2005 Ranger 4x4 - 4.0 SOHC Wiring - Rodent Damage

[Mr. Sharkey]

A neighbor is offering their seldom-used Ranger to me for an attractive price. Only problem is, because they haven't been using it, a rat took up residence in the engine bay, building a huge nest of leaves, sticks and the air filter element it chewed into pieces and carried out of the airbox a bit at a time. I spent two hours today picking some of the large debris off the top of the engine with hot dog tongs and a big pair of tweezers. Lots more to go.

So far, the only significant damage is to the wiring of a sensor on the right side of the intake manifold (photo). The rat chewed the wiring off the rear of the sensor right at the connector, no way to splice it. The other (front) end (orange tape) is chewed as well, but I haven't yet followed it to see where it goes. Ratsy also chewed off a thin gray tube (green arrow) that appears to need to connect to the servo or whatever it is in the green circle.

So, questions: What is the thing I'm calling a sensor (red circle), what's the cylinder I'm identifying as a "servo" (green circle), and where can I get a fragment of a wiring harness, or replacement connector to splice in to repair this damage? Anybody have these kicking around in a spare parts box under their workbench, or are they available as OEM or aftermarket replacements?

Sure to be more things I need to figure out, hoping for some expert advice! (or a referral to a good exterminator)

 

[rubydist]

That looks to be the connector to the knock sensor. Its not expensive, but to replace it you have to remove the intake manifold. I am sure you can find a connector somewhere on the interweb to splice into the harness. I had a similar problem when I bought my 09, but fortunately the rodent only chewed on the sensor side of the wiring so replacing the sensor did the trick for me.

 

[Mr. Sharkey]

More research after finding out it is the knock sensor connector, the knock sensor proper is bolted to the top of the engine. There was a post over at one of the Explorer forums that claimed it's possible to R&R one without removing the upper manifold, but I doubt that I have that much patience.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1668023-2002-ranger-4-0-sohc-knock-sensor-wire-removal.html

I think my offering price just went down. Thanks for the reply, keep em' coming!

 

[DILLARD000]

The green circled "servo" is the VacuumToClose HeaterControlValve in the 5/8"ID HeaterHose loop.
Should be a small vacuum line hanging somewhere that connects to that barb.
Those JunkPlastic Valves are notorious for cracking+leaking;
I replaced it with a traditional metal HeaterControlValve several years back.

 

[Mr. Sharkey]

Alright, thanks. I kind of thought that it would be something related to climate control systems.

Next question: Assuming that I don't find any additional severed wiring, and that I take care to insulate and isolate the chopped-off knock sensor conductors in the engine harness, is it possible to start/run the engine and perhaps drive the truck a short distance? Some of the other posts (elsewhere) that I read indicated that the knock sensor wiring is prone to this type of damage, and aside from continuously-retarded timing because the ECM can't read the sensor, no internal damage occurs from use of the truck?

I ask because the owner of the truck is elderly, and will only tolerate short periods of work in their driveway before they "get cold" and have to go inside. They have a mean dog that I don't want to turn my back on. What I'd like to do is get the truck running and drive it a mile down the road back to my place and have it next to my shop where the tools are, and I can work until I get cold...

 

[RonD]

Yes, you can start it and drive it without knock sensor, won't hurt a thing
If the 2 wires to the Knock sensor are damaged at connector end then you can strip them back and add your own 2 wire connector vs swapping out the sensor, the sensor part rarely failed, it was the wires that broke at the connector

Check the oil first, and coolant
I would unplug the 4 wire connector on the coil pack and crank the engine over a few times to get oil circulated thru the engine before startup
(or use "Clear Flooded Engine" mode)

How old is the gas in the tank?
5 to 6 months is "old gas", add some fresh gas before starting, and some Octane Boost(HEET) to absorb some of the water in the gas

2005 Rangers did NOT have PATS(passive anti-theft system), Ford skipped this one year because of licensing dispute with PATS maker

Plan on changing the 2 timing chain tensioners if you get this Ranger, ASAP, not hard to do
They should be changed every 100k miles or when you get a used Ranger with 4.0l SOHC engine

Heads up, if you hear a Rattle on start up, and/or at mid RPMs, then timing chain guides are already broken, too late for new tensioners
Engine will have to be pulled out to repair rear guides

 

[Mr. Sharkey]

Apparently, it last ran at the beginning of the year when a new battery was fitted. Thinking in addition to fuel additive, I'll pick up a couple of gallons of clear (non-ethanol) premium to add to the tank. Truck basically hasn't been used since covid-19 hit.

