you get a large increase in pressure, you may have leaky rings that are temporarily sealed better by the oil. If no improvement, valve problems are more likely. If two adjacent cylinders have poor compression, suspect a head gasket leak between the cylinders.
tom
 

bbb0777

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How would I attempt to use the eec-iv system? I have a Bluetooth obd2 adapter and Torque as a smartphone app...could borrow a tester unit from Auto zone if it'd make a difference.

I actually did a compression test already, but thanks. Good memory on the specs I think. My lowest was 149 and highest 154, so compression is fine.
 
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tomw

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Location
toenails of foothills NW of Atlanta
Vehicle Year
1985
Make / Model
ford
Engine Type
2.3 (4 Cylinder)
Engine Size
lima bean
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
2WD
My credo
vertical and above ground
OBD-II was installed across the board by 1996. Older FoMoCo system was the EEC-IV, with the computer behind the passenger side kickplate. The connector/test adapter was out under the hood, weirdly shaped in profile like a house with the roof partially trimmed flat. hidden under the plastic cover where the EGR solenoids & starter relay are located.
If you had EEC-IV, and (I think) SEFI, such as on a 302, you could do a balance test by poking the gas pedal & stomping the brake pedal while holding your mouth twisted to the correct side... Again, I didn't memorize, the 'tester' equipped with 9-volt battery for LED &/or buzzer had instructions(it is in the basement).
How you get OBD-II on a 95 is a wonder. But I guess it's nice you do...

tom
 

bbb0777

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tomw said:
OBD-II was installed across the board by 1996. Older FoMoCo system was the EEC-IV, with the computer behind the passenger side kickplate. The connector/test adapter was out under the hood, weirdly shaped in profile like a house with the roof partially trimmed flat. hidden under the plastic cover where the EGR solenoids & starter relay are located.
If you had EEC-IV, and (I think) SEFI, such as on a 302, you could do a balance test by poking the gas pedal & stomping the brake pedal while holding your mouth twisted to the correct side... Again, I didn't memorize, the 'tester' equipped with 9-volt battery for LED &/or buzzer had instructions(it is in the basement).
How you get OBD-II on a 95 is a wonder. But I guess it's nice you do...

tom
Click to expand...
I imagine they tooled some of the plants over in advance, so some 1995s got OBD2. I've read there are even a very few 1994 vehicles out there with OBD2.

It's overall great having OBD2, especially with the advent of <$30 OBD2 adapters that can communicate with an Android phone. That said, it'd be nice if some of the tests I read about in OBD1 were available...
 
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