88 ranger dead nothing seems to work

[lumpy]

After towing a boat for 90 miles i shut the ranger off it was running good , 6 hrs later i cranked it up and it had a bad miss, after about 10 more miles of driving with the miss even know it ran a little better i ran out of gas and after refilling the miss was still there but now it had gotten much worse, well i did limp home but i needed crocerys so i went to a store and then it died for good , towed it to a car maintenance place and they put a new ignition module in it new cap and rotor . now it ran but the miss was still there and the guys at the shop said the had no idea it was a not so good experience for me $376 dollars for that. I limped home and put in a new fuel filter and new high pressure fuel pump no change the miss still there , i drove it to a store like that 3 days ago all of a sudden it smoothed out and ran perfect for about 10 blocks then it started all of a sudden missing again , now last night it died for good it was running like it has bin with a miss but drivable even know my gas mileage was terrible i drove it anyway the only thing i have and i was under pressure to do certain things , last night it died for good now i have a totally dead truck with new plugs new fuel pump and filter new egn module and cap and rotor it will crank over there is very good spark to all 6 cylinders and i have compression and 35 psi fuel pressure i tested both compression and fuel pressure and spark to all plugs , even after injecting starting fluid into the intake it will not even coff of sputter totally dead. oh and the middle spark plug on the passenger side was fouled this morning and before too. but putting a new plug in its place never did make the miss go away. i never checked the injectors i do not know how and have no manual . My question is do i have a broken timing chain and how do i test for a broken timing chain. 2.9 liter 6 cyl fuel injector injected, There is no water missing out of my radiator no water in the oil .

 

[sjr53]

You wouldn't have good compression with a broken timing chain. Having good spark should have given you fire from the starting fluid unless the spark happens at the wrong time. If the chain was stretched and jumped a few notches, you should have weak compression and ignition timing way off. ?????????????????

 

[Big Jim M]

I think you have already told us your problem is the spark! No matter what else might be wrong a good spark would have at least back fired the starting fluid. That's where I'd start looking.
Big Jim

 

[Spott]

I had the connector to the ignition coil come loose once on my '88 2.9l. It bucked and sputtered for almost a week as the connector got looser and more intermittent, until it finally wouldn't start at all. I got a tow home, hooked up the battery charger, and was preparing for a fuel system test when I noticed the loose connector. Apparently the previously-installed replacement ignition coil didn't have the OEM catch to mate with the hook on the connector that would have prevented exactly that problem. I used a couple of zip-ties to keep it from getting loose again in the future.

I don't know if that's the problem with your truck, but it's easy to check. My engine was cutting out and back in like a switch was being flipped, with very abrupt transitions from off to on and back every few seconds.

 

[Haywire6000]

Perhaps bad ECM.... But if it ran good all of s sudden may be a bum connection.

 

[lumpy]

thank you for the response, i am not taking the heads off i will retest my compression and write it down for each cylinder and also add oil to each and compare the compression after adding oil and without before i tear into anything ,

 

[lumpy]

i did check this and it is good i seem to have very good spark both at the coil and at the end of the wires. Thank you for your response

 

[lumpy]

thanks for your reply i checked the spark using a spark checker and there is very good spark both at the coil and at the end of the plugs but as sjr53 suggested it may be at a completely wrong time do you know of any way checking for a streched or loose timing chain , ?

 

[Big Jim M]

Turn the crank to TDC and take the cap off to look where the rotor is pointing. It should either be at #1 plug or exactly 180* from it.
Think again! If you have good spark and you put lots of starter fluid in there you WILL get a reaction! The spark will light SOMETHING. Even if the chain has slipped you WILL GET A FIRE.
I forgot to add: First take #1 plug out and find the piston at the top while the marker is at TDC. Then look at the rotor.
Big Jim