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What did you do to your Ranger today? (Part Deux!)


superj

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you could run a washer nozzle to the back window of your top and put a button in the cab so when people get close, you can spray their windshield with fluid.

my jeep had this modification done when the rear wiper broke. the hose was left just hanging and just happened to be pointing perfectly so that when i hit the rear wiper button, it sprayed a really nice shot right onto a tailgater's window. and i mean a nice shot, like from a super soaker, since the hose didn't actually have the nozzle on it still. people back up when you spray them, kind of like dogs
 


ekrampitzjr

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for sure in the gas mileage department. those chevies are terrible for gas mileage. and you can park easier now, no riding the lines
This Silverado (1992, 5.7/350 V-8) has loads of problems, though at 230K miles I guess it's entitled to a few. Right now I'd say fuel economy is in the single digits because it seems to be running all right but just drinks gas. These old Chevys have loads of electrical problems. Replaced the headlamp switch and emergency-flasher relay each twice. Just had a door switch short, leaving the overhead light on and killing the battery. I just pulled out the bad switch and disconnected it, no plan to replace it.

Because of the truck's overall condition, including rust breaking out everywhere and rear main seal and tranny leaks, I don't plan to put any money into it beyond fuel and fluids until it gets "retired". It's not worth fixing at this point. Even with the crazy used-car market I'd get no more than $1K for it. Coming soon to a salvage yard near me...

I'll put up with Ranger issues all day compared with this. :LOL:
 

Bill

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cbxer55

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Not sure if it's just a coincidence, or not. Wednesday night, coming home from work, raining so hard, it was like driving in a wall of water. Had the hood scoop plugged as I knew it was coming. Anyhow, I made it 6.5 miles out of the 7.5 miles to get home. Turned the corner a mile away, the truck just stalled the f--k out. In the middle of the road. Cranked it and it started, but would stall every time I put it in gear. After four of those, it refused to start at all. Pushed it into a nearby parking lot, with the help of my supervisor, who came along soon after it happened. Next day, walked down there and figured it would start, that something got wet. Nope, nothing. Walked back home, grabbed my code scanner and walked down there again. Along with the four codes that are always present, there was a new one, P0340, Camshaft Position Sensor. Since it sits way up high on the back of the engine, damn near under the firewall, maybe it jsut decided that was the time to let go. It was a new one that I put on in 2018, just for the hell of it. Still have the old one in the garage.

Since it cranks smoothly, and doesn't make any funny noises while doing so, I figure it's not likely the internal part. I'll know here shortly. Going down with the factory original one, and see what happens. I'll give the internal part a wiggle while the sensor is off, see if there's any play in it. I've been taking the sensor off about once a month and squirting a small amount of 20w-50 down it's throat. Never had any funny noises under the hood. Hopefully, replacing the sensor will get it going again.
 

Uncle Gump

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Lead follow or get out of my way
Not sure if it's just a coincidence, or not. Wednesday night, coming home from work, raining so hard, it was like driving in a wall of water. Had the hood scoop plugged as I knew it was coming. Anyhow, I made it 6.5 miles out of the 7.5 miles to get home. Turned the corner a mile away, the truck just stalled the f--k out. In the middle of the road. Cranked it and it started, but would stall every time I put it in gear. After four of those, it refused to start at all. Pushed it into a nearby parking lot, with the help of my supervisor, who came along soon after it happened. Next day, walked down there and figured it would start, that something got wet. Nope, nothing. Walked back home, grabbed my code scanner and walked down there again. Along with the four codes that are always present, there was a new one, P0340, Camshaft Position Sensor. Since it sits way up high on the back of the engine, damn near under the firewall, maybe it jsut decided that was the time to let go. It was a new one that I put on in 2018, just for the hell of it. Still have the old one in the garage.

