1995 Ranger Deadlined in Dallas-Help

[Edwardh60]

Hi: I'm trying to help my son figure out what to do with his 1995 Ranger, 2.3, 170,000 miles. A month ago, he was driving to work, heard a weird engine noise, limped off the turnpike, and the truck died. Would not start again. Towed to shop, who said it had internal engine failure, maybe 2 bad pistons. They wanted $1,500 to rebuild the engine. We towed it to house, where it sits pending what to do with it.

I bought the truck in 2011, had transmission rebuilt, supposedly timing belt changed, complete brake job, son put new Michelins on it a month before it crapped out.

A mechanic of friend said "the pistons don't go out" on Rangers, and felt it might be a timing belt issue. He would have to see it, meaning tow to shop, another $100 bucks out.

Does anyone know:

Do pistons go out on these?

If it was a timing belt issue, when it fails, does it tear up the engine?

Would running the OBD codes narrow the problem down?

Whats a fair price to rebuild the engine?

is rebuilding possible in my driveway or does the engine have to be pulled?

Thank you

Eddie H

 

[Mark_88]

Hi Eddie,

Pistons don't usually "go out" and if the timing belt let go these are non interference in stock build. The head gasket can blow between two pistons (typically 2 & 3) giving no compression.

to diagnose what happened you can simply remove the timing belt cover to see if the belt is there/connected. You can also tell by looking around the shroud on the cam (top) section on some...or disconnect the coil pack main wire (or battery ground) and hand crank the engine...open the small timing belt hole on the front of the shroud (round hole near the top) and if the cam gear is turning...the belt is intact.

I can answer more but not sure how much a rebuild would cost, but 170,000 miles is just broken in as long as nobody has beat on it or overheated it...they can easily go 400,000 miles or more...but depends.

Codes might tell you something if any were thrown...might not with such a sudden end to the engine running...the cel would be on but if you can't get the motor running then you won't see it like that.

Personally, I would not have the first shop rebuild the engine...unless they were dumbing down the diagnostic for your sake, but that explanation could mean any number of things and their rebuild might only include reringing two of the pistons when the entire 4 should be done...if you know what I mean.

It could also equate to simply replacing a blown head gasket...

But there are other tests you can do if the timing belt is not the problem...like a compression test...and fuel pressure test...listen to see if the pump is coming on when it should...check the Fuel Pressure Regulator for the smell of gas on the vacuum line...that indicates FPR is toast...

Anyway...again...I'm sure if I missed anything others will help...

To summarize...

Check timing belt
fuel pressure (vacuum tester will work but you may need higher pressure tester)
fuel pump(s)
check for spark
compression test (borrow or rent a compression tester from auto parts store if available)

If any of this is beyond your knowledge or comfort level then let us know...best time to learn is now, unless there is an urgent need to get the truck going...but that can be very expensive and also time consuming sometimes...

 

[tomw]

First things I would have checked are coolant and oil level. If both are good, then pull the little plastic cap on the timing belt cover[more or less behind the upper radiator hose] and crank the engine over by hand, looking for TDC on the crankshaft pulley marks. Get the marks to TDC and inspect the edge of the camshaft sprocket for a triangle. There should be a pointer behind the cap that will match up to the triangle when the cam is in time. You might have to turn the crankshaft one more full turn as the cam gear rotates at 1/2 crank speed, and the marks will only match at top of compression on cylinder 1. On exhaust stroke the triangle is 180 degrees off, somewhere around 10 o'clock...
If that is in time, then the belt is still working, and the camshaft is in time. The belt can lose some teeth and still turn the cam, but it will not operate the valves at the proper time to have the engine run, or it may run poorly.
If things are ok, then remove all the spark plugs, and use a compression gauge to test. Connect the gauge to the cylinder using the spark plug hole. Prop the throttle wide open, and disable the coil/ignition system. Crank for 3-4-6 strokes, watching the gauge. It should 'step up' as you crank and reach a max. Record the max, and repeat for the other 3 cylinders. If two adjacent cylinders are low, you can check for cylinder-to-cylinder blown head gasket by putting one of the plugs back in and repeating the test. The numbers reached might change given the second cylinder is not open to atmosphere.
A lima 2.3 will readily go 300k miles without problem given oil and coolant. Miss either one, and lifetime is likely compromised.
As noted, the shop remarks are not real specific and indicate someone needs a boat payment.. or the orthodontist?
tom