urgent only running vehicle

[83RangerBill]

I have a 96 ford explorer that will not start it has spark and fuel half of a tank of gas and heet in the tank it will crank over but will not catch. It has pressure at the fuel rail and I pulled a plug wire slid a screw driver in the end held it over the fender and got a spark when I had someone crank it any thoughts on where to start. Any help is really appreciated

 

[adsm08]

Check that the injectors are getting pulsed.

 

[RonD]

If you have some spare gas in a can put some in the intake, see if it fires

Is it a 4.0l or 5.0l?

Also unplug the MAF sensor, see if it fires up

 

[Lil-Pony]

Crank it and remove a sparkplug and smell for gas.
Im not sure if this year is distributor-less.

 

[adsm08]

Im not sure if this year is distributor-less.

If you find me an Explorer that has a distributor, factory equipped, and I will give you $100.

91 to 95 only had the 4.0. 4.0s were coil pack from day one.

96 to 01 also had the 5.0. The Explorer 5.0 always had coil packs.

The 4.6 started with coil packs and then went to coil-on-plug.

The 3.5 in the new Explorers was always coil-on-plug.

Explorers never had distributors.

 

[Lil-Pony]

If you find me an Explorer that has a distributor, factory equipped, and I will give you $100.

91 to 95 only had the 4.0. 4.0s were coil pack from day one.

96 to 01 also had the 5.0. The Explorer 5.0 always had coil packs.

The 4.6 started with coil packs and then went to coil-on-plug.

The 3.5 in the new Explorers was always coil-on-plug.

Explorers never had distributors.

Alrighty, so timing is not user adjustable by a wrench. Check for gas delivery.

 

[Road Angels]

If you got spark, and you prime it or use starter fliuld and still wont fire then cam timing has gone bye bye

 

[kimcrwbr1]

Are the plugs wet when you pull them out. Try and light them with a lighter. If you slugged the fuel rail with water It can take a bit to get fresh fuel to the injectors. Pull the fuel line off the fuel rail and stick it into a glass jar and cycle the key until you get fresh fuel out of the tank. It would speed it up to pull and drain the fuel rail.

 

[feellnfroggy]

check the tailpipe for smell, raw gas or lean?

 

[83RangerBill]

OK so replaced the spark plugs they really needed it I have fuel getting to the cylinders have a raw glass smell coming out of the exhaust unhooked the mas sensor shot some ether into her still no fire. OK here's where it gets weird I disabled the fuel pump to test the cam position sensor by pulling the fuse for it it would crank over like it should but when I put it back in it cranks slowly.the cps tested bad replaced it after I did that I shot some ether in it it fired up and ran rough then died I hooked the fuel pump back up and got nothing so shot a little more ether to her and now she backfires when u let off the key but still won't kick over is it engine timeing I'm thinking I need to redo the timing chain am I correct? Really appreciate all the help and suggestions I've been getting

 

[black_demon69]

OK so replaced the spark plugs they really needed it I have fuel getting to the cylinders have a raw glass smell coming out of the exhaust unhooked the mas sensor shot some ether into her still no fire. OK here's where it gets weird I disabled the fuel pump to test the cam position sensor by pulling the fuse for it it would crank over like it should but when I put it back in it cranks slowly.the cps tested bad replaced it after I did that I shot some ether in it it fired up and ran rough then died I hooked the fuel pump back up and got nothing so shot a little more ether to her and now she backfires when u let off the key but still won't kick over is it engine timeing I'm thinking I need to redo the timing chain am I correct? Really appreciate all the help and suggestions I've been getting

Sounds almost like timing chain possibly or wires in wrong order on distributor.

 

[83RangerBill]

Its a coil pack setup how much of a pia is it to replace the timing chain

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

 

[adsm08]

Its not what I would call fun, but it's going to be better than a 5.4.

Cam timing can be verified by checking compression. If the cam timing is off it will have bad compressions, like 30 to 60 pounds.

 

[RonD]

^^ +1
Compression test will tell you if timing chain(valve/piston timing) is off

Spark timing is initiated by the CKP(crankshaft position) sensor, CKP sensors rarely fail
CPS(cam position sensor) is used for the fuel injectors primarily
I believe '95 was the last year of the EDIS module, separate module for spark timing
Spark timing was combined with the PCM(computer) module in '96

You could use a timing light on #1 to see where spark is coming relative to TDC on the crank.
If you borrow or rent an OBDII scan tool you can see if there is any problem with CKP sensor or any history codes that might help in finding the problem.

 

[Earl43P]

OK so replaced the spark plugs they really needed it I have fuel getting to the cylinders have a raw glass smell coming out of the exhaust unhooked the mas sensor shot some ether into her still no fire. OK here's where it gets weird I disabled the fuel pump to test the cam position sensor by pulling the fuse for it it would crank over like it should but when I put it back in it cranks slowly.the cps tested bad replaced it after I did that I shot some ether in it it fired up and ran rough then died I hooked the fuel pump back up and got nothing so shot a little more ether to her and now she backfires when u let off the key but still won't kick over is it engine timeing I'm thinking I need to redo the timing chain am I correct? Really appreciate all the help and suggestions I've been getting

All that sounds like fuel pump to me.
High FP current draw affecting cranking speed.
Ran on ether so timing is ok.

At least TEST the fuel pressure with a gage and while cranking.