Since it cranks smoothly, and doesn't make any funny noises while doing so, I figure it's not likely the internal part. I'll know here shortly. Going down with the factory original one, and see what happens. I'll give the internal part a wiggle while the sensor is off, see if there's any play in it. I've been taking the sensor off about once a month and squirting a small amount of 20w-50 down it's throat. Never had any funny noises under the hood. Hopefully, replacing the sensor will get it going again.
You sure it didn't get hit by... ummmm... Lightning?
 

RonD

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P0340 Camshaft Position Sensor Circuit Malfunction

This is either disconnected wire or bad sensor

In 1998 it is a 3 wire Hall Effect type sensor, so has a 12volt wire and a ground wire then a 3rd signal wire back to computer
Test the 12v and ground, key on
1999 and up used VR(variable reluctance) Cam sensor, 2 wire, not interchangeable

When cranking the engine with a No Start, watch the CEL(check engine light), if it goes off that means the Crank sensor is sending a good timing signal to the computer

The 3.0ls will stall and not restart if Cam sensor signal fails, this is because it drives the oil pump, they didn't do this with the 4.0ls just the 3.0ls, not sure why?
 

cbxer55

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Oddly enough, my 98 Ranger has the two- 2ire pin, not the three wire. They gave me the three wire connector first, but when I removed the one on the truck, it only had a two wire connector. Had to use the 99 two pin type. Mine must be a really late year 98, possibly. I'll have to look at the door sticker tomorrow.

Changing the sensor didn't fix it, still won't start. Weirdly, the article on the P0340 also suggest changing the crank sensor. The cam sensor was bone dry, the crank sensor is likely socked to the bone, due to where it's located. Drove through some pretty deep water a few times getting home. Possibly deep enough to waterlog that sensor. And being 24 years old, it may not be as water tight as it once was. Also, all the connectors on this pig, the locking tabs are broken on them all. Maybe the force of a wall of water unplugged it. I'll be looking at this tomorrow. It's in a safe space. Asked the building owner if he needed me to tow it, he said, "its' not a problem, it's kind of a cool looking little old Ranger."
 

RonD

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Watch the CEL, as said
That will tell you if crank sensor is sending out a readable timing pulse
 

1990RangerinSK

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The 3.0ls will stall and not restart if Cam sensor signal fails, this is because it drives the oil pump, they didn't do this with the 4.0ls just the 3.0ls, not sure why?
Just guessing here, but the 4.0 (Cologne) is a German engine, 3.0 (Vulcan) is North American. Since they're an entirely different engine design, that might explain the difference.
 

lil_Blue_Ford

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Just guessing here, but the 4.0 (Cologne) is a German engine, 3.0 (Vulcan) is North American. Since they're an entirely different engine design, that might explain the difference.
Yet ze Germans like their complexity? Do explain? :icon_rofl:
 

RonD

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Maybe, but its a software thing not mechanical, the No Start
 

Bill

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Yet ze Germans like their complexity? Do explain? :icon_rofl:
There's nothing complex about it. The camshaft position sensor was mounted on what was the distributor housing and was synchronized with the camshaft. Distributors were driven by a gear via the camshaft and sent the spark to the appropriate cylinder as it turned. In the case of the camshaft position sensor, the internal components in the distributor housing were replaced with a hall effect sensor that tells the ECM where the camshaft is so it knows when to signal the fuel injectors and fire a spark.
 

Bill

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Maybe, but its a software thing not mechanical, the No Start
I had a camshaft position sensor fail on a 4.0. It threw a code, but the engine ran relatively fine, but wasn't quite as responsive as it could have been.
 

RonD

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Exactly, the 4.0l software doesn't disable the engine when cam sensor fails
3.0l software does, its a puzzler
 

Bill

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I tried troubleshooting my high idle between shifts problem today, but it only did that about three times. The rest of the time the engine was running like it was new. Weird. I ended up adjusting the rear brakes because the adjustment mechanism isn't working and the parking brake wasn't working well enough to hold the truck on a steep hill. Putting the transmission in gear wasn't holding it either. The truck rolled backwards and turned the engine over in the process. I wasn't expecting that. Anyway, parking brake fixed so I don't have to park at the bottom of the hill and walk up it.
 

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