2.3L Troubles-New to Rangers

[bilbo]

I just bought a 1983 Ranger with the 2.3L and 4spd manual transmission. While driving it home, after about 25 miles I noticed a whitish cloud following me. I thought the worst, but couldn't find any evidence of coolant in the oil or vice versa. It smelled like burning oil, but I couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from. The seller mentioned an rear main oil seal leak (there definitely is an oil leak) but there was nothing smoking that could have been caused by that. I was able to limp it home and investigate further. I found a vent line from the oil filler cap on the valve cover dangling; looks like it belongs attached to the air cleaner housing. I also found the pcv valve unplugged from its little hose on the engine block. Both of these were spewing steam and oil while the engine was running. That seemed to take care of the smoking, but it still seems like a lot of material coming out of them when they are off. Is that normal?

I also noticed a hose off the intake plenum that was dangling free. When I covered it up, of course the idle dropped off. It looks like it belongs attached to a fitting on the bottom of the air cleaner housing, but that end was plugged by the PO. I plugged the hose also, and now it idles extremely rough and will stall out at stops often. It will not idle more than 10 seconds or so. Does this hose need to be connected? If not, is this a simple matter of adjusting the carb or does it need to be rebuilt?

 

[tomw]

I think you'll get more response if you post some pictures. The PCV valve is inserted in-line in the large diameter hose from the separator to the intake manifold on most. If the separator gets filled or clogged with sludge, it won't trap the oil. If the PCV valve is plugged it will blow stuff all over.
Dunno about the other lines as I haven't seen one with carb, etc. Mine is the first years of EFI, so I did not have access to a carb'd version.
tom

 

[RonD]

Reads like engine may have a lot of Blow-By.
When a cylinder fires some of the hot gases "blow-by" the piston's rings and into the lower engine(oil pan area), a new engine will have 5% blow-by, so blow-by is normal for all piston engines.
As an engine gets older the rings get worn and blow-by increases to above 15%.

When these hot gases go past the lower "oil coated" rings and cylinder walls it vaporizes some of the oil, that is where the oil mist/vapor in the engine comes from.

In the "old days" there was just a tube on the side of the engine pointed down at the ground that dripped oil whenever engine was running, that was from the blow-by oil mist, and it was pollution.
So PCV(positive crankcase ventilation) was added to pull that blow-by oil mist out of the engine and send it into the intake to be burned with the air/fuel mix,
The PCV valve hose(valve cover to intake) allows oil mist to be pulled into the intake, and the Vent hose(air cleaner to valve cover) allows fresh air to be pulled in or act as an "overflow" if blow-by pressure gets too high, above 15%, because Vent hose is attached to the air cleaner housing any oil mist would be sucked back into the engine.

I would get a Vacuum gauge to test engine condition, they are cheap, $20, and work on ANY gasoline engine.
Good read here on testing engine vacuum: http://www.gregsengine.com/using-a-vacuum-gauge.html

Yes, PO removed a vacuum hose from intake to get more fresh air into the engine to smooth out the idle, at least that's what it reads like.
Too much blow-by at idle was fouling the air/fuel mix causing rough idle.
But could be bad PCV valve as well, PCV Valve closes at idle, high vacuum.

A leak down test checks for worn rings as well
You use an air compressor and gauge to pump, for example, 100psi of air into a cylinder via spark plug hole, if gauge reads 90psi then you have 10psi leaking out of rings or valves, 10% loss.
You then add some oil to the cylinder which seals the rings on the piston, and repeat the test, if gauge now read 97psi then rings were leaking 7psi, which is getting high but still OK.

 

[bilbo]

Thanks for the reply. Excessive blow-by makes sense. I've picked up a vacuum gauge and will get to it as soon as I have a chance. I probably should have waited to post until next week; I'll be gone on a hunting trip and won't get a chance to get to the truck until at least then. I found another reason why it may be idling rough. One of the nuts that holds the carb down was missing. Then I realized it was metric hardware and I don't have a nut.

I also wonder how the PO got it to not smoke at all during my test drive. I drove it for 10 miles or so and no smoke, and he met me about 30 miles from his house to show me the truck so it was plenty warm.

I did some research and it looks like I have the feedback carb, and I couldn't find any adjustments other than idle speeds. Maybe when I get things sealed up better I can adjust those a bit and at least get it idling decent. Hopefully when my repair manual shows up I can learn some more.

 

[bilbo]

I went to double check the pcv valve today after work and it appears to be working fine. I got a new one anyway. Quick question: is it supposed to be buried down by the distributor cap? There's no way I can get my hands anywhere near it, and trying to use forceps is just getting me more frustrated. Is there a trick to this that I'm missing? The other day I was able to get it with forceps but no luck today.

 

[tomw]

Yup, it is sort of buried near the distributor. You can disconnect the large hose from the oil separator canister on the side of the block, under the intake manifold, and disconnect the other end where it connects to the intake manifold. I was going to say underside of the upper intake, but you have a carb. With both ends disconnected, you may be able to worm it out without removing the embedded PCV valve. Once out, pull apart, and pull the PCV valve from whichever hose it sticks to. Put the new one in place, and worm the assembly back in place. The separator has chopped up wire mesh, almost like metal turnings, that collect oil droplets being carried by the vapors from the crankcase, and traps the droplets and finally collects them to drain back into the sump. It can get clogged with stuff, and act just like a plain passage instead of a maze, and will quit trapping oil, and start to pass it on to the PCV valve. The separator is pressed into the side of the block, and can be remove by twisting motion if desired. (I have not done that) Then when out, cleaned by sloshing brake clean around inside and draining the residue.
tom

 

[bilbo]

Thanks! When I get home I'll try your idea quick if I've got time. I'm also going to look a little closer for where the separator is.

 

[bilbo]

I was able to get everything hooked up, and replaced the nut holding the carb down. It idles really well now, just needed a minor adjustment of the idle speed. The excessive crankcase pressure seems to have subsided for now. When I did the vacuum test per the procedure in the link above (thanks!) all checked out ok. I'm going to keep a close eye on it. I still think if it did it before it will probably start again at some point. Now on to troubleshoot the lack of reverse lights...Thanks for all the help so far.