87 2.3

[Tabb87ranger]

i have a 87 ranger with a 2.3 5 speed 2wd about a year ago the motor went ( head gasket) i called this backyard auto place to put a motor in the truck when i went to pick the truck it ran like shit it had a oil leak and had no pick up, brought it back the guy said the timing was off so he fix that and he try to find the oil leak but could not i took the truck home on the way home the truck still had no pick up when i came to a stop light the truck would start to ilde real rough and black smoke would pour out of the tail pipe when i hit the gas the smoke would stop i know it sounds like a fuel but the thing has no pick up if i put the the gas to the floor it does nothing so i was wondring if anyone knew anything that could be wrong with the truck or should i try to get another motor????

 

[pedal2themetal45]

is it carbed or injected?

 

[Tabb87ranger]

efi

 

[Mark_88]

You might start with the simple things...like vacuum lines...check all the hoses and if you hear any hissing noises it may be a missing vac line...

My Tempo did something similar to what you're experiencing, but it was the MAF sensor...not sure if yours has one, but if you swap that out it won't hurt...they're usually up on the firewall on the passenger side and they have a couple of hoses and wires connecting them...you can pick one up at the junkyard for next to nothing...get two if you can because they CAN go bad or you might get one that's already toast...

If that doesn't work or help, you can check other things like the compression of the engine...and it wouldn't hurt to check the timing if you know how to do that...

Compression testors are fairly cheap or you can rent one...if you find one or more pistons with low compression then you may need to find another engine...but there are many things that can cause these symptoms...usually timing or vac lines though