2.5L ('98-'01) about ready to give up and get rid of it

[rusty ol ranger]

Fuel filter! I asked about it earlier in the thread. It's cheap. You didn't look at it, did you? Change it before you rip up anything else. Then see if the truck runs.

I would think a fuel filter would show itself more under load then at idle.

Anythings possible though

 

[ekrampitzjr]

I would think a fuel filter would show itself more under load then at idle.

Anythings possible though

I had a 1988 Ford Festiva (don't laugh) that didn't want to idle after nearly 100,000 miles. It would run on the highway, but was sluggish. The fuel flow at idle (carbureted) was slow enough that the clogged fuel filter let little fuel through, but at speed with faster flow, the fuel could apparently force its way past the clog. After I pulled off the old filter, I tried to blow through it in the direction of flow and no air would get through. So I guess it depends on the fuel filter design.

That car went over 350,000 miles. It was just flat worn out when it was retired.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

I had a 1988 Ford Festiva (don't laugh) that didn't want to idle after nearly 100,000 miles. It would run on the highway, but was sluggish. The fuel flow at idle (carbureted) was slow enough that the clogged fuel filter let little fuel through, but at speed with faster flow, the fuel could apparently force its way past the clog. After I pulled off the old filter, I tried to blow through it in the direction of flow and no air would get through. So I guess it depends on the fuel filter design.

That car went over 350,000 miles. It was just flat worn out when it was retired.

The carbed festiva with a manual fuel pump would flow more with higher engine speed since the fuel pressure on those is related to RPM.

With an electric pump it pumps the same pressure regardless of engine speed, so if fuel starvation was the issue it would be because the motors demanding to much, not the pump pushing to little.

My brother has a festiva. I think his was an 89 or 90. What a god awful little car. It was reliable as hell though.

 

[cbxer55]

Have you checked all the hoses on the EVAP system under the bed. They rot, and believe me, the truck runs like crap, won't idle, doesn't take throttle well. Mine was running bad most of last year, and I was on the verge of taking it to a local scrapper. But, I got me a mirror and looked at the underside of the hose that runs from the driver's side fender to the intake, under the throttle body. Large gapping split in it. Took it off, capped the fitting on the intake, BOOM! Started up first turn of the key and idled beautifully. So, I left that hose off. On mine, the EGR is gone (it was actually stuck in the open position), EVAP inoperative, converter not converting, I can tell by the smell. Yet it runs beautifully and gets better gas mileage than it ever has in the 23 years I've owned it. Apparently, the CEL is burned out. I don't care. As long as it runs like it does now, the heck with it.

For the EGR, I simply made a new metal gasket for it with no holes in it. Put it together with RTV. So it's there, but blocked off.

 

[cbxer55]

Someone school me on the underbody fuel filters. I have three motorcycles, and the only filter they have is the mesh filter that is on the pump itself. No other filter anywhere on them. Both my Ranger and Lightning have the mesh filter on the in-tank pumps. With that filter doing it's job, what the heck is the need for the underbody filter? I haven't changed mine in like 10 years now.

For my bikes, I have gotten sick of changing the in-tank filters. PITA. I like to keep the tanks full anyways. So they are in chocks kept straight up, so I can top them off whenever I ride them. I have three 5 gallon containers that I fitted with filtered nozzles, purchased at Tractor Supply. I took a large red funnel and fitted it with dual medical quality mesh filters. I pour the gas from the five gallon containers into a half gallon plastic liquor bottle, then into the tank. You should see some of the crap those filters in the funnel capture. Makes me wonder it the mesh filters on the in-tank pumps get clogged up, rather than the underbody filter.

The filters on the bikes are very small, and plug up if you look at them cross-eyed. Typically have to change them every four years or 10,000 miles. I'm past that point on two of them, and haven't had the typical problems that a clogged filter brings on. So me thinks the steps I've taken with the filter nozzle and funnel are working. And btw, if I don't use the fuel in the three containers fast enough, it goes into the Ranger using the same filtered components. I fill it more that way, than I do at the gas station.

 

[Kitcat]

Fuel filter! I asked about it earlier in the thread. It's cheap. You didn't look at it, did you? Change it before you rip up anything else. Then see if the truck runs.

