96 Ranger 2.3 wont start...throwing codes...

[Emoticon]

So I've got a 96 ranger 172,000 on the clock. I bought the truck 8,000miles ago and I was driving it at work last Monday, when I noticed randomly at any speed that occasionally it would do this thing where after maintaining a constant speed for a while the engine would suddenly lose power and chug like crazy until I put the pedal to the floor and it would go back to normal for a while. When I got home I popped the hood and looked didn't see anything immediately wrong I figured I got a batch of bad gas or the fuel filter was saying goodbye. Unfortunately it rained most of the week here and I didn't get a chance to really dig into it, by Thursday the check engine light was on and it was doing the same thing (I should note that during this time I never had any issues starting the truck) and it started to idle rough at stop lights intermittently until I floored the pedal and it would go back to normal again, the gas milage seemed to be getting worse as well. By the afternoon I had refilled the gas from empty from somewhere else and was driving about 30mph when suddenly, engine just looses power and when I try to give it gas it just conks out completely on the spot and I rolled it to a stop and it wouldn't restart. When you turn the key it always will cough one time right at the stop and then just crank and crank and won't cough again until the battery dies. I happened to break down about a mile from an auto parts place so I replaced the fuel filter on the side of the road since I had the tools on me, no go, nothing so I had AAA tow it to my house. I borrowed a code scanner which came up with the following:

P0133
P0402
P1131

From what I can tell the fuel pump is working I can hear it come on when I turn the key. The car has new plugs and wires put in about 5k ago. I didn't see any obvious vacuum leaks but it's hard to tell without being able to run the engine, however the large intake tube between the air filter and the engine was very loose, tightened it, nothing. The from what I'm reading codes seem to suggest a problem with either the EGR or DPFE, however is seems like from what I've read most of those issues are more likely to cause the engine to run rough, but shouldn't keep the engine from starting at all. Before I start throwing parts at it does anyone have any suggestions as to try first? I tried to remove the EGR to clean it but with it's proximity to the firewall I'm having a hell of a time getting the nut on the lower vacuum pipe loose with the amount of clearance I have in the engine bay and I'm a little bit scared of twisting the pipe and ****ing it up trying to get it off. Any help would really be appreciated. I'm not really a car guy, but I do most of my own repairs out of being a cheapskate and not trusting most mechanics. I'm ok with just about anything apart from digging into the engine or self or changing a transmission and stuff like that at which point I would take it to a shop.

 

[XLTsplash]

P0133 and P1131 or both codes for your upstream o2 sensor. With the miles on your truck if it's the factory installed sensor I would just replace it. The P0402 is for EGR flow at idle. You can use a hand held vacuum pump to apply vacuum to the EGR valve and see if it opens, release the vacuum and see if it closes. You can do this without removing the valve. If it's stuck I would replace the EGR valve and the EGR tube.

 

[adsm08]

Gas engines can't handle EGR flow at idle. Even a relatively small amount is enough to stall the engine. The smaller the engine the less it takes. I would try blocking off the EGR and seeing if it starts. The GM 1.6L used in the Trackers were known for gumming the EGR valve up and having it hang open causing a no start.

 

[tomw]

Pop the little plastic plug from the timing belt cover and check that the cam sprocket is in time. Put the crank at TDC, and look at the edge of the sprocket to see a triangle aligned with the pointer. If not, your belt may have gone. How old is the timing belt? Many times they will break when you go to start the engine.
If the belt is OK, then check for spark and check for fuel pressure.
If you are really concerned about the EGR, you can un-bolt it, and maybe have enough flex in the tube to allow you to move it out of the way so you can block the port and try to start the engine. Obviously, a temporary thing... The large fitting at the EGR can be loosened and the EGR removed & replaced w/o undoing the end at the exhaust manifold.
If you have a MAF, your loose air tube may have been fooling the computer about how much air is coming in. That might diddle with the 'expected' mix, so it would not hurt do disconnect the battery, turn on the headlights or step on the brake pedal for a moment, and then re-connect to erase the 'learned' parameters.
tom

 

[tomw]

Pop the little plastic plug from the timing belt cover and check that the cam sprocket is in time. Put the crank at TDC, and look at the edge of the sprocket to see a triangle aligned with the pointer. If not, your belt may have gone. How old is the timing belt? Many times they will break when you go to start the engine.
If the belt is OK, then check for spark and check for fuel pressure.
If you are really concerned about the EGR, you can un-bolt it, and maybe have enough flex in the tube to allow you to move it out of the way so you can block the port and try to start the engine. Obviously, a temporary thing... The large fitting at the EGR can be loosened and the EGR removed & replaced w/o undoing the end at the exhaust manifold.
If you have a MAF, your loose air tube may have been fooling the computer about how much air is coming in. That might diddle with the 'expected' mix, so it would not hurt do disconnect the battery, turn on the headlights or step on the brake pedal for a moment, and then re-connect to erase the 'learned' parameters.
tom

 

[drb1956]

Codes

I agree with Tomw, check that belt. Also, the 0133 is a fuel control system DTC. Might be pump related. Check fuel rail for fuel pressure at Schrader-push valve-if it squirts at you-OK. Would still take a pressure reading(rent from parts stores). That egr code is a "sticky" one. Need to check like XLTSplash says. That O2 sensor fault could be a lot of things-O2 sensors sense lean or rich mixtures, but they ONLY sense oxygen-NOT fuel. Your intake tube being loose could be the culprit. This looks like "catch22', as IF your fuel system is faulty, too much oxygen in the mixture, and the puter can't put enough fuel to richen the mixture. Than the O2 says too lean and it throws a code. The egr was probably going bad, or the puter was trying to correct with a richer mixture. Let us know with an update..

