2.3L ('83-'97) 85 Ranger Under powered

[cj8281]

A few years ago I bought this 85 Ranger just after it broke a timing belt (2.3l). The other owner put a new timing belt on it but could not get it to start. I bought it and it sat in my back yard til about 2.5 months ago. I cleaned the fuel tank, fuel lines and added a sock to the pump. I just cleaned the fuel injectors this last Saturday. I could not find a fuel filter installed anywhere. The fuel pressure gauge shows 34psi at idle and jumps to 40 when accelerated. 40psi when the vacuum line is unplugged. The truck will only go 65mph in 5th gear. The truck had 30 9.5 15s on it when I bought it, I just put 235/75/15 on it. According to Tacomaworld (https://www.tacomaworld.com/tirecalc?tires=195-75r15-235-75r15) the 235s are 9% larger than the stock 195/75/15. According to the door sticker, the truck has 3.73 gears. Are the tires just too big or is there something else I should look into?

Other info: compression 145-150 all cylinders, oil pressure 45psi at idle, 60psi when revved up.
Parts replaced: master cylinder, brake booster, brake hoses, wheel cylinders, calipers, water pump, thermostat and housing, timing belt and adjuster, exhaust manifold, air filter and all the lug nuts.
Working on replacing the ignition switch and the key switch.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Is the timing gears timed right?

Possible plugged cat?

Also with the bigger then stock tires your speedo is going to be off...as in...youre going faster then the speedo says.

Im not sure if a 2.3 truck would run over 70-75mph anyways.

 

[cj8281]

I believe the timing belt is correct, I can check that tomorrow when it is light out.
I will look into the plugged cat also.
Yes, the speedometer is off about 5 miles an hour at 50 miles an hour.
haha, I have had little mazdas with 1.6s that would do "faster than the speed limit" so I think it should be able to at least do the speed limit.
Thank you for the reply

 

[ekrampitzjr]

I'd suspect the timing belt is off by one or more teeth. In other words, the crank and cam pulleys were not aligned properly when installing the new belt, or someone bumped the starter (or something else unwise) during that work. At this point I'd start over with a new belt and a copy of the exact installation procedure from a manual or online.

 

[cj8281]

When I installed the belt, I double checked the marks after I tightened down the tensioner, I rotated the crank using a socket wrench. I followed the procedure from the factory service manual.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

When I installed the belt, I double checked the marks after I tightened down the tensioner, I rotated the crank using a socket wrench. I followed the procedure from the factory service manual.

If youre sure the timing is correct id try unhooking the exhaust before the cat and run it.

You can also check it with a vacuum gauge.

 

[racsan]

235’s are a bit much for a 2.3 with 3.73’s Use a gps app or a garmin to verify your speed. The 2.3 doesnt have a lot if torque behind it. Mine with 4.10’s will barely hit 80 with 235’s and takes a good mile or two to get there. With 225’s it will do 75 tops, gets to top end sooner but just runs out of power. 100hp in a 3000# ranger only goes so far. The high-speed handling and braking isnt great, my 93 4.0 would do a bit over 90 but was a scary handfull, 75 is really plenty. You could possibly have a converter issue, all the other numbers look good. The fuel filter should be in the drivers side frame rail, its behind a bracket that’s bolted to the bottom of the frame with 2 13mm. Then the bracket has a hose clamp holding the filter to it.

 

[ekrampitzjr]

When I installed the belt, I double checked the marks after I tightened down the tensioner, I rotated the crank using a socket wrench. I followed the procedure from the factory service manual.

Excellent. Your OP said the previous owner had installed the belt, and I didn't know you had worked on it yourself.