 

[Kitcat]

Fuel filter! I asked about it earlier in the thread. It's cheap. You didn't look at it, did you? Change it before you rip up anything else. Then see if the truck runs.

no i hadnt but i am ordering a new fuel filter, the fuel system cleaner (that someone had mentioned to try) and the little blue tooth scanner thing from amazon (that someone had mentioned also to try) today

 

[Lefty]

Well first off...youve come this far why give up now?

Secondly...what year is the truck?

Is the check engine on?

Have you pulled codes?

Does it run ok once its going and just stalls at idle?

You are certain to lose a lot of money if you try to sell a truck that doesn't run right. Expensive as it is to repair.selling and buying would probably cost more. Nice old truck! Well worth fixing in my humble opinion.

 

[ekrampitzjr]

Both my Ranger and Lightning have the mesh filter on the in-tank pumps. With that filter doing it's job, what the heck is the need for the underbody filter? I haven't changed mine in like 10 years now.

The mesh filter is like the filter in an automatic transmission: mainly meant to catch rocks. That's not much of an exaggeration. The mesh filter is meant to catch debris such as small bits of trash. The underbody filter catches finer stuff such as rust or sludge that would clog injectors.

You'd be surprised how fine rust can get and clog things. I had a diesel Mitsubishi tractor, and rust inside the tank kept clogging the fuel filter. Changing the filter meant repriming the fuel system every time. Finally I pulled the fuel tank off the tractor and used the POR-15 motorcycle tank sealing kit to coat the inside. The kit leaves an epoxy coat inside the tank. That solved the fuel filter hassle. You would think that diesel fuel being a bit oily would prevent rust inside the tank. It doesn't.

 

[jjustjjosh]

The mesh filter is like the filter in an automatic transmission: mainly meant to catch rocks. That's not much of an exaggeration. The mesh filter is meant to catch debris such as small bits of trash. The underbody filter catches finer stuff such as rust or sludge that would clog injectors.

You'd be surprised how fine rust can get and clog things. I had a diesel Mitsubishi tractor, and rust inside the tank kept clogging the fuel filter. Changing the filter meant repriming the fuel system every time. Finally I pulled the fuel tank off the tractor and used the POR-15 motorcycle tank sealing kit to coat the inside. The kit leaves an epoxy coat inside the tank. That solved the fuel filter hassle. You would think that diesel fuel being a bit oily would prevent rust inside the tank. It doesn't.

ATF works wonders in your diesel fuel filter to prime. Viscosity is much higher but has the same Flashpoint as diesel fuel...

 

[cbxer55]

The mesh filter is like the filter in an automatic transmission: mainly meant to catch rocks. That's not much of an exaggeration. The mesh filter is meant to catch debris such as small bits of trash. The underbody filter catches finer stuff such as rust or sludge that would clog injectors.

You'd be surprised how fine rust can get and clog things. I had a diesel Mitsubishi tractor, and rust inside the tank kept clogging the fuel filter. Changing the filter meant repriming the fuel system every time. Finally I pulled the fuel tank off the tractor and used the POR-15 motorcycle tank sealing kit to coat the inside. The kit leaves an epoxy coat inside the tank. That solved the fuel filter hassle. You would think that diesel fuel being a bit oily would prevent rust inside the tank. It doesn't.

Makes sense. Thanks for that. Always wondered why cages need two filters, but motorcycles get away with the one on the pump only. And they plug up frequently, and are a PITA to change. My 08 B-King takes nearly an hour to get to the point the tank can be removed to gain access to the filter. Then the pump has to be disassembled to get to the filter. PITA!! The filter on m=2021 Honda CBR600RR cannot even be changed. You have to replace the entire pump to do so. PITA!

If you read my earlier post on page 1, my solution it to heavily filter the gas I put in my bikes. And it seems to be working, at least for the two I have had for many years. The 21 Honda, only time will tell.

 

[SumoPsycho]

I’d check the timing belt.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

I’d check the timing belt.

2.5L has a chain i believe

 

[SumoPsycho]

Guess I’ll leave it to the blind leading the blind.

 

[scotts90ranger]

2.5L has a chain i believe

All Lima's have a belt, square tooth until '92 then round tooth after that, round tooth can be used on either...