1986 2.9 V6 4x4

[Kenroethlisberger]

Hello!
I bought a 1986 Ford Ranger last year and it has been a great little truck so far. The person before me had changed out the in tank fuel pump and damaged the gasket on top of the tank. This would cause it to leak gas if I filled it up all the way. After a bunch of rain, I started my truck up and drove it a block or 2 and it sputtered and died. Then it would just crank over and not fire up. You could hear the fuel pump kick on when you turn the key so this made me assume I had gotten water in my gas tank and the fuel filter was clogged - should be a simple fix.... right?

Here's the exact truck variant:

1986 Ford Ranger 2.9L V6 4x4 with fuel injection and a single fuel tank

Well from what I've read on these forums and what I've seen while taking my truck apart, I have an early ranger with an in tank fuel pump - fuel lines exit and go into a canister type fuel filter - exit there and one of them goes into the in line fuel pump - exits there and goes into the engine compartment. I believe I should have the round metal fuel filter after the in line fuel pump, but is it not there.

Are there certain early years that just had the canister type fuel filter?

Should I change out the cartridge? I have read that these are a pain to get apart and back together without leaking and that some do not have any paper filters in them at all as it was more of a fuel Reservoir than filter?

I am at a loss. I have the bed off, gasket fixed, fuel drained, in line fuel pump removed, but can't decide if I should tear into the cartridge style filter (looks like a pain to remove) or put it all back together and see if it runs?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[RonD]

Yes, there was a canister type reservoir on the dual pump EFI Rangers up to 1987 I believe
Some did have a filter inside other didn't, if you don't see a "regular" can type filter between high pressure pump(in frame rail) and engine then its most likely a Filter type canister and will unscrew

I doubt water in the tank or clogged filter would cause what you describe, but possible

Do 50/50 test to see if its a fuel or spark issue
Remove air duct from intake manifold
Spray fuel into the engine
Try to start(you can leave the air duct off, just make sure fan can't hit it)
If it starts then spark is OK and fuel delivery is the issue
If it doesn't start then its a spark issue
50/50 instant results on what to check next

The lift pump and high pressure pump share the same 12volt wire from inertia switch
There was a splice added to that 12volt wire near the high pressure pump
This splice can get corroded so either the lift pump or the high pressure pump doesn't come on, you still "hear" a pump run, but engine wouldn't start, because on one pump is running

You can feel if the high pressure pump is running by putting a hand on it and have someone else turn on the key

There is also a way to "hot wire" the pumps so they run full time when key is on, doesn't hurt any thing
In the engine bay there will be the OBD1 connector, passenger side, on main computer wiring harness

Look at 2nd drawing here: https://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/OBD_I.shtml

Fuel pump slot is labelled
That slot is the GROUND for the fuel pump relay
So use a jumper wire in that slot and Ground the other end of that wire
When you turn on the key the relay will close and stay closed, so pumps will have 12v full time, until key is off

EDIT:
Since you have the high pressure pump off just turn on the key(make sure pump wires can't short) and see if fuel flows thru the canister, if so its not clogged

 

[Kenroethlisberger]

Yes, there was a canister type reservoir on the dual pump EFI Rangers up to 1987 I believe
Some did have a filter inside other didn't, if you don't see a "regular" can type filter between high pressure pump(in frame rail) and engine then its most likely a Filter type canister and will unscrew

I doubt water in the tank or clogged filter would cause what you describe, but possible

Do 50/50 test to see if its a fuel or spark issue
Remove air duct from intake manifold
Spray fuel into the engine
Try to start(you can leave the air duct off, just make sure fan can't hit it)
If it starts then spark is OK and fuel delivery is the issue
If it doesn't start then its a spark issue
50/50 instant results on what to check next

The lift pump and high pressure pump share the same 12volt wire from inertia switch
There was a splice added to that 12volt wire near the high pressure pump
This splice can get corroded so either the lift pump or the high pressure pump doesn't come on, you still "hear" a pump run, but engine wouldn't start, because on one pump is running

You can feel if the high pressure pump is running by putting a hand on it and have someone else turn on the key

There is also a way to "hot wire" the pumps so they run full time when key is on, doesn't hurt any thing
In the engine bay there will be the OBD1 connector, passenger side, on main computer wiring harness

Look at 2nd drawing here: https://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/OBD_I.shtml

Fuel pump slot is labelled
That slot is the GROUND for the fuel pump relay
So use a jumper wire in that slot and Ground the other end of that wire
When you turn on the key the relay will close and stay closed, so pumps will have 12v full time, until key is off

EDIT:
Since you have the high pressure pump off just turn on the key(make sure pump wires can't short) and see if fuel flows thru the canister, if so its not clogged

Thank you for the help and suggestions!

