No guts, no solution

[RANGERICK]

My 87 B2 has a 2.9L V6 that is acting up. It has no guts under load. If I'm traveling uphill (minor grade) in second gear the RPMs are well above 3000 and I'm only doing @20mph. If I try to give it more gas, it falls flat on its face; nothing there. Compression Good, spark Good, TPS replaced with new, plugs & wires, good, spark & timing good, vacuum hoses good, fuel pressure good. WTH is going on?
Nelson aka RangeRick

 

[Dirtman]

That's usually a sign of a clogged cat/muffler or a failing fuel pump.

 

[RANGERICK]

Dirtman,
Checked both, fuel pressure is good, back pressure is good. Changed the front fuel filter and cleaned that pump. Went back yesterday and changed the rear filter and cleaned that pump. Found rust in both. I may have to drain and clean the tank. My concern now is, are the injectors clogged. Does using an injector cleaner additive a good or bad idea for the motor.

 

[Dirtman]

Unfortunately injector cleaner is more of a preventative maintenance item than a cure. It especially won't do anything with rust. It won't hurt to throw some in after you clean the tank and lines, but doubt it'll help either. You probably have good fuel pressure but not good fuel flow due to the system being clogged with rust.

The injectors are not hard to clean yourself though. You can take them off and squirt them with carb cleaner. You can make a jumper wire to a 9 volt battery to open them while spraying cleaner through them. (Be careful not to light yourself on fire). Sometimes you can just buy new screens an o-rings for them for fairly cheap too.

 

[Uncle Gump]

Could this be an issue with the ECM capacitors leaking?

I know @RANGERICK is looking for some help over on the Bronco Coral too.

 

[Rowdy Fitzgerald]

Might be a good idea to check for vacuum leaks just to rule that out.

 

[RANGERICK]

We did check for vacuum leaks and made the repair. Leaking ECM capacitors? How do I check for this? Thank you for your suggestions everyone. This is really challenging.
Nelson aka RangeRick@TRS and LeBronCo@TBC

 

[Uncle Gump]

@RANGERICK

Do a search on here for capacitor... there is posts by @RonD that have some pictures. You pull the ECM and take the board out to examine the capacitors.

I'm not saying it's your problem... but it could be and free expect your time to pull it out and look.

 

[Uncle Gump]

I can't help but think your symptoms are exactly like a restricted exhaust.

I know you said it was checked... but if you have a vacuum gauge... google restricted exhaust testing and take your vacuum gauge to the truck and double check it.

 

[Ranger850]

If only @PetroleumJunkie412 still perused these threads. He is the 2.9 whisperer

 

[RonD]

There is NO back pressure in 4-stroke exhaust systems, 2-strokes use back pressure
The MYTH of back pressure comes from people making custom headers and losing power
4-stroke engines run best with NO back pressure

You either have low compression or a clogged exhaust
Both can be tested with Vacuum gauge
Please post the numbers you get, not "tested and OK"

Its not a computer issue
If it was a fuel issue you would have pinging/knocking(lean) or smoke out the tail pipe(rich), neither was mentioned

If it was a spark issue, weak or timing, then you would have misfires, which also are not mentioned

 

[Uncle Gump]

Thank for jumping in RonD...

I believe it's an exhaust issue myself.