cam sync sensor ..???????

[RT PERFORMANCE]

Ok im hoping one of you guys can clear some confusion up i have on these. I have a 1990 2.3 5 spd ranger. and the exact same thing in a 1989. I have been chasing a no spark problem off and on for a few days in my 1990. the 89 was just bought for a clean shell. im building a drag truck out of that one. It has the same drive train as my 1990 so it was worth the 400 bucks I paid for it. Prior to getting the 89 i was sitting in a parking lot in my 1990 waiting for my buddy and the belt jumped a tooth. I lost 2 cylinders and that motor was discarded. I had a buddy just weeks before run his 91 mustang into the back of a pick up and that was that. so being the nice guy I am i bought him breakfast and informed him i need the motor from the mustang. Being as how he owed me money i was doing him a favor. He said the motor is worth more than the 50 bucks i owe you. I said maybe to you but not to me. Anyway, so back to no spark on my 1990 ranger. These are the questions i have. i have found no mention of alining the aux sprocket up when doing a timing belt on a 1990.. I assume its because as with the motor I pulled out of the 1990, the motor in the 1989 and the 1991 mustang motor that i put in the 1990 none of them have a connector of any type on top of the cam syc. sensor. when did they start using one. and how then do you syc one that has no connector after removing it and replacing it. I hope i was clear on this cuz I get different feed back from other sources. Rock auto shows the 90 to have one but not the 89. and shows one for the mustang but it is more like a distributor. Any clarity would be greatly appreciated. Thanx RT

 

[RonD]

The Distributor was the "cam" sensor in most engines with fuel injection

When engines went distributorless they switched to a Crank sensor.

Then added a Cam sensor on some models over time for better injector and spark timing, cam turns at 1/2 the speed of crank, so better resolution of position, when "engine" is at 1,000rpm, cam is only turning at 500rpm

On the 2.3l Lima they put a cam sensor behind the AUX/oil pump gear since its the same size as Cam gear, so if using a cam sensor you would need to time the AUX gear with the Cam gear, they used a triangle mark on the Cam gear and a diamond mark on AUX gear

Drawing here: https://www.therangerstation.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=6401&d=1323208949

The Cam and AUX gears are interchangeable, same size so each will have BOTH Marks, a triangle and a diamond, so you need to match those, and a rubbed off diamond looks ALOT like a triangle, lol.

If you don't have a cam sensor which was common on the earlier distributorless 2.3l engines then no AUX timing is needed

If the PCM(computer) is wired for a cam sensor then you do need to have one, engine will still run without it but not having it will set a code.
And you do need an AUX gear with the timing mark to use with Cam sensor

On a few years they also used a Cam Synchronizer in the old distributor hole, no AUX gear timing is needed but you did need to time the synchro and its sensor JUST LIKE a distributor would be timed.

Not sure exactly what you were asking, so I covered alot of ground

The Crank sensor is the Big Kahuna of sensors, if its not working then No Start

 

[tomw]

Quote:"Prior to getting the 89 i was sitting in a parking lot in my 1990 waiting for my buddy and the belt jumped a tooth. I lost 2 cylinders and that motor was discarded."

Well, that was a waste as the lima is non-interference. You could have jumped 43 teeth and it would not do anything to the valves, as far as poking the pistons into the valve(or vice versa). Just set the timing, install a new belt, and it should have worked fine.
tom

 

[RT PERFORMANCE]

