Its a rough start:

[Old-Black-88]

My 88 is a bitch to start in the morning. Usually I have to crank it 7 or 8 or 10 times before she'll kick over. I know sometimes I flood it but cranking it and tapping the gas pedal 3 or 4 times is the only way I know how to start it. If it doesn't work the first time I repeat the process.

The truck is an 88 with a carburated 2.0L engine. I was told (by a former Ford mechanic) that these engines have weak ignition systems on them. The cap and rotor button, ignition coil and ignition control module have all been replaced as well as the plugs and wires. Where am I going wrong?

 

[RonD]

Reads like Choke is not being set.
On Cold engine
Tap gas pedal down 1/2 way and release it, then look at the choke plate on the top of the carb, it should be closed or almost closed.

Tapping the gas pedal releases the spring on the choke plate and allows it to close.
The spring is under(inside) a black plastic cap on the side of the carb, if the carb has been rebuilt the cap should have 3 screws holding it in place, if not then 3 rivets will be there and you will need to rebuild the carb or at least remove the carb and drill out the rivets to install the screws.
With screws installed you can now rotate the cap to close the choke plate to where it should be for cold start.
There should also be an electrical connector on the cap, this will go to the alternator.
When engine starts the alternator powers an electric heating coil in the cap, this heats up the spring, as the spring heats up it looses tension and choke plate slowly opens.
So as engine warms up so does the spring and once engine is at 190degF(operating temp) the choke plate should be fully opened.
The choke also operates a cam on the throttle plate, so when choke is closed this cam holds throttle open a little more, so higher idle, as choke plate opens cam moves and idles goes down a bit, until full warm up and base idle is used, about 750rpm.

Each time you press gas pedal down the carb's accelerator pump squirts fuel into intake, so yes you will be flooding the engine with 3 or 4 presses on gas pedal.
1 press of the gas pedal and choke plate closing should make for an easier start up.

A choke is adjusted for cold and warm weather, as temp gets colder choke plate needs to close more on startup, normally the spring will do this on it's own, as it gets colder it gets tighter, just like when it warms up it gets looser, but as they get older.........

You could add a manual choke cable inside the cab, "automatic" chokes were always problematic, many prefer manual choke.

Yes, the TFI ignition systems are getting very old now so prone to problems
Good read here on them: http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/TFI_Diagnostic.shtml

 

[Old-Black-88]

Im going to have to look into that. Also I've been having trouble finding a diagram for my carburetor so I can make adjustments. I know where the Idle screw is but cant find the air/fuel mix adjustment.

 

[RonD]

The 2.0l in '87 or '88 Ranger was a Toyota engine with 2 barrel Aisan carb

Part number used at some sites is FOR-500 for the aisan carb

Because of emission requirements carbs in the mid-late 1980's often didn't have accessible mix adjustment screws, you had idle and choke adjustment and that's it.

I did read that a 2bbl Holly or Weber carb could be used on your intake with adapter plate, they would have mix adjustments

 

[stateranger]

The 2.0 in his truck is an under bored version of the 2.3 ford Lima engine.

 

[Old-Black-88]

American, Not American, whatever. My truck's hobby is being a pain in the butt. Last week the timing belt went and I couldn't fix it for 3 days. I thought it was an ignition problem... Again.

 

[tomw]

The carb likely has a power valve that is vacuum operated. The valve will enrich the mix when you press on the gas, and let it get lean as you ease off the throttle. If the diaphragm on the power valve gets broken, by a backfire into the intake manifold, you can have excess fuel being flowed and poor economy (bad mileage).
If the float is sinking or mal-adjusted, or has a leaky needle & seat, you can get excess fuel into the float bowl. That can overflow into the intake manifold and make it hard to start. Again, likely poor mileage, or worse than average.
As was noted, you should see a spritz of fuel from the accelerator pump when you depress the gas pedal, or move the throttle plate linkage to open the throttle. That spritz will create a mix in the intake that can be ignited a bit easier in cold conditions than the normal mix. The choke plat should be closed, and the fast idle cam on its fastest set with full choke. It will 'fall' to the slower steps as noted as the coil spring weakens as it heats.
If you can buy a 'rebuild' or 'carb' kit for the carburetor, it will have instructions for the various settings and adjustments to set the choke, fast idle cam, float, etc that are specific to the application.(model/vintage) Most come with a float setting gauge to allow you to measure float 'drop' and fuel level in the bowl.
If the throttle plate bushings are not worn, most carbs can be cleaned and put back together and will function closer to factory.
tom

 

[Old-Black-88]

Just to update this thread, about a month ago I bought some 9mm sparkplug wires from Blue Oval Industries and they have made an outstanding difference. While my motor still doesn't start perfectly every time, the time I spend getting it started has been greatly reduced.

Aside from that, I've turned the idle back and the truck runs fine. I am looking into a new carburator, but I really don't need it yesterday.