Next session over there, I'm going to at least get the key and turn on the ignition. This will let me read the mileage. Owner says they "might" be able to find some receipts from the last visit to the stealership for service which would have the mileage. I'm thinking by looking at the pedal covers, condition of the seats, and lack of wear in the paint of the driver's door frame, I'm looking at a truck with less than 50k, maybe way less than that.

I did consider soldering in a different connector, but this would depend on the condition of the wiring from the connector, which is all chewed up, to the knock sensor itself. Then there's the issue of which wire goes where. Need to get things detached and bring them closer so I can see what I have to work with. Didn't remember to take my reading glasses yesterday, it was mostly a get-rid-of-the-nest work session.

Anybody want to make a guess what a low-mileage, no collision damage, slightly scratched paint 2005 4x4 reasonable offer might be? The owner is not wanting to deal with the truck and is threatening to donate it to charity! I told them that getting Sharkey back on the road would be a very worthwhile donation plan. We'll see.

 

[RonD]

Look at local Craigslist Ford Ranger 4x4 asking prices

Oregon is 4x4 truck country so probably worth a bit more
Mechanically lower miles are bad, to me anyway, but lower miles usually means much nicer interiors

Lower miles means engine was started DRY a lot of the time
And gaskets and seals also dried out from sitting so will start to leak if its used as a daily driver, that's just from my experience in buying low mile vehicles

 

[Mr. Sharkey]

Eh, in all these years, I've only owned one vehicle that did't leak oil, an that's because it doesn't have an engine.

This truck has enough miles to have the tires replaced at least once, which doesn't tell me a lot. I've never gotten more the 20k miles on any set of tires on any vehicle. Probably the result of buying sticky performance tires. Once the battery is done charging, key in the ignition, mystery will be solved (at least that mystery). The battery being dead is actually a good thing, because they tried to start is a couple of weeks ago, but it wouldn't even turn over. When I opened the air box, it was full of dirt, sticks, leaves, turds, a half gallon of shredded air filter media and pink foam filter surround. All of that would have gotten sucked into the intake if it had cranked. You'd think car manufacturers would screen the charge air intake against critter entrance?

I did do some poking around on Bring A Trailer. It seems that the '98-'11 Rangers haven't sold there for less than $9k, and the cheapest 4x4 was $10k. These may be exceptionally clean examples though, BaT is kind of a high end, high roller, high bid place.

 

[rubydist]

In this part of the world (also 4x4 country) these are typically going for $5k - 10k with reasonable miles. I agree with Ron - my worst used car experiences were with older, low mileage vehicles and my best used car experiences have been with normal to somewhat higher than normal miles. A vehicle that has been sitting for 3+ years is a significantly less valuable vehicle to me.

 

[Mr. Sharkey]

More fun n' games with tongs and tweezers. The entire area under the intake manifold is packed solid with sopping wet leaves and sticks. There's no way the rat got under there, and this debris has been there for a while, so I'm figuring that mice had populated the basement until the rat upstairs evicted them.

Here's what the air filter looked like when I first opened the air box:

After removing as much garbage from the box as I could with the tools on hand on Friday, I cautiously put the filter remnants back before closing it up, mostly so the expanded metal screen would keep intruders away from the MAF just downstream. Good thing too, because over the weekend, Ratso made another visit and chewed some more off the filter, leaving a mess.

Today, I screened the box intake with some hardware cloth and a hose clamp to prevent the new filter I had just bought from becoming rodent chow:

I thought that I'd remove the air box and high pressure wash it, but after reading some posts over at SportTrak, including some from Dillard000, which described what a PITA it is to get the box out, I decided that I'd come back with a bucket of water, a parts cleaning brush and a wet-or-dry shop vac and clean up the sides and bottom that way.

Found more chewed-on stuff, heater hose, another large vacuum line (at least I think that's what it is, I'll grab a pic), the mesh net covering the radiator hose, etc. Used a leaf blower in an attempt to clear the dry filter paper out of the engine compartment. It's going to take some pressure washing to douche out the galley between the cylinder heads.

Hopefully, the two bags of moth balls under the hood will discourage nocturnal visitors, leaving the hood propped open about 4" as added disincentive

The news today is that there is a service sticker inside the windshield from the local stealership showing that the truck was serviced late last year, and giving the odometer reading at that time as 39,000 miles, hasn't been driven since then!

