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Help me help an old lady ?


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Previously I posted about myself helping a older lady to get her ranger up and running since none of her vehicles run and it’s a truck I know the most about. She was driving with a misfire for over a month and fried her cats. Well it turns out the cats were only partially the problem making the truck top out at 40mph, I’m going to be pulling her bed off and looking at the fuel lines going to the fuel pump and the fuel pump itself. Now on my code reader it showed the engine was running lean before I pulled the cats and after too, oxygen sensors didn’t look fried, the fuel filter is clear and not clogged but her engine has little fuel pressure right at the block. Fuel lines are also back wards from the fuel pump to fuel filter (not sure if it matters to much beside the fact that the clips are different for holding them onto the nipple of the fuel filter) and her bf apparently dropped the tank instead of pulling the bed and he dropped it without removing the lines, broke the lines and the tank, he says he replaced the tank and fuel pump but his answers arent very straight forward so I have a good feeling its running lean from a fuel pump related issue since the filter is ruled out. Any other points on the fuel system I could also check? Her ranger is a 2001 3.0 rwd, truck also has a rough idle even with both parts of the cats removed.
 


Dirtman

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2 things spring to mind when reading that.

#1, if your cats were falling apart they can send crap down the line and also clog the muffler. Might wanna pop that off while your under there and make sure it's not full of chunks of cat.

#2, if the previous person replaced the fuel pump there's a good chance he used a aftermarket pump which means failure is basically guaranteed. If you need to replace it, get a motorcraft. Even a junkyard motorcraft is better than a new aftermarket pump.
 

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t her engine has little fuel pressure right at the block.
Please quantify this statement. Low fuel pressure will cause a lean condition, but a misfire will also look the same as a lean condition to the oxygen sensor.
 
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2 things spring to mind when reading that.

#1, if your cats were falling apart they can send crap down the line and also clog the muffler. Might wanna pop that off while your under there and make sure it's not full of chunks of cat.

#2, if the previous person replaced the fuel pump there's a good chance he used a aftermarket pump which means failure is basically guaranteed. If you need to replace it, get a motorcraft. Even a junkyard motorcraft is better than a new aftermarket pump.
Alright so the cats have a total of 5 catalysts, 3 on the front in a Y shape and 2 on the rear that connect to the front, front cats are precats. After pulling both pieces the rear 2 had chunks of the cats from the front 3 sitting on top of the honeycombs. Just dumped it out. The front cats, specifically the passenger side had been melted and plenty of chunks sitting on the front of it. The first pic will be a view of the passenger cat with all the chunks I got out of it. Now I can not see the the other 2 catalysts on the front piece because the elbows prevent me front looking anywhere on it at their honeycombs and there isn’t piece that jiggly or fall out from those 2. and about the fuel pump, I bought an entire Delphi assembly fuel pump and pulled the bed and put it in my 2000 3.0. It’s been running like it came out the factory. although I’m not convinced all new fuel pumps will work like the originals, I’m really thinking it’s the pump the guy put in after he broke the tank
 
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Please quantify this statement. Low fuel pressure will cause a lean condition, but a misfire will also look the same as a lean condition to the oxygen sensor.
Originally it said lean and a misfire on cylinder 1. I changed the plugs and found the correct firing order and set up for it, apparently Haynes and chilton had the coil pack flipped 180 degrees for the 2001’s so nobody set it up correctly. But I got it sorted out and no more misfire code. Said it was running lean before I pulled the oxygen sensors out of the cats for removal and still says running lean with them out as well as a O2 code now saying O2 heater. None of the O2 sensors looked black on removal?
 

adsm08

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Originally it said lean and a misfire on cylinder 1. I changed the plugs and found the correct firing order and set up for it, apparently Haynes and chilton had the coil pack flipped 180 degrees for the 2001’s so nobody set it up correctly. But I got it sorted out and no more misfire code. Said it was running lean before I pulled the oxygen sensors out of the cats for removal and still says running lean with them out as well as a O2 code now saying O2 heater. None of the O2 sensors looked black on removal?
Ok, but none of that is the fuel pressure numbers I asked for.
 
