1990 Ranger 2.3, hard to start, runs bad

[buell-eyed-devil]

My son has a 90 Ranger with the 2.3 engine. Fuel pump went out so he replaced it and filter. Good for a while then started missing and hard to start. Had low compression in 1 cylinder so we replaced head gasket, spark plugs and wires and battery. Still no luck. Does it have a MAF sensor and could this be the problem?

 

[BRUTUS_T_HOG]

I'm guessing it still has low compression and/or the timing marks were not lined up correctly on all 3 sprockets

 

[buell-eyed-devil]

what is 3rd sprocket?

 

[buell-eyed-devil]

should be for oil pump...cant see what difference that would make

 

[BRUTUS_T_HOG]

should be for oil pump...cant see what difference that would make

Unless it has a cam sensor.... a 1990 likely does not. You still need to verify compression and cam timing

 

[buell-eyed-devil]

turned out to be bad coil pack

 

[Andy D]

Thank you for the follow up.

 

[FritzTKatt]

Oil pump sprocket doesn't have a timing requirement. It doesn't even have a mark.

Was it the primary or aux coil? If the aux went bad, swap the primary for new aux. When the old one fails it'll still run. Or just keep that in mind for later emergency use.