Getting close to making an offer, Owner says that are willing to sell cheap. ~Very~ cheap!

 

[DILLARD000]

To remove the lower filter box, first locate the molded mounting holes in the bottom, spay those with penetrating oil and let that soak a few minutes. With a big flat screw driver or small flat crow bar, slowly pry the plastic mounting pins up and out of the fender underneath.

 

[Mr. Sharkey]

Air box is clean enough after some shop vaccing and a few sessions with a small screwdriver to poke crud out of the corners of that egg-crate pattern on the bottom. It'll do for now, bigger fish to fry to get this thing home.

I had been wondering why the mouse nest debris under the intake manifold was sopping wet. Now I know:

1. The tiny gray vacuum line that connects to the heater core servo valve (#3). The inset shows the servo on a fleabay truck for auction. Apparently there was a right-angle elbow terminating the line before it got eaten.

2. Coolant hose leading to heater core valve. Chewed some, needs replacement before I drive anywhere seriously. It looks like a formed "S" hose, not going to be able to curve straight heater hose in that shape without kinking, I think. OEM only or aftermarket available? What do I search for? Is there a diagram somewhere naming these parts? Part numbers (maybe right on the hose??)?

3. Heater core vacuum servo. The nipple where the vacuum line connected is chewed off, so this has to be replaced (eventually). What was the end like before it was digested? Hose barb? Some kind of proprietary Ford push-on fitting? Be a little puzzle to try and connect to #1 tiny vacuum line. Could just jamb a wedge of wood in the actuator for now. Is the valve normally open or normally closed? i.e. does vacuum (assuming from the heater controls) make it close for A/C operation, and otherwise it passes coolant, or is it the opposite?

4. Upper radiator hose. This looks to be superficial "net sock covering" damage only. Will replace upper hose in an abundance of caution once other more pressing repairs are completed.

5. Some sort of coolant hose. Runs from intake manifold near throttle body in the front of the engine to join with another hose at the rear of the left-hand valve cover ??? I've never seen water-cooled valve covers before . As this looks like pretty ordinary rubber hose, I'm going to try and just cut out the bad part and insert a barb-to-barb coupler of the correct size for now. This is where all the wetness in the crud under the intake manifold is coming from.

(all of this is in addition to the knock sensor wiring, which is laying pitifully in the center of the photo. Thinking I'll just solder and heat shrink the sensor directly to the harness and deal with putting a connector on later)

I'm really dedicated to cleaning out the crap under the intake manifold as much as possible. It's a fire hazard at a minimum. Since I haven't seen (and can't see) under the manifold, I have no idea what this is going to take. I'd have to clean it out at least some to remove the manifold, as there is so much stuff that it would be almost impossible to pull the manifold without dropping loads of grunge down the cylinder head intake ports.

I did try compressed air some. In some areas, I could hear the air blowing out the back of the valley, towards the firewall. In others, it was like blowing into a box, and stuff was flying back at me in gobs. I'll continue to try air when I get the truck home and have my big compressor. The little portable I was using ran out of pressure after just a few seconds and took forever to build pressure back up.

Also wondering about hosing it out, pressure washing, even. Is there anything other than the distributor and the alternator that I need to wrap up and protect from direct spray? Should I be able to wash all the garbage out and off the top rear of the engine and away over the bell housing?

A friend with a rollback offered to just haul it home for me, but I think this would be too much of a circus for the seller's husband, who has Alzheimer's. He is nice enough, but is excitable, and she doesn't want to get him wound up and have to calm him down afterwards.

Maybe tomorrow for first start. I researched Clear Flooded Engine, so I'l do that before letting it fire up. Pulled the dipstick. Oil is light honey-colored. Apparently it was changed in August of last year and truck hasn't been driven since.

