Newbie with a question (2.8l v6)

[aggieengnr]

Hello all, Hopefully I'll be in here quite frequently learning more about my new little prideful toy!

Just bought me an '83 Ranger 4x4 pickup today and already I love it! Problem is, it needs a little loving to get it back in running order.

it is hard Hard to start the engine when it has been sitting. When it finally starts and runs, it misses and runs very rough. White smoke pours out the exhaust and there is oil on the tailpipe. Previous owner said the valve seals need to be replaced. Sound like that's where the smoke is coming from? It also has hardly any power!

Im worried about a possibility of a cracked head or head gasket.... also, there is a lot of oil leaking around what looks to be the valve covers. I'm not sure if its the valve covers or the head(s) theirself. I'm still skeptical that it is a head/ head gasket though because I pulled a plug from either side and checked and no white residue on them (as if they'd been burning antifreeze)

Can y'all help me get my new joy up and moving well??

 

[RonD]

Simple quick test for head crack/gasket issue is the cooling system.

A cold engine cooling system has no internal pressure, the pressure in a cooling system comes from the coolant heating up and expanding, the water pump just circulates coolant it does not add pressure.

So the simple test, with engine cold remove rad cap and overflow hose from rad cap opening.
Start engine, overflowing coolant at this time is not a good sign
It is being displaced by something, could be air/exhaust being pumped into the system from a cylinder, so crack or gasket issue.

OK so no overflowing lets do the test.
Put a latex glove or plastic baggie over the rad cap opening and pinch it tight with your fingers, use 1 finger to block the overflow tube opening.
If glove or baggie start to inflate then the only place that pressure could come from is a cylinder
You have a Crack or gasket issue.

Hard to start could be carburetor issue, fuel could be leaking out so it must be primed again by cranking the engine over.
On cold carburetor engine you usually push your foot to the floor once and let off before cranking, this sets the choke plate for cold engine start.

Old plug wires can reduce the spark at the plugs so cold starting when fuel is not as vaporized as when warm can cause slow starting.

A spray can of Quick Start can be a good tool, it can often tell you if its a fuel or spark issue.
If you spray some into the intake before cranking the first time, and then crank the engine, if it fires but doesn't stay running then fuel is the issue, if it still doesn't fire then look at the spark system.

 

[wildbill23c]

A slight crack or leak in the head gaskets can be hard to detect, you can try the above method, also check the coolant and oil for signs of coolant and oil mixing, should be kind of a milky color.

The lack of power could be the carburetor not adjusted right, if its hard to start I'm betting its the carburetor isn't adjusted right, I just picked up an 84 bronco 2 a couple months ago and during the summer it ran awesome, started easy, etc. By the time I got it paid for and brought home it was cold, it ran like crap, and was hard to start and keep running. I started doing some research and found out how to initially set the carburetor and went from there, after some adjustments I got it running pretty well, I did have to tie the choke butterfly open as the choke doesn't work at all, but it's not that hard to get it going even in extreme cold. The only 2 carburetor adjustments I made were to the 2 screws on the base of the carb on the front of it. I initially turned them all the way in until they were seated lightly, then backed them out 3 turns which gave it a really rough idle once it was warmed up so it would stay running while I did this. I kept adjusting them until it would idle smooth and accelerate smooth. Runs great now.

Right now its in the shop having some work done on it, which wasn't as bad as my initial thought of a rod knocking, was just the previous owner really didn't do very good work on it, didn't tighten or overtightened the bolts on the flywheel causing it to come lose, easy fix, just got my new oil pan gaskets today so those will be installed Monday or Tuesday.

If you can't seem to get it figured out yourself, I suggest if you have a high school real close to you talk to their auto shop class instructor and see if you can bring it in and let them go through it for you. Only thing they will charge you for, or what I'm doing is I have them let me know what it needs and I buy the part and they install it for free. So far I've saved thousands of dollars doing this, I just had the head gaskets replaced in it a month ago. It helps the kids learn, and helps me save money at the same time. I would have done the work myself but in negative degree temperatures and no shelter to work in it would have been impossible.

Oil leaks on these vehicles I think were mandatory or something because every ranger/bronco 2 I've been around or owned has leaked oil. The usual places are the valve covers, rear main seal, and oil pan gaskets. Occasionally I've seen them leak oil around the oil filter housing as well. The burning oil is either worn piston rings, or valve seals.

 

[aggieengnr]

Wow! Lots of info to get started on! Thanks guys!

I'm going to try the glove over the ead cap truck and see if I can see any pressure buildup. If not, move on to carb adjustment. The truck come from factory with the carb adjusted for Colorado at an altitude of 10,000 ft. It is now in Texas with me at an altitude of 1500 ft, so I have no doubt it also needs some carb adjustment. I turned the screws all the way in as described before I posted on here and backed them out approximately 2.5 turns apiece. Is there any other adjustment that may need to be done to carb on count of the altitude change or are the two adjusting screws on front the only thing?

 

[aggieengnr]

Ok, so I tried the nitrile glove over the rad cap running it cold and it didnt air up nor was there any fluid trying to flow out. When it is cold, it is extremely hard to get it started. I have to jump it off because ill end up running the battery dry just to try and get it started and running.