 

[cj8281]

So we checked the speed with a phone app and it showed that we were only off by about 2 miles an hour at 65. 195/75/15 are no longer
available. A couple options are to go with something like a 215/70/15 (Yokohama Geolander the only option on Tire Rack.com), go to a 14 inch wheel and go with a 27 8.50 14 (a couple of choices still) or change gears to 4.10/4.11 and go with a standard 235/75/15 (many choices still available).
Vacuum gauge is kind of low, 16-17, indicating that it might need more advance, checked for vacuum leaks and didn't find any.
After driving it for a bit, my buddy said that it just feels like it is running out of power, factory rated at only 79 hp.
The previous owner had installed a timing belt and could not get it to run. I bought a new timing belt and tensioner and just replaced both as the truck had been sitting for about 4 years at this point.
Fuel filter, I have been through the whole fuel system, there isn't a filter. The line leaves the tank and hits a fuel reservoir (has 4 lines to it) then it goes to the high pressure fuel pump mounted in the frame just under the driver's door, then it goes up to the fuel rail, the return line goes back to the reservoir and then back to the tank. When I had the tank out, I did install a sock on the end of the pump as there wasn't one on it when I removed it.

 

[cj8281]

Double checked the cam timing, still spot on. I even checked it twice to make sure.
Got it warmed up and then set my timing light to 16 degrees, loosened the distributor and set it to zero after removing the little wire jumper. Reset the timing light to zero and checked the timing, 16 degrees advanced. Took it for a drive, can now hit 71 mph in 5th gear on the flat (WOOOHOOO). Went to Sardine canyon and climbed that in 4th but it still dropped it down to 50 mph before I got to the top.
Ordered a new set of tires from TireRack.com, 205/75r15 General Grabbers, paid to have them studded. Should be here next week. I know these aren't LTs but they should work just fine. If these seem a bit small I think next spring I will order a set in LT215/75r15s.
On another note, I changed out the heater core, super simple and easy. Would have been a 15 minute job except the 4 seasons heater core is 3/8" longer than the original. Had to cut the supports down and then aluminum taped up the holes that that created. I do like the design of the bottom tray as it has a drain to the outside if/when the heater core leaks.
Now to look into the other stuff that's broken, like reverse lights and the horn and why the radio can't retain its station memory and why the 4x4 light doesn't come on.

 

[cj8281]

So new tires on, still the same problem, 0-45 mph, moves great. Once you cross 55 mph it doesn't have anymore power.
Vacuum test: it now has 19 inches of vacuum at idle, engine warm. Rev the engine and it drops to about 5" and then goes to 17". Shut the engine off, removed the EGR tube and restarted the engine. Idle at 19", revved it drops to 5" again and then goes to 17-18". Reinstalled the EGR tube and retested and got the same results as the first test. Plugged cat??
This last tank up showed 13.5mpg. About 50/50 city/highway. I don't hot rod it, new studded tires. Do I need to replace the O2 sensor? Do I need to replace the injectors?

 

[kishy]

My truck is a bad comparison because despite being an 85 with a 2.3 that has EFI, it's a much newer engine, and my fuel system isn't set up with the two-pump system that I believe your truck probably has.

That being said, my truck will absolutely bury the speedometer and has been taken up to about 95mph, with more to give still. I don't know how much less power your engine is supposed to have, but I feel like you've still got some power to be found somewhere. I'm on something like P205/70R15, not particularly big tires.

My guess is that you're running out of fuel flow (sure, you have pressure, but we don't know that you still have pressure when the engine is thirsty and drinking it as quickly as it can); either a clogged filter (there must be one somewhere - and if nothing else, there's a pickup filter inside the tank) or a weak pump (and keep in mind I'm pretty sure you have two of those). Clogged cat is also a real possibility but I don't think I'd assume that yet unless the truck is known to burn oil. There is a way to test the cat for restriction with a backpressure gauge, which is like a compression tester with a lower psi scale that you thread into the O2 sensor hole.

You could take a peak at your wiring to the fuel pump relay and see if it looks a little burnt/melted. If so, your pump is pulling too many amps (typical as they age and get weak) and should probably be replaced.

Injectors are unlikely to all be clogged equally in a way that just limits performance. I wouldn't go there at this point.
O2 is always a good idea to change when a vehicle is at this age but I don't think it's going to be the silver bullet for this. More likely to give you an extra half an MPG or so, than it is to give you any performance.