2.5L ('98-'01) Fuel pressure regulator

[donquijote]

How difficult is to remove the damper on a 1998 Ranger 2.5l? It's leaking bad on my Ranger.

 

[pacstud]

98 2.5 returnless system

OK, no need for a new thread. KOEO, pressure goes to 10 then drops to zero within seconds. KOER, it goes to 60 and holds (I only went for a minute, have to run errands).

It has taken a few (sometimes many) cranks to start for a few months. New filter helped greatly. Once it starts, no problems at all. A few weeks ago pressure dropped while driving but then came back up and has run fine since.

Google says fuel pressure regulator is most likely culprit.

Does it matter? Am I looking at a new pump assembly?

 

[Rick W]

I never worked on a 2.5. Right now I have fuel problems with my 97 4.0. I’m pretty sure it’s the fuel pump in the tank.

Changing the fuel filter is easy, and should be a routine item. I don’t know about the 2.5. My 4.0 has a return system, but there is a pressure regulator that sits on the fuel rail. I bought it, but I haven’t replaced it yet, I’m not sure yours is the same. But it looks pretty easy to swap that, and it was cheap.

The easiest way to change the fuel pump is to remove the bed. It sounds like a big deal, but it’s actually pretty easy.

1. Take the three screws out of the fill neck.
2. Trace down the wires to the tail lights. There should be a plug between the wire that comes down the frame rail from the front, and plugs going to the license plate lights, and tail lights, in the back.
3. Trace the wires from the front and make sure none of them are attached to the bottom of the bed.
4. Take the tailgate off, just to remove weight from the bed
5. There are six star bolts in the bed. Two up by the cab, two in the rear, and two about a foot in from the rear.
6. Two moderately strong guys can pick the bed up and slide it backwards. The hang up is getting the bed to go over the wheels where there is a step up.

I removed my beds by myself and put them back on by myself and I’m a feeble old man. I cut some two by fours the width of the frame rail, I get underneath and push the bed up with my feet, and then set the two by fours across the frame rails. Then I can either pick the bed up from the back, and wiggle it and slide it backwards. You have to pick it up a couple feet to get it to clear the hump or you can pick it up from one side and slide it off the other side.

Of course, you have to be careful of damaging the bed. Mine is painted with a roller with rust oleum. It looks nice and I still don’t want to scratch it, but it’s not like it was showroom. I always use moving pads for when I’m popping it on its side or on the end. If I stand it up on the end, I tie it off, so the wind doesn’t blow it over and damage it.

A note on pulling out the star bolts. Do you have rust on your truck? Even if it’s pretty nice, those bolts can get pretty rusty, especially the ones up by the cab. I use a long breaker bar, and when I put the star in, I actually try to tighten it up just a 16th of an inch, and then loosen it in eighth of an inch, and then tighten it, and then loosen it, etc., to work the bolt free. You can tell pretty quickly if it’s going to move or not. Once I get them to turn a half turn, I use my light duty impact wrench. I always wire brush them and dip them in oil base paint before I put them back in. I put them in wet. The paint keeps them from rusting, but doesn’t act as a thread lock, so they’re easy to break free the next time.

The pump is very easy. There are videos on how to pull it, but you disconnect the lines and pull the plug. Then there’s a big round ring with notches on it that you have to spin counterclockwise by tapping on one of the notches with a screwdriver with a hammer. Tap it lightly. Then the whole thing just pulls out. The biggest mistake I see with people putting them in, is they don’t get the big round rubber washer in the right place, which leaves an air leak, and you can overflow your tank onto the ground.

Some of these other guys probably know that 2.5 L a lot better than me. Just use this thread and reach out again

Hope it helps.

 

[pacstud]

I never worked on a 2.5. Right now I have fuel problems with my 97 4.0. I’m pretty sure it’s the fuel pump in the tank.

Changing the fuel filter is easy, and should be a routine item. I don’t know about the 2.5. My 4.0 has a return system, but there is a pressure regulator that sits on the fuel rail. I bought it, but I haven’t replaced it yet, I’m not sure yours is the same. But it looks pretty easy to swap that, and it was cheap.

The easiest way to change the fuel pump is to remove the bed. It sounds like a big deal, but it’s actually pretty easy.

1. Take the three screws out of the fill neck.
2. Trace down the wires to the tail lights. There should be a plug between the wire that comes down the frame rail from the front, and plugs going to the license plate lights, and tail lights, in the back.
3. Trace the wires from the front and make sure none of them are attached to the bottom of the bed.
4. Take the tailgate off, just to remove weight from the bed
5. There are six star bolts in the bed. Two up by the cab, two in the rear, and two about a foot in from the rear.
6. Two moderately strong guys can pick the bed up and slide it backwards. The hang up is getting the bed to go over the wheels where there is a step up.

I removed my beds by myself and put them back on by myself and I’m a feeble old man. I cut some two by fours the width of the frame rail, I get underneath and push the bed up with my feet, and then set the two by fours across the frame rails. Then I can either pick the bed up from the back, and wiggle it and slide it backwards. You have to pick it up a couple feet to get it to clear the hump or you can pick it up from one side and slide it off the other side.

Of course, you have to be careful of damaging the bed. Mine is painted with a roller with rust oleum. It looks nice and I still don’t want to scratch it, but it’s not like it was showroom. I always use moving pads for when I’m popping it on its side or on the end. If I stand it up on the end, I tie it off, so the wind doesn’t blow it over and damage it.

A note on pulling out the star bolts. Do you have rust on your truck? Even if it’s pretty nice, those bolts can get pretty rusty, especially the ones up by the cab. I use a long breaker bar, and when I put the star in, I actually try to tighten it up just a 16th of an inch, and then loosen it in eighth of an inch, and then tighten it, and then loosen it, etc., to work the bolt free. You can tell pretty quickly if it’s going to move or not. Once I get them to turn a half turn, I use my light duty impact wrench. I always wire brush them and dip them in oil base paint before I put them back in. I put them in wet. The paint keeps them from rusting, but doesn’t act as a thread lock, so they’re easy to break free the next time.

The pump is very easy. There are videos on how to pull it, but you disconnect the lines and pull the plug. Then there’s a big round ring with notches on it that you have to spin counterclockwise by tapping on one of the notches with a screwdriver with a hammer. Tap it lightly. Then the whole thing just pulls out. The biggest mistake I see with people putting them in, is they don’t get the big round rubber washer in the right place, which leaves an air leak, and you can overflow your tank onto the ground.

Some of these other guys probably know that 2.5 L a lot better than me. Just use this thread and reach out again

Hope it helps.

Thank you! I am planning on pulling the bed, but I'd like to wait til next (spring break/summer vacation). Then I want to do the rear suspension as well (hangers, shackles, rust cleanup, treatment). I already have new hardware for the bed, but I appreciate the challenge of getting it off. I need to pull the liner and then try to pretreat with some penetrant for a couple weeks/months.

So while it's off, I can do the fuel stuff. I don't mind doing the assembly (the regulator and the check valve are "part of" the assembly, according to google cannot be replaced) but I am nervous as the aftermarkets are mixed reliability and I cannot find OE. So I didn't know if anyone here knew about trying to just replace the regulator or check valve on the OE assembly. My guess is I'm just going to replace the whole unit. I can at least keep/clean the old unit and have it on hand.

If it keeps working, I'll wait, if it craps (if the pump is in fact slowly dying), then I guess that project gets moved up the timeline lol.