Ok thanx guys for the input. Tom i"ll address you first cuz it will be quicker. I did put a new belt on. And it still had 2 dead cyls. They were 3 and 4 btw. So I took the time to pull the valve cover rolled #3 up so it was on compression filled the cyl. with air, ( like in a leak down test ) and it was dumping air right back up thru the intake . Same with cyl 4. I had 2 bent intakes. What is the piston to valve clearance on them ?
Ok Ron that was exactly the info I was seeking. So i dont have any marks for the aux gear diamond to line up to. I was told they would be in the inside of the plastic cover. like for the cam gear. But here is my problem. I have that 91 Mustang motor in there. And i mixed and matched pieces from the 90 ranger, and the 91 mustang. so i have no clue what cover i used. But the 91 mustang fired right up when i put it in. So safe to say the ecu and the motor were compatible as far as the cam syc goes. which is what I think I have. Oh and just to make sure i understand correctly there are 3 possible set ups. cam sensor, cam syc, and nothing at all. correct? I have no pig tail of any sort going to the half distributor shaft in the block. So The 89 harness is the exact same as far as the no pig tail for a sensor at the distributor so will the cam sensor work ? with no pig tail there is it ok to assume then it has either not one at all or a cam syncro ? But I also will need to put the correct ecu back in it and i used the original one and but have now switch that and not sure i had 3 of them as well as everything else. 3 crank sensors maybe 4 idk. 3 sets of coils, 3 ign modules, etc. Ive been swapping pieces back and forth now and have not kept track of what was what. Let me ask this Ron will there be a electrical pig tail plug for a cam syncro a well as the cam sensor type ?

 

[RonD]

If the harness doesn't have Cam sensor plug then you need to match the ECU for that harness, you also need to match MAP or MAF sensor use, as late 1980's was when that was changing

The ECU(PCM) will have the model year on its label

Ford Part number starts with model year that part was first used, in the case of the computers and the software changes every year that means the year in the part number changed every year

Example of Ford ECU part number: F47F-12A650-AA

Ford part numbers are laid out this way: year/model/division-part number-revision
1980-1998 are E = 198 F = 199
So E8 = 1988, F4 = 1994, F0 = 1990

7 as 3rd number = Ranger
Z = Mustang

4th number is usually F for electrical/electronics

Next set is the generic part number for the part, 12A650 is the ECU part number still used today for Ford engine computers, not specific to any model, just means its an engine computer

Next set is the revision, A or AA would be first revision model, B or AB would be second revision.
But in the case of engine computers these number can denote software loaded along with revision

So say the part number on the label was E9ZF-12A650-AA
That is for a 1989 Mustang, E9Z
And its an engine computer, 12A650
Revision AA so first revision in 1989

It does NOT denote engine size, could be for any 1989 Mustang engine option

There will be a larger number stamped on the label, examples here: http://www.fuelinjectedford.com/page17.html

That number does denote engine size, MAP or MAF software and depending on the year transmission type, and emissions like EGR

Ford never released cross references for these numbers or for changes the revision numbers included, so its a best guess when matching PCM with an engine


And just for future reference, the above applies to ECUs that changed yearly
As far as other parts.........you can find an E37C part in a 1992 Ranger
So a 1983 part number in a 1992 vehicle, thats because the part, like a ball joint, has never changed since 1983, it may have a higher revisions number, but the basic part still works as designed in 1983
Ford didn't change the year unless there was a major change in design, but part number would stay the same, the center number, because it does the same "job", it's a ball joint, so in 1993 it may have F37C if it was changed, and it may stay the same until 1997, or 2011

 

[RT PERFORMANCE]

Thanx Ron for all the info and input. I did get it squared away the other day. But I still have a miss and havent got back to it. I pulled the codes and it was like watching and electric type writer. Ill have to see where I am with here in the next day or so. Once I had the correct stuff matched up from the way it was from the get go, it didnt make a difference. I think where my problem was all along and i hate to admit it but the icm wasnt grounded well enough. I have 2 of the screw holes stripped from the manifold just being so old imagine. When I changed the first one all the oxidized aluminum dust came out with the screw. So this time I ran a dedicated wire for ground. I still may have a set of wires on the left side that need to be changed. But thanx again. Im a die hard Ford guy. From Dearborn originally, half my family works for them But they do some of the dumbest shit sometimes. I guess if ya think about it they all do. The big 3 anyway. There for awhile I wouldnt even work on a GM made from 79 thru 84 I hated them so much back then. They have about come full circle too. Obama should have let them slide right off into the Detroit river. The entire head quarters. See ya Garbage Makers !!