What did you do to your Ranger today? (Part Deux!)


Lucky & unlucky…

I cut out the bottom of the toolbox on the Road Ranger, little by little, to expose the fuel pump, without making the hole any bigger than it had to be.

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IMG_6363.jpeg


If you look close at the top of the picture, the metal ring that holds the fuel pump is underneath the cross piece that is the bottom of the headache rack. You can barely move the headache rack at the top since it’s bolted to the frame where the bolts holding the bed used to be. Same bolts.

I got a screwdriver and dead blow and backed off the ring. I had to use two little screwdriver-size pry bars on either side of the ring, and push them down with one hand while I finally spun the ring loose. Fortunately, after that, the fuel pump came right out, and the new one went right in.

Putting the ring back on was another story. Even using the two little pry bars, that made the surface uneven, and it was next to impossible to get the four little blades to catch into the locking things. If you’re familiar, the outside edges of the ring ramp up on one end. I flattened that out where it had to go under the headache rack, and I ground it down just a little bit. Then using all three of my hands, I actually got it back together. That was the lucky part.

The unlucky part? That didn’t solve the lack of power problem. It runs perfect on idle and on low power, but when you stomp it, it starts breaking up. Next step is to pull the fuel filter. I’m working forward.

I made a patch for the hole in the floor of the toolbox, and the little step for the battery I made when I put the toolbox on and I added the second battery in the toolbox, so it would clear the modified fill neck. I also put the battery in a plastic battery box and made a new hold down that grabs the outside of that plastic box. And I cleaned up a little of the terminal strip right above it

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The high density foam battery topper is by design. It’s hollowed out on the bottom side, so it rests almost on the case, but I can pull up the corners if I need to put jumpers on that battery for any reason, to power a winch or such.

I’m going to install the little tiny air compressor while I got the box empty, and maybe do a couple other things.

Next, I’m going to change the fuel filter, the coil pack block, and the fuel rail relief valve that feeds the return line.

Question: this thing is electronic fuel injection. Do you still have to set the timing on this thing somehow? Or is that all done electronically? 1997 4.0.

The adventure continues. All comments, graciously accepted.
 
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Question: this thing is electronic fuel injection. Do you still have to set the timing on this thing somehow? Or is that all done electronically? 1997 4.0.
THere is no timing to the fuel pump. It just provides constant pressure and flow. The pressure regulator maintauns proper pressure to the injectors. The ECU pulses the injectors at the proper time and duration. As long as it pumps enough pressure and flow, you're good.
 
@Rick W , engine timing is controlled by the cam sensor which is on top of the oil drive/cam sender assembly that is in the place a distributor would be. My green Ranger was breaking up under heavy acceleration and it turned out the sensor wasn’t in good shape and the actual drive assembly had bad bushings so I replaced the whole mess. Fortunately for me, it’s conveniently in front on the 5.0 so it was really easy to do. Unfortunately for you, it’s behind the intake.
 
@Rick W , engine timing is controlled by the cam sensor which is on top of the oil drive/cam sender assembly that is in the place a distributor would be. My green Ranger was breaking up under heavy acceleration and it turned out the sensor wasn’t in good shape and the actual drive assembly had bad bushings so I replaced the whole mess. Fortunately for me, it’s conveniently in front on the 5.0 so it was really easy to do. Unfortunately for you, it’s behind the intake.

I’ve said it before, but I feel cheated now that I’m old. When I was a kid, I had to learn how to do all this stuff from some crotchety old fart who would pass it down with a grudge. Now I’m the crotchety old fart, and I can’t get payback because everything is on YouTube!

I looked up how to replace that cam sensor, and found a great video. Doesn’t look too hard, just a pain in the butt to squeeze in between the firewall in the engine. But I had to laugh in the middle when I saw this, and I can’t help but share it. Where’s Waldo?

What did you do to your Ranger today? (Part Deux!)


It was a very well done video in good detail, very professional. I’m just wondering if he had a squirrel assisting him, or if the squirrel had lived there and already moved out, maybe chased off by the activity. The squirrels I know would have fought blood sweat and tears before they ran away and left their acorn.
 
Afterthought, when I looked up buying the cam position sensor, apparently you can buy just the electronic cap or you can buy the entire thing that goes down into the gears. Truck has been very very well maintained. Do you think I should try the cap first or should I just get the whole thing?
 
is the price different huge? if not, i would go for the whole thing
 
is the price different huge? if not, i would go for the whole thing

Electronic cap is $8 plus tax and I paid for overnight shipping so it came to $20. Rock auto. Everything around here was starting at $45.

The whole synchronizer thing on rock auto is $45, so that would be $60. Everything around here is about $80 plus tax and up.

I ordered the cap, I’ll get it tomorrow. The truck‘s been pretty much sitting since October or November, and I just want to get it ready for the show season starting in a couple months. So there’s no rush.

I’m just trying to do everything I can before replacing the injectors. I can do that, but that’s a big job for me.
 

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