new member posting

[junkfixr]

Starting at the beginning, it's an 87 2.9 Ranger, and suddenly fuel economy went from 15/18ish mpg down to 10 or less. I ran it out of gas so I replaced the fuel filter then noticed the tank was rusted out. Replaced the tank and the pump at the same time along with another new filter.

Someone suggested that the cat converter may be clogged so i gutted it and put a new muffler on. Engine ran cooler than before, but i'm still only getting 10 mpg or less, and on it's first road trip today it wouldn't go over 45 mph climbing uphill in traffic.

Another problem is that on cold starts, I have to rev it high and hold it there to burn off excess fuel. I get alot of white smoke,sputters & shakes but after a few minutes of the high revs, it clears up, idles pretty good & starts again without touching the gas pedal.

I'm wondering if I have a stuck open injector that's causing the cold start problem but any thoughts on why such horrible fuel economy & loss of power ? If an injector is stuck open would it burn off after cold start & idle well ? Any thought on the egr valve and whether to block it off or not ?

Kinda at a loss here cause it shifts fine without slipping but just wouldn't climb a simple uphill bridge. When I downshifted it revved like hell but just wouldn't go anywhere. Wondering if I have multiple problems or if I'm overlooking something obvious ? ANY suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[IMenriched]

Starting at the beginning, it's an 87 2.9 Ranger, and suddenly fuel economy went from 15/18ish mpg down to 10 or less. I ran it out of gas so I replaced the fuel filter then noticed the tank was rusted out. Replaced the tank and the pump at the same time along with another new filter.

Someone suggested that the cat converter may be clogged so i gutted it and put a new muffler on. Engine ran cooler than before, but i'm still only getting 10 mpg or less, and on it's first road trip today it wouldn't go over 45 mph climbing uphill in traffic.

Another problem is that on cold starts, I have to rev it high and hold it there to burn off excess fuel. I get alot of white smoke,sputters & shakes but after a few minutes of the high revs, it clears up, idles pretty good & starts again without touching the gas pedal.

I'm wondering if I have a stuck open injector that's causing the cold start problem but any thoughts on why such horrible fuel economy & loss of power ? If an injector is stuck open would it burn off after cold start & idle well ? Any thought on the egr valve and whether to block it off or not ?

Kinda at a loss here cause it shifts fine without slipping but just wouldn't climb a simple uphill bridge. When I downshifted it revved like hell but just wouldn't go anywhere. Wondering if I have multiple problems or if I'm overlooking something obvious ? ANY suggestions would be appreciated.

Agrreed...seems like you have more than 1 gremlin.

As too hard starts...might want to look into FPR ( fuel Pressure regulator), not to say that a injector or two might be leaking...just that they would be farther down list of suspects.

have you tried to get the codes??

when was the last time this unit was tuned up?? fresh plugs, wires, cap & rotor.

start simple...make sure your ground wires are all good as well as vacuum lines.

blocking off the EGR prolly will make matters worse. the ECM (engine/main computer), is looking for signals from the EGR along with other sensors , to give feed back to the air to fuel ratio adjustment. If it doesn't get one...it will put the ECM in to a bad hair day

 

[junkfixr]

It's in a good state of tune, plugs wires etc. and the egr has a simple exhaust hose going into a sensor that doesn't seem to change anything whether it's plugged in or not.

I'm also suspecting a throttle postition sensor because it seems to idle better when it's unplugged and when it is plugged in the engine lopes upon acceleration. Sounds crazy I know but it was running & getting good mileage without it.

I think what would really do it justice would be to find a manifold and put a carb on this engine. Ya think that would be difficult to locate along with a distributor that uses breaker points or are they all things of the past ? Eliminate all the electronic gremlins & let the thing breathe without being told when & how much. It's got 145,000 mi but runs strong & uses very little oil.

 

[IMenriched]

It's in a good state of tune, plugs wires etc. and the egr has a simple exhaust hose going into a sensor that doesn't seem to change anything whether it's plugged in or not.

I'm also suspecting a throttle position sensor because it seems to idle better when it's unplugged and when it is plugged in the engine lopes upon acceleration. Sounds crazy I know but it was running & getting good mileage without it.

I think what would really do it justice would be to find a manifold and put a carb on this engine. Ya think that would be difficult to locate along with a distributor that uses breaker points or are they all things of the past ? Eliminate all the electronic gremlins & let the thing breathe without being told when & how much. It's got 145,000 mi but runs strong & uses very little oil.

swapping the 2.9 over to a points and carburetor engine...is possible....but not very economical. highly frustrating, not to mention needing custom upper intake. none of this is readily available.
But if that is what you want to do, great! you been warned, it'll prolly make you

for the TPS testing
http://www.therangerstation.com/Magazine/winter2009/throttle_position_sensor.htm

 

[Deluxedave]

I usually apply the "what was changed right before the problem started?" troubleshooting approach. You ran out of fuel and then did the filter, tank and pump replacement. It sounds like the problems could all be fuel related, so I would start there.

 

[robertc1024]

You might check your coolant temp sensor too. If the computer thinks your engine is super cold, it will dump more fuel in.