My 1990 Ford's dying gasps . . .

[treeguy]

Almost a year ago, my ranger lost bunches of power & it almost limped home . . . but it seems like the timing was off . . . I had to really give it a ton of gas to get it to go anywhere close to 10 to 15 mph. I am thinking maybe a timing belt but not sure . . . I want to turn it into a 4wd and want to do it as cheap as i can . . . any thoughts would be great . . . thanks . . . got to get it running first . . . thanks folks

 

[Original_Ranger84]

Welcome to TRS! First off it helps to know what engine and stuff we are dealing with so... Do you know what engine it has? Like 2.9 3.0 or 4.0? I would guess a 2.9. possible a 4 cyl?

And what have you done to the truck since you bought it? (tune up, oil changes, ect.) if not thats where I would start. Get a new fuel filter, air filter, oil change, plugs, wires, cap, rotor, PCV.

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

need more info to diagnose. i dont know why people fill out half of the profile and then leave the important stuff out? (not trying to be a dick, but it would eliminate alot of needless posting by having all the cards face up). welcome to TRS, now lets get your truck fixed!

 

[HareRazor]

it's posted in the 2.9 section?

 

[Original_Ranger84]

^^^ yeah relized that after I posted^^^ clicked on it from home page.

But yes more info and history would be nice.

 

[Tedybear]

Could be anything from a timing chain that slipped a few teeth, or a fully clogged cat that could starve the engine for air/fuel.

S-

 

[treeguy]

Ahemmm . . . yeah I improved the vehicle info . . . to make it easier . . . I will do a tune up & look at the timing and get back to you on any progress or questions. As far as the details it went from running great to no power, my sister was driving it at the time. Thanks a bunch !!

 

[Bird76Mojo]

Mine did the same all at once pretty much. Plugged cat..

GB

 

[treeguy]

Will check the timing over the weekend & post results.

 

[treeguy]

Well the good news it I figured out the problem . The bad news is the engine oil has a little extra in it (pssssst . . . metal shavings . . . lots! ) Yeah I figured that out after checking the timing, I replaced old spark plugs & and it fired up & squealed real bad . . . it sounded like metal on metal sooooooo I followed my hunch and pulled the dipstick and saw the glittering, sparkle of metal shavings in the oil. I assume the lower end went out? It did have the tick tick tick in the head that the 2.9L were infamous for. I am not sure I want to rebuild it. I don't want to deal with making sure ALL the metal crap is flushed out. With my luck I would miss a piece or two in some oil passage way . It has been a fun weekend.

 

[treeguy]

I found a 2.9L from a Merkur Scorpio ('89) and was curious about the swap . . . I don't see an mass air flow sensor, the intake is different, and is the computer the same? What other issues will I face putting it in? Thanks

 

[holyford86]

the lower intakes are the same, you can swap the ranger upper onto it, I'm guessing that the accessory brackets are different as well so you might need to swap them too.

 

[treeguy]

Any thoughts on the computer stuff ?? I looked at other posts but wasn't able to find much. Thanks holyford86 for the above info!