87 ranger died while driving

[Charles]

Just as the title states, driving my 87 2.9l V6 ranger and it just died. It spins but just wont fire. It didn't act like it was out of gas, it just died.

Here is what has been done so far:
I toed it to a relatives house close by, it was too dark to get it home. I checked to make sure it was getting gas pressure at the valve(?) located on the engine and it was. Gas squirted everywhere. It spins but just wont fire.
I checked everything I knew of and thought it was , all the fuses , connections, obvious stuff. My relative checked it out and was convinced it was the distributor. We removed that and replaced with another one froma known working engine. I set everything according to the timing marks, making sure that all the plugs wires were correct, played with this three times to make sure timing was correct. I was able to get it to fire over one time by giving it the gas while starting. Haven't been able to get it to do it since. I know I'm getting fire to the plugs, and hooking a portable handheld computer to it and doing a switch on/engine off test reveals no codes.

I think replacing the distributor was a mistake, but someone was adamant that that was the problem and helped me to do so.

At a loss as to what to do now, first thing is to make sure the distributor is correct and the timing is also correct. Once that's done, where to proceed next? Any and all suggestions are welcome.

 

[b2rich]

just as the title states, driving my 87 2.9l v6 ranger and it just died. It spins but just wont fire. It didn't act like it was out of gas, it just died.

Here is what has been done so far:
I toed it to a relatives house close by, it was too dark to get it home. I checked to make sure it was getting gas pressure at the valve(?) located on the engine and it was. Gas squirted everywhere. It spins but just wont fire.
I checked everything i knew of and thought it was , all the fuses , connections, obvious stuff. My relative checked it out and was convinced it was the distributor. We removed that and replaced with another one froma known working engine. I set everything according to the timing marks, making sure that all the plugs wires were correct, played with this three times to make sure timing was correct. I was able to get it to fire over one time by giving it the gas while starting. Haven't been able to get it to do it since. I know i'm getting fire to the plugs, and hooking a portable handheld computer to it and doing a switch on/engine off test reveals no codes.

I think replacing the distributor was a mistake, but someone was adamant that that was the problem and helped me to do so.

At a loss as to what to do now, first thing is to make sure the distributor is correct and the timing is also correct. Once that's done, where to proceed next? Any and all suggestions are welcome.

tfi ? maybe not if you replaced the dissy with the same year.

 

[adsm08]

All Ford V6 TFI modules are the same regardless of year or engine.

Have you done an actual fuel pressure test? The high pressure pump can give out and there will be fuel at the rail but not enough pressure for the engine to run.

 

[tw205]

The gas peddle is decieving on a multi point fuel injection system. Pressing it only allows air into the engine. The amount of fuel released by the injectors is controled by the computer. Being an 87 I assume it has no maf sensor so disconnect the air cleaner and drip, squirt or otherwize get a SMALL amount of fuel into the intake and try to fire it up.If it fires up then dies again the your trouble is with the fuel getting into the engine.( fuel pump, filter, injectors not pulsing)

 

[Charles]

I tried firing it off by disconnecting the hose to air filter housing and shooting some fuel up in there. This worked in the past on my Bronco II in determining if it was getting gas or not. I didn't get anything this time though. Haven't done a fuel pressure test though. What and where is the TFI module?

I've got to check and make sure the timing and distributor are correct first. Any suggestions? I've got the haynes manual and have been going by it but I may be missing something obvious.

 

[tw205]

Its the module on the side of the distributer that the wiring harness plugs into. It reports engine position and rpm to the pcm. Type this into the search bar for some great info on this site on the subject. FORD EEC-IV/TFI-IV Electronic Engine Control Troubleshooting

 

[adsm08]

It also fires the coil.

 

[Charles]

ok, making sense now, we installed the entire assembly, TFI, distributor and all, from another vehicle that I know works but is set aside to be used as parts. both are 87' 2.9L engines. That is where I am thinking the problem with timing is because I have verified that I am getting fire by removing a plug and looking for a spark while spinning. But, we had to plat around with getting TDC and and getting the distributor in the right location. I still think we have issues there, or at least I do not feel confident that the person doing it has everything set correctly.

I'm going to have to have it toed to my house so I can play around with it some more, this stopping by in my spare time and not having the correct stuff to work with is ridiculous.

I want to thank everyone for helping, if anyone can think of anything else I'll keep checking in.

For now though, I've got to get it to my house, make sure all the timing is correct, and go from there.

 

[tw205]

When you get it home turn the engine through untill its at tdc according to the timing mark. Pull off the distributer cap and see if it is pointing at #1 or maybe opposite of #1. If not pull it out and drop it back in so it is pointing correctly. Try to fire it. If it spits and backfires your 180 out. Pull it again and spin it 180 and reinstall. Keep us posted and good luck

 

[fordfixer]

injectors not firing

I have seen this on many fords, go to your fuel pump relay. Use a test light, check to see if the RED wire is hot [ with the key on ]. This is a signal wire from the computer. If it has no power run a jumper wire to the + battery post. Get in the truck and start the engine. If this cures the problem, run a wire to the red wire that turns on and off with the key or use a toggle switch from the battery. Let me know if this works for you.

 

[adsm08]

If this cures the problem, run a wire to the red wire that turns on and off with the key or use a toggle switch from the battery. Let me know if this works for you.

And then expect the engine to have trouble starting when the temp gets below about 32*. I chased a starting issue for a MONTH back in February because some joker "fixed" his truck by running a key-on hot wire to the fuel pump.