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Ok, but none of that is the fuel pressure numbers I asked for.
alrighty I’m not a certified mechanic bud. I’m asking for help for that reason. Showed the system running lean, had better throttle response and truck topped out at 60mph with the rear 2 cats and rear oxygen sensor removed and once the front 3 cats and 2 more oxygen sensors came out the throttle response got worse and the fuel pressure was still crap at the engine block. If the fuel filter is new am I not looking at the fuel pump for the problem now? I’m just an average joe, but I know the valve at the engine block should be shooting fuel out the hood like my 3.0
 

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Repeat for adsm08's question

WHAT IS THE FUEL PRESSURE AT THE ENGINE?

"Crap" is not a definitive number, it is a description

If you don't have a gauge thats fine, just say so
 

1990RangerinSK

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alrighty I’m not a certified mechanic bud. I’m asking for help for that reason. Showed the system running lean, had better throttle response and truck topped out at 60mph with the rear 2 cats and rear oxygen sensor removed and once the front 3 cats and 2 more oxygen sensors came out the throttle response got worse and the fuel pressure was still crap at the engine block. If the fuel filter is new am I not looking at the fuel pump for the problem now? I’m just an average joe, but I know the valve at the engine block should be shooting fuel out the hood like my 3.0
Just to help things along, go to your local parts store and get a fuel pressure guage. Put that guage on the fuel line (I assume the guage will come with instructions that will tell you where to put it), and measure the fuel pressure. Then, post the results.
 

1990RangerinSK

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Repeat for adsm08's question

WHAT IS THE FUEL PRESSURE AT THE ENGINE?

"Crap" is not a definitive number, it is a description

If you don't have a gauge thats fine, just say so
It's been a while since I learned how to count, but if my memory serves me correctly, I'd say you're right. Crap is not a number. :)
 

1990RangerinSK

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Something else to look at: How's the timing? The Justy that my ex wife and I had when we got married had the timing set (by ear) by her brother. Spec was 5*BTDC. I took it to a trusted mechanic, and had them check the timing. It was 12, so I had them set it to spec. At 12, that thing topped out at around 73MPH. At spec, it topped out at 50(ish). I had them advance it a bit, it topped at 60, so I had them put it back where it was (or maybe it topped at 60 at spec).

@adsm08 When you punch the gas, the computer advances the timing off spec, right? If the timing doesn't advance, is one of the symptoms lack of power?

Now, chances are there was something else wrong with that Justy, I don't know (and I never will, because that car was scrapped 16 years ago). But, I thought I'd mention it, just in case.
 

Dirtman

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2001 3.0 has distributorless ignition. There's nothing to physically adjust, it's all done by the computer based on the various sensors.
 

1990RangerinSK

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2001 3.0 has distributorless ignition. There's nothing to physically adjust, it's all done by the computer based on the various sensors.
I could be wrong, but I think the principle is still the same, right? Except that instead of a mechanic using a timing light to set the timing, the computer has a base timing, and adjusts it as necessary. So.... I'll let my questions and thoughts stand.
 

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Well technically if the ECU failed to adjust the timing properly I would think the symptoms would probably be much worse than a lack of power because it would mean a sensor failed and pretty much all the sensors linked to the ignition timing also perform other tasks. The only one that I could see causing the single effect of poor timing would be the knock sensor. Never seen an EDIS system not be able to stay timed right though so that's a good one for ADSM. Doubt it's an issue in this case though cause there would certainly be DTCs related to a crank sensor, cam sensor, coil, or something pointing to a failure to stay in time.
 
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Stock 225/70R15
Well I don’t need a fuel pressure gauge when comparing my ranger to her ranger. The years are 1 apart, engines exactly the same and I can press the valve at the block on mine and the gas will shoot to the damn hood. When i press her valve the gas barely can come out it. Don’t need a fuel gauge to see there’s a serious problem with her fuel pressure. Her boyfriend put the fuel lines from the filter to the pump on back wards, broke her tank, and supposedly replaced the tank and pump but can’t give me a straight forward answers on that. If you were me I’d definitely be looking at the fuel pump ??‍♂ all things aside all 3 oxygen sensors being disconnected is probably not helping with the fuel situation. Front cats were melted up and clogged so we’ll see how we’re running with em hollowed out and bolted back up. not really sure what else I can look for to figure out the loss of power when I can rule out the exhaust system for topping out at really low speeds. Truck will have good throttle response after warming up and when left idling it will start to bog down and almost cut out then get back to idle and 5 min later will do the same thing and so on.
 

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