My new plan of action is to get good gas. Add it to the tank that I just cleaned and power it on and see if gas flows through canister filter before changing it. If it does then I will hook up the hugh pressure fuel pump and proceed to see of it turns on. If gas doesn't flow then I will replace the canister filter and try again.

And once I put it back together and guarantee everything is powering on - if not working then 50/50 test to make sure it's a fuel issue and not spark. I should've done this first, but this thing screams clogged fuel filter to me with where the bad gasket was (lines up perfectly with the gap between the bed and the cab) and the amount of rain we just recently received. Also - the gas I siphoned out was cloudy/milky, not clear at all. I've also had zero issues with spark. It always fires right up and did so on the day it died. Then would try to fire but just couldn't. Will def double check. Thank you again!

 

[franklin2]

I used to have the same little truck, same year same engine. My canister on the frame did have a filter. I did have to take the lines off the canister (Ford calls it the "reservoir") unbolt it from the frame, and then put it in my vise and take some very large slip joint pliers to unscrew it to change the filter.

If you think there is water in the tank, the only way to get rid of it completely is to put some dry gas in it. It's basically alcohol. The water does not mix with the gas, and just rolls around in the bottom of the gas tank causing problems. The alcohol will make the water and gas mix together so then it will pull the water out with the gas and burn it.

Another problem you run into with water in the fuel is after it sits around for a period of time, it can form rust in the pumps and lock them up.

 

[Kenroethlisberger]

I used to have the same little truck, same year same engine. My canister on the frame did have a filter. I did have to take the lines off the canister (Ford calls it the "reservoir") unbolt it from the frame, and then put it in my vise and take some very large slip joint pliers to unscrew it to change the filter.

If you think there is water in the tank, the only way to get rid of it completely is to put some dry gas in it. It's basically alcohol. The water does not mix with the gas, and just rolls around in the bottom of the gas tank causing problems. The alcohol will make the water and gas mix together so then it will pull the water out with the gas and burn it.

Another problem you run into with water in the fuel is after it sits around for a period of time, it can form rust in the pumps and lock them up.

Seems like the canister will be a huge pain to remove, but I'll give it a try. Even if some gas flows through it, I'm a sucker for replacing anything I can get my hands on when I have it torn apart. Isn't always the best course of action but it should save you time or issues down the road.

I knew water in the tank was bad so I completely cleaned it out last night when I was replacing the gasket between the lifter pump and the tank. Siphoned it out and soaked up everything with some microfiber rags and wiped clean. Tank was surprisingly clean. Filter and the lift pump was very clean, but it had been changed within the last year by the previous owner.

 

[franklin2]

Believe it or not, the other day I was doing some reading in the factory manual, and Ford actually expected that reservoir filter to be a "lifetime" filter and never have to be changed. I guess that goes along with the theme of their trucks, they make them to last about 10 years max and then want you to junk it and buy a new Ford truck. Makes good business sense I guess.

 

[Kenroethlisberger]

Pulled the fuel system off the truck but couldn't get the canister filter apart without the real fear or breaking it. Blew some fuel through it using my air compressor and I believed it was not clogged entirely and more than likely just bad gas. Hooked entire system back up and primed the line by removing the cap on tank and turning the key on and off so the fuel pump would kick on and off. After 20 times of doing this the truck started to fire a little bit. After 10 more times it started up. I let it run for as long as it was and primed it some more.

Truck is back to running and idling correctly as it should


Thanks everyone for their tips and tricks. Without your help this would not have gotten fixed by myself and minimal expenses.

 

[RonD]

Good work

Thanks for the update