Question..

[Bryan22]

I just bought a 94 ranger with a 2.3l done all the basic stuff plus some not so basic stuff trying to get it to run better. The truck does ok on flat ground and down hill =]. When im going up anykind of grade in 4th or 5th it loses speed no matter what even if im going 70 drop it into 4th and floor it. Also getting like 13-16 MPG i've been trying to troubleshoot this thing for like 2 months now but it seems like im stuck here... any help?

 

[Ranger44]

Hmmm....My 2.3 is even with 4.10's will lose speed in 5th. In 4th it rarely does. But still the 13-16 mpg seems a little odd. Mine's 4x4 and gets 19-20mpg. You should at least be getting 20. Have you checked for any tdc's?

 

[jlloyd]

try the tie raps on your gas pedal cable inside the car.check for a lot of play.

 

[Mark_88]

Losing speed uphill is common for these engines...especially in 5th gear...always had to downshift even when it was running in top shape...

The tie raps might help but I'd be concerned about the gas mileage too...I usued to get 24 in mine (carbed) so I'd suspect something else like a plugged cat...no real way to test that other than to take it off and run a straight pipe to the muffler for a few days to see if it runs any better...if it does you might try replacing the cat...

Did you try pulling codes to see if it was throwing anything unusual???

 

[Bryan22]

the throttle cable dosent have much play im sure it's opening to the stop when i floor it b/c i had someone check that out for me. the truck threw a couple of codes yesterday that it never has beofre, but i have no idea what they mean. 214 cylinder identification sensor circuit falure and 222 dis problem loss of right side IDM signal, but i think it was just b/c the connectors got screwed up from when i changed the thermostat it didn't seal right the first time and blew antifreeze all over them so i cleaned them with starting fluid unplugged the battery and hooked it all back up so ill check later on tonight to see if it throws the codes again. also it looks like someone tampered with the computer or changed it b/c it's not mounted in there properly. another thing that is curious is that there is a wire coming straight out of the computer (orange with a red stripe) that for some reason had to be spliced in with a direct ground for the motor to run. I dunno how to read the wireing diagram so i have no idea what the wire actually goes to or why it need to have a make shift ground inline with it.... so confusing. Also it idles super rough i've replaced the IAC allready it helped a little but not much. i'll try to get a couple pictures so u guys can see what im talking about. thanks for any help in advance.

 

[Bryan22]

Another quick note... i replaced the thermostat yesterday b/c the truck won't warm up. I know it's opening now b/c i changed it for one and the top hose gets hot. but the gauge still never really gets into the "normal" range... im wondering if the computer is leaving the choke on thinking the engine is never warm thus feeding it too much fuel?

 

[ohotstuff]

i have a 92 ranger with a 2.3 doing the same thing ran great after a sea foam treatment then 2 weeks after right back to dog

 

[Bryan22]

ok so after resetting everything and driving it to vegas and back (that was fun getting honked at and flipped off up every grade. lol) it's throwing a code 214 again....cylinder identification senseor- circuit failure. anyone have anyidea how to go about solving this problem?

 

[Matt G]

I have a '94, 2.3/4cyl. as well. I had the problem of lacking power going up hills and getting poor gas mileage. I noticed that the cat. converter had a hole in it and so I replaced it--the power problems went away. I can stay at 70 mph in 4th gear on the turnpike and get relatively good mileage. Good luck with finding your problem!

 

[scotts90ranger]

a plugged cat could definetely do that... but is expensive so check a little more first, or have a muffler shop look at it, they'll usually do a free check of a few things

also, do a compression check on all cylinders, they should be in the 150 to 180psi range, if one is low, that could be your problem

 

[Bryan22]

cool thanks for the replies. i was thinking of just cutting the cat out and running a straight pipe for a few days to see if that cures it.

 

[ohotstuff]

ohotstuff

I just bought a 94 ranger with a 2.3l done all the basic stuff plus some not so basic stuff trying to get it to run better. The truck does ok on flat ground and down hill =]. When im going up anykind of grade in 4th or 5th it loses speed no matter what even if im going 70 drop it into 4th and floor it. Also getting like 13-16 MPG i've been trying to troubleshoot this thing for like 2 months now but it seems like im stuck here... any help?

good luck if it runs drive it they are not strong motors if you kill a 2.3 with gas and oil you should not drive a truck they will run fore ever just no power

 

[Bryan22]

wow, this thread is old! i have fixed a whole slew of problem since then, runs pretty good now, and i think i've finally found my last gremlin. He has a blue flashlight under my hood at night! i don't even remember everything that was bad, but it pulls pretty good up a grade now and is getting 22-24 mixed driving milage. so im on the right track!

 

[Mark_88]

I was curious as to what was causing your low mpg and the sluggishness...did you pinpoint that issue to one particular fix or did a number of things clear it up???

 

[Bryan22]

mainly it was a bent EGR valve. After tapping it with a hammer a few time, the idle smoothed right out and power came up. Got a new one now. Also my fan clutch was stuck. Fixing that sent me up another 1-2 MPG and a noticable butt-dyno improvement. The DPFE had failed, i don't know if that was causing any problem, but the Check engine light went off after replacing it. Also my cat came apart one day and i couldn't even do 35mph up a grade on the highway, so it couldv'e been slowly coming apart over time adding to my problem. whew! anyways like i said a whole lot of shit has been replaced since i got my hands on the truck, much more than i've listed. Once i pinpoint where the blue gremlin is coming from i think it'll be running perfect, at least until that noisy throw out bearing finally fails. Hmm wonder if this truck was worth the 600 i paid for it
-this is what you get when you buy a truck with 210,000 miles on it from someone who has never heard of preventative maintinence-