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- Joined
- Aug 4, 2025
- Messages
- 4
- City
- Montgomery
- State - Country
- PA - USA
- Other
- 1972 Ford Torino
- Vehicle Year
- 1992
- Vehicle
- Ford Ranger
- Drive
- 2WD
- Engine
- 3.0 V6
- Transmission
- Automatic
- Total Lift
- Stock
- Total Drop
- Stock
- Tire Size
- 14"
Hi all, new to this forum but have used it allot. I have an issue ongoing and me nor a mechanic can figure it out.
1992 Ranger 3.0l 2WD developed a random onset misfire/shudder. Its hard to explain its occurrence because it idled fine but under any load it shook noticeably. I changed the ICM, Coil, MAF. Although it ran slightly better considering those were all original it still ran horribly. So I take it to the mechanic and he recommended a fuel filter. Now it wont start. So from there he thought it could be the distributor. The old distributor was original and the gear on the bottom was pretty worn to the point the fins were sharp. Put in a new distributor and still a no start. Not sure if he messed up the timing or not but now im looking at a hefty bill and a truck that was once running, although poorly doesn't run now. It cranks, wont fire up on starter fluid either. Although we got 35-40 psi on the Schrader port, cranking gets 5 hg vacuum, and blue spark on pulled plugs. Oil looks good, spark plugs look impressive after 30k miles on them. It did backfire into the intake once or twice with all the testing. But wont fire up even for a moment.
The only issue I've had with the truck before now is when its winter temps here in PA the truck fights to accelerate when its cold and bigs down(not all the time). Only twice in my 4 years of owning it has it had a crank no start when hot, but full throttle usually starts it right up. Besides that i had an issue where the upper radiator hose would suck flat and it would sound like its chugging coolant. My first thoughts were head gasket issues but coolant is still healthy and it doesn't burn any. Never had to top it off. It burns a quart of oil every 3-4k miles but that kinda usually with the 3.0ls. The thermostats were always getting stuck open. I get the ones with failsafe and weep hole the I drill out to 3/16" for just a little more flow.
Any ideas or a lead to go on would be great because at this point its not worth fixing in my opinion. Would rather just 302 swap it and call it a day. Appreciate any help.
1992 Ranger 3.0l 2WD developed a random onset misfire/shudder. Its hard to explain its occurrence because it idled fine but under any load it shook noticeably. I changed the ICM, Coil, MAF. Although it ran slightly better considering those were all original it still ran horribly. So I take it to the mechanic and he recommended a fuel filter. Now it wont start. So from there he thought it could be the distributor. The old distributor was original and the gear on the bottom was pretty worn to the point the fins were sharp. Put in a new distributor and still a no start. Not sure if he messed up the timing or not but now im looking at a hefty bill and a truck that was once running, although poorly doesn't run now. It cranks, wont fire up on starter fluid either. Although we got 35-40 psi on the Schrader port, cranking gets 5 hg vacuum, and blue spark on pulled plugs. Oil looks good, spark plugs look impressive after 30k miles on them. It did backfire into the intake once or twice with all the testing. But wont fire up even for a moment.
The only issue I've had with the truck before now is when its winter temps here in PA the truck fights to accelerate when its cold and bigs down(not all the time). Only twice in my 4 years of owning it has it had a crank no start when hot, but full throttle usually starts it right up. Besides that i had an issue where the upper radiator hose would suck flat and it would sound like its chugging coolant. My first thoughts were head gasket issues but coolant is still healthy and it doesn't burn any. Never had to top it off. It burns a quart of oil every 3-4k miles but that kinda usually with the 3.0ls. The thermostats were always getting stuck open. I get the ones with failsafe and weep hole the I drill out to 3/16" for just a little more flow.
Any ideas or a lead to go on would be great because at this point its not worth fixing in my opinion. Would rather just 302 swap it and call it a day. Appreciate any help.