I don't know whether to start with the ignition or carb. Any more suggestions are appreciated.

 

[aggieengnr]

It also has zero power!

 

[RonD]

If you goggle: motorcraft 2150 carburetor adjustment

You will see several helpful links, one is a "rebuild" PDF from here(rangerstation) which shows details of the carb and adjustments, might be good to have on hand

Try some Quick Start(or similar) staring fluid, that will tell you if it is fuel or spark that is the issue.

 

[aggieengnr]

Whenever I start it after it is warm. I have to slightly give it gas to get it to start. I just cleaned the terminals on the cap and rotor and coil. Didn't make any difference. It runs rough and the idle is high and seems as though one or maybe two cylinders are missing. I found one vacuum hose that runs to nowhere and is just open to air. I put my finger on it and It definitely has a vacuum. Whenever I would hold my finger over it, idle would only very slightly come down (hardly noticeable).

That vacuum line seems to be coming off of a "bulkhead" type fitting that taps into the back of the intake manifold for vacuum and as stated, is not connected to anything. I know vacuum lines damages or missing can affect idle and performance, but it doesn't explain the hard start, rough idle.

 

[RonD]

Yes, unhooked vacuum lines usually cause issues, and not just because of the leak.

if you don't have the vacuum line diagram sticker under the hood then look here
http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/vacuum_hose_guide.shtml

Click on the 2.8 V6 to see it

 

[wildbill23c]

Also, here is the link to that Motorcraft 2150 PDF file. http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/pdf_documents/motorcraft_2150_carb.pdf

This may help you get it running smoother. All I did was adjust the 2 front screws on the base of the carburetor to get mine running right, I'm not sure what the 2 screws in the back adjust. But you need to keep adjusting the 2 front ones until it will idle better. One thing to try is to get a piece of wire and tie the choke butterfly open then start it up and either let it run until it warms up or start it up and drive it around until it warms up, then park it on level ground and start adjusting those 2 front screws until it idles smoother. Another thing to is there's a screw on the right side of the carb (looking at the carb from the front of the vehicle) that controls how far the high idle mechanism goes, if that screw is screwed in or out too much it will effect how high or low the idle speed will be, check that screw as well.

 

[Angie]

White smoke pours out the exhaust and there is oil on the tailpipe.

is it auto tranny?
check the vaccuum line that runs down to the transmission to make sure that the tranny modulator isn't hooped. check for tranny fluid in the line.

here is a link to what happened to me

http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=135585

 

[kimcrwbr1]

Whenever I start it after it is warm. I have to slightly give it gas to get it to start. I just cleaned the terminals on the cap and rotor and coil. Didn't make any difference. It runs rough and the idle is high and seems as though one or maybe two cylinders are missing. I found one vacuum hose that runs to nowhere and is just open to air. I put my finger on it and It definitely has a vacuum. Whenever I would hold my finger over it, idle would only very slightly come down (hardly noticeable).

That vacuum line seems to be coming off of a "bulkhead" type fitting that taps into the back of the intake manifold for vacuum and as stated, is not connected to anything. I know vacuum lines damages or missing can affect idle and performance, but it doesn't explain the hard start, rough idle.

Are you still running with the computer? Is the choke fully closed when you go to start it cold? Do you need to pass emissions? If your running with the computer all of the sensors have to be connected and vacuum lines correct. Never run it with anything disconnected. Disconnect the battery and go through and clean all the connectors with electrical cleaner and use dielectric grease to put them together. connect the battery after everything is plugged in and push the pedal to the floor once the choke should close. It sounds like the computer is not working and it is running in limp mode. The timing is not advancing properly and stuck on base timing. Check the spout wire is connected, if you look at the wires going to the distributor there is a single wire with a connector that is the spout wire make sure it is clean and disconnected then hook a timing light and start the truck. There is a round thing and a pointer use the pointer and check the timing is at 10 dbtdc then connect the spout wire it should advance the iming and run better. If you dont have to pass emissions duraspark it especially if it throws more than three codes chances are you will never get the computer working correct. The computer should control the idle after the engine is warmed up between 650-700rpm. If the computer is working I will tell you how to adjust the idle air screws but for diagnostics turn them out 3 turns from lightly seated to get it sorted out first.

 

[kimcrwbr1]

The only vacuum line that is open is the orange one it plugs into the bottom of the air horn on the carb it pulls fesh filtered air in to release the egr. all others are hooked to components.

 

[aggieengnr]

I've thought of doing the duraspark after reading about it several places on here. I do not believe I have to pass emissions around here, but if I could keep the computer working correctly, I will. If not. Junk the Damn thing so I can drive my ranger!

It is a manual tranny so I shouldn't have an issue like you shared Angie. Thank You for sharing and helping.

What do I need to do to read the codes on the ECM for this thing? I know there must be a ALDL plug somewhere that I jump wires across right?

 

[kimcrwbr1]

You can use a reader a test light or a VOM with a needle, the test connector is by the start solenoid in the tech section under EEC-IV it gives a brief explanation I have a chilton that goes into more detail.