2.3L ('83-'97) CA Emissions Failed — Troubleshooting Before Retest

[Shran]

#1, cone style is the one I always see on old trucks. Aftermarket sensors are junk, I've had a bunch of them not work right out of the box and a few where the connector will spin inside the metal piece... not good. Let me know if you ever run across the Ford part number for that, I imagine there are some out there still, like I said that particular sensor was used on just about every Ford truck and probably cars too from the mid 80's to the mid 90's.

Edit - looks like RockAuto shows these part numbers as interchangeable - 19189479, 1FDA18707, 9U2Z12A648A, DY1145, DY303, DY486, DY681, E0AZ12A648A, E1AZ12A648A, E6DZ12A648A, F2AZ12A648A, F4TZ12A648A, ZZL018707, ZZL018707A, ZZM018707

 

[turner]

The closest I've gotten is #F2AF12A648AA. This redirects to #DY1145 on the official Ford parts site, which is the flared style that I just tested resistance for. It shows compatibility with nearly every 80's Ford vehicle I can think of, including the Bronco II. Rangers aren't on that site at all, for some reason. Without a parts book I can't be sure of any of it.

For #DY1145 it says: "Sensor; Updated design, may require splicing of included wiring harness". So assuming this is the new Motorcraft part for this application, I'd hope it's as good as the old ones.

 

[turner]

Went through the cooling system. There was plaque/buildup in some of the hoses, pretty sad state overall. Also found a perfectly preserved, completely bald mouse floating in the overflow tank. The top cap was firmly in place. I've owned this truck about two years and never touched the overflow, so he's been in there a while.

Drained and refilled the radiator a few times, running the engine to circulate everything. When the drain looked clean, I replaced hoses and the heater core (NOS motorcraft). The heater works great now. Replaced the stat at the same time, and sure enough the PO had used a 180° unit. With a 195° stat the temp needle sits in the "normal" area of the gauge.

After driving a few days on just distilled water, I disassembled everything again, and found one of the smaller hoses (the one that connects to a metal pipe behind the valve cover) plugged with plaque again. I got rid of that metal pipe (very crusty) and ran a hose directly between the T & intake. Hopefully none of this junk made it into the new heater core. I'll probably disassemble one more time to make sure the hoses are clear.

Also replaced the ECT sensor with the new type, although I didn't have a deep enough socket to get it properly tightened. As it is, this sensor reads around 0.9V with the engine fully warmed up, although it's hunting at idle now. I'm getting a code 13--RPM out of range at idle, again. Gonna give the computer a few cycles to settle in, it seems to rebel when I make changes. And get the sensor screwed in fully. Maybe the depth of the sensor in the coolant flow is important?

 

[Shran]

Where'd you get the NOS heater core? Wouldn't mind having a couple of those on hand... the OEM ones are awesome, the aftermarket aluminum ones suck.

 

[turner]

I got it on eBay, listed under "Ford E3TZ-18476-J"

Unfortunately there were only two on there: mine was $50, and there's another dreamer trying to sell one for $300 lol.