 

[Emoticon]

No go on plugging the EGR and cranking, just cranks and cranks with an extremely rare cough. We have fuel pressure, so that shouldn't be an issue although I don't have a pressure gauge at the moment. The timing belt appears to be intact, it doesn't look that new though not sure when the previous owner replaced it, but I was running out of light in the driveway and couldn't see well to see if it had slipped. Will check tomorrow.

 

[Emoticon]

Timing belt is shot, thanks for the help guys!

 

[Emoticon]

Ok so the timing belt was off by about 6 teeth at the camshaft sprocket when I got the cover off, when I got the belt off and got a good look at it the belt was in really bad shape as well so there is no question it was bad. Put a new belt in got everything tensioned all of the timing marks are DEAD ON. I go ahead and crank it all I get is crank crank crank POP! Crank crank crank POP! still wont start anyone have any ideas? After cranking it for a while I gave up and pulled the view ports and cranked the engine by hand back to TDC and all of the marks are still dead on so it didn't skip when I tried to start it. At this point I've changed the timing belt, the EGR, and the fuel filter. I am now totally out of ideas.

When I say everything is dead on the Oil Pump is dead on, the cam shaft sprocket is dead on and the crankshaft pulley is in TDC exactly so I shouldn't be missing any other marks.

 

[Emoticon]

I'll also note that with the crank crank crank pop. The POP! happens at regular intervals about 1 second apart and it's a really hollow sounding pop. It's not like a full on backfire. It seems like its more of a burp.

 

[Mark_88]

Sounds like your cam is 180* out of timing...the cam turns twice for every crank rotation so if you didn't set it on the compression stroke you will just get crank, crank, pop...the pop is probably a misfire...

Check that and if you need more input let us know...if you already checked that...and are certain you set it right...well, there are a number of things to check from there...like crank position sensor...meaning you have a spark timing issue...

 

[Emoticon]

Sounds like your cam is 180* out of timing...the cam turns twice for every crank rotation so if you didn't set it on the compression stroke you will just get crank, crank, pop...the pop is probably a misfire...

Check that and if you need more input let us know...if you already checked that...and are certain you set it right...well, there are a number of things to check from there...like crank position sensor...meaning you have a spark timing issue...

How do you check to see if its 180 out like that or do you just have to guess you got it right? I was turning the cam pulley with a wrench to get it in position, but it feels like when I turn it it just spins builds up pressure and then kicks 1/3rd of the way around rather than half of the way around. I don't really feel a difference between one revolution and another.

 

[Mark_88]

Take out plug number one and put your thumb over the hole and crank the engine by hand...remove the coil wire or just unhook the battery just in case...when you feel pressure on your thumb you are on the compression stroke. Look through the plug hole and you will see the piston (may need a flashlight)...crank the engine by hand until it hits the top of the movement (it's ok to move it backwards if you go past) in the cylinder.

Once that is set you can now line up your marks with the cam and install the belt. The arrow on the cam should point to roughly 5 o'clock (or however you normally set it) and once that is done you can tension the belt.

 

[Emoticon]

Nope, that wasn't it, thanks for the suggestion though. I took the belt off again (I'm getting really fast at this now that i've figured out all the tricks lol) advanced the cam pulley 1 revolution (assuming that if the timing was 180 degrees off that the next revolution would put me on the compression stroke, I just did it before I saw your post). Anyway with the cam pulley advanced one revolution now when I crank it it just cranks and cranks and doesn't pop at all now and doesn't even try in the slightest bit. All marks are still dead on.

 

[Emoticon]

Actually scratch that last bit, after I couldn't get it started last time I disconnected the computer to reset it, so when I did my test with the cam sprocket advanced 1 revolution the computer was disconnected. I just reconnected the computer and with the pulley advanced 1 revolution from the last attempt it's doing the exact same thing as when the cam sprocket one turn behind which is to say that with the computer connected it is once again going crank crank crank pop over and over just like it was before I advanced the cam sprocket 1 turn. From the way it sounds when it cranks it's like advancing the sprocket one turn made no difference. I know this isn't an interference engine, but could this belt have taken out something else when it skipped initially? I also must say that after trying to start the engine in this +1 revolution configuration I get a very strong gas smell after a short time attempting to start it, if that means anything.