2.3L hard fire up and running rough.
#1
12-25-2018
Thread Starter
|
Member
Joined: Dec 2018
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
From: Bloomington
2.3L hard fire up and running rough.
Truck is having a hard time starting and when it does start it runs really rough. Mis fires and back fