2.3L ('83-'97) 1993 Mustang 2.3 into a 90 Ranger (2.3)

[Maui-sprint]

PROJECT UPDATE:
I arrived in Eugene, OR from Hawaii last Thursday morning. Picked up new motor and prepped truck for swap in afternoon. Pulled old motor on Friday. Installed new motor on Saturday. Tried to start on Sunday but ran into a "no spark" issue. SHOOTS! Packed up and flew out without getting motor started. Oil pan was an exact match. No clearance issues to speak of. The ratchet strap method worked like a charm. I unbolted the rear tranny mounts and driveshaft u-joint bolts to allow tranny to float. Way easy. Check out the HUGE hole in oil pan of old motor. Did not have time to open up pan and determine cause of the hole but a part did drop out during removal (see pic). Any ideas what this is?

 

[Maui-sprint]

OK. So tried to start new motor and it turned over but no start. Pulled the #3 plug on passenger side (as it was easiest to access) and tested for spark while cranking motor. No dice. Sprayed some quick start into intake while cranking. Nothing. Checked battery voltage and got 11.9 volts. Tested voltage between both coil pack terminals and ground (middle plug of three) with key in ON position and got 11.7 volts there. Tested voltage between engine block and + terminal and got 11.7 Volts there. When I did the engine swap I kept pretty much everything from original truck (intake and fuel rails, all sensors, etc) my idea being that truck was reported to be running great before the mechanical failure. The only things that changed were: Crank position sensor (the old one was spliced in ground wire and new motor one appeared to look better), I removed what I believe was the oil level sensor from old motor because new motor did not have one and I could not swap oil pans (for obvious reasons), I swapped a few of the spark plug wires since some of the old ones got mangled when I removed old engine. One thing I did notice is a difference in the spark plugs from new motor to old motor (see pic below). The plug from the '93 mustang is on the left (an Autolite product) and the plug from the original '90 motor is on the right (forgot the manufacturer). I did NOT swap plugs in the motors because of the obvious difference.
Based on the above info, does anyone have any suggestions on what my issue may be?

 

[Maui-sprint]

Just realized the pics of the old motor coming out and the new motor going in are not labeled correctly. Its the other way around. The new motor going in has fan attached (which I had to remove in order to get it in! haha)

 

[bobbywalter]

Did the pump fire and eec relays cycle?


Probably had a ground not connected or a plug not in all the way or something like that.

 

[Maui-sprint]

I literally ran out of time and had to catch my flight out. I didn't do any other checks aside from pushing in fuel rail Schrader valve pin. When I did, fuel squirted out about an inch or two high. I left it at that. Did not check any other electrical grounds or voltages. Planning to go back in about a month armed with knowledge so I can get this girl up and running!

 

[RonD]

Just FYI, there should be NO SPARK on passenger side spark plugs while cranking engine over
Only exhaust side spark is active on 1989-1994 2.3l while cranking
Once engine is above 400rpm passenger side will start to work

But if it didn't start after adding fuel manually then there was no spark on either side or no compression
1989-1994 2.3l uses an ICM for spark, locating on front of lower intake, these were a known issue in those years

 

[Maui-sprint]

In this truck the exhaust side is on passenger side. Intake side is driver side. But to your point, engine should have bumped over when adding fuel. Didn't do a physical measure of compression pressure but motor has decent compression from "resistance test" when turning crank by hand. Compression shouldn't effect the spark. I would like to know what else may be causing no spark. I assume a faulty crank position sensor may be the culprit? I used the one that came from the '93 mustang. All other sensors were reused from Ranger which was reported to have been running good. But thats taking the seller's word as true... BUT, if there is anything else that may be a common cause for this motor, I'm all ears. I will be sure to check BOTH sides for spark next time I'm out (I did read that current thread which points this out after I left the truck). One thing I forgot to mention is that the ground strap to the motor is bolted to the intake, probably not the best location but I was still pulling 11.7V when I tested the between + side of battery and block.

 

[scotts90ranger]

I think I grounded mine to the intake on the top side, bottom side to the frame should be to one of the starter bolts.

Yes, you are right, passenger side is the one that should be firing when cranking.

I would suspect the crank sensor or ignition module, both are common issues, more so the crank sensor. You usually find them spliced because the wire connector don't fit in the little channel behind the timing belt cover, and most of the sensors used to (or still do, haven't looked in a while) come with just a short pigtail.

I'm not sure what that is that came out of the oil pan, it is in the oil pump area, could be a pressure relief in the oil pump or something, been a while since I've had one apart...

 

[Maui-sprint]

Does anyone have any insight on the two types of spark plugs? (see above). Just wondering as this would indicate a different head design for each.

 

[scotts90ranger]

Oh, I meant to mention that... it doesn't matter which you use. If you look at the plug with more threads the second half are rusty meaning they weren't used, the one with less threads is more normal for a 2.3L but Ford used weird plugs on these for whatever reason... most other plugs are like the one with more threads...

 

[Maui-sprint]

SCOTT,
Are you still interested in the spare parts after the swap? Since I have no spark I may need to source the extra crank position sensor, coil packs, and ICM. There's still a bunch of other good parts including: block, crankshaft, heads, etc... plus exhaust and intake manifolds. Located in Springfield OR. Will need to take the extra motor + everything in box if you decide you want them. I don't plan on using my buddies place to store old ranger parts!

 

[Maui-sprint]

Here are pics of the remaining parts:

 

[scotts90ranger]

Yes, interested, if I can find my spare parts I have a spare of all of those... I don't think they're too buried...