Preparing on this end for all the flaming I'll get when I report the selling price

 

[DILLARD000]

...Air box is clean enough after some shop vaccing
...debris under the intake manifold was sopping wet
View attachment 102226

...gray vacuum line that connects to the heater core servo valve...there was a right-angle elbow terminating the line before it got eaten
...Coolant hose leading to heater core valve...Chewed...replacement before I drive anywhere
...looks like a formed "S"...not going to be able to curve straight heater hose in that shape without kinking
...OEM only or aftermarket available? ...diagram somewhere naming these parts?
...Heater core vacuum servo...nipple where the vacuum line connected is chewed...Hose barb?
...Is the valve normally open or normally closed?
...Upper radiator hose..."net sock covering" damage only. Will replace...
...coolant hose. Runs from intake manifold near throttle body in the front of the engine to join with another hose at the rear of the left-hand valve cover? ...never seen water-cooled valve covers
...where all the wetness in the crud under the intake manifold is coming from.
...all of this is in addition to the knock sensor wiring...just solder and heat shrink the sensor directly to the harness and deal with putting a connector on later
...dedicated to cleaning out the crap under the intake...fire hazard...no idea what this is going to take
...did try compressed air...could hear the air blowing out the back of the valley, towards the firewall
...wondering about hosing it out, pressure washing, even
...anything other than the distributor and the alternator that I need to wrap up and protect from direct spray? Should I be able to wash all the garbage out and off the top rear of the engine and away over the bell housing?
...Clear Flooded Engine, so I'l do that before letting it fire up

For the VacuumToClose HeaterControlValve, there are 2 choices for replacement.
* new JunkPlastic OEM type like you have; a NotoriousFailureItem\NFI commonly cracks+leaks,
FordMotorCraft# YG368
* traditional AllMetal VacuumToClose HeaterControlValve,
FourSeasons# 74603
Swapped this in years ago when renewing HeaterHoses & found original JunkPlastic Valve leaking.
Be sure to get the VacToClose version, not VacToOpen.
Click for more info on this item.

For the smaller 5/16"ID CoolantHose loop that runs to the rear end of the LeftValveCover,
its the infamous PCVValve Warming Loop that never worked & is only a source of leaks, as you've found.
This is a parallel loop that has two 5/8~5/16~5/8"ID Tees (custom OEM parts) in the HeaterCoreLoop. Recommend deleting two Tees & 5/16"Hoses & 5/16" OxBow around the PCVValve at the rear end
of LeftValveCover. Carefull removing that 1/4Turn PCVValve; ValveCover hole plastic tabs can break too easily; might as well install a new or at least cleaned PCVValve. Then use stock 5/8"ID HeaterHose & new Metal HeaterControlValve for HeaterCore loop. Now running no issue without this useless 5/16" Loop, thru several -20FWinters & +90FSummers.

Suspect the JunkPlastic ThermoStatHousing, another NFI, is also leaking into the engine valley; strongly recommend an Aluminum replacement. Remove the vanity cover over the ThrottleBody, use a FlashLight to inspect underneath around the TStatHousing & into the engine valley.
Click for more info on this item.

Consider renewing the two OilPressurized TimingTensioners, while you've got the ThermoStatHousing out; these should be renewed every 100kMiles\12Yrs.
Click for more info on this item.

Yep, compressed air to blow out trash in engine valley, back out & down over TransBellHousing.
Once you have engine running & hot, can use a water hose & something like windex or CarbCleaner to get it cleaner; likely have a smelly swamp in there from leaking coolant plus rodents.

For the 1.5"ID RadiatorHoses, there are basicly 2 choices for replacement:
* Rubber OEM type preformed Hoses
* StainlessFlex custom Hoses, easily routed+formed+cut; use short sections of old RadiatorHose as HeatShields where needed & end couplings with DoubledUp WormClamps. Don't use the cheap chrome couplings that usually come with StainlessFlex kits, they're junk.
Consider replacing 2Core JunkPlasticTanked Radiator with an AllAluminum 3or4Core version.
Click for more info on this item.

 

[Mr. Sharkey]

That's a gold mine of useful information. Thank you!

I know about heated seats, heated steering wheels, and even heated mirrors, but heated PCV valves? What is automotive technology coming to?

No work on the truck today. The old gentleman woke up on the wrong side of the bed and attacked his wife (my seller) with a pair of scissors. She disarmed him before anyone was hurt, wrapped him in a warm coat, and shoved him out the locked front door before calling the Sheriff's Department. I doubt that they did anything, if they even showed up at all. The property taxes we pay here don't seem to merit a full-time deputy, and most complaints are met with a suggestion to fill out a form on their website. I don't even bother locking my house when I'm away anymore because I don't want to have to repair break-in damage in addition to losing anything that might get stolen.

I'll call her tomorrow and see what the situation is. If he got hauled off to the psych ward, maybe I can get better access to the truck and get it out of there.

Thank you everyone for the suggestions and attention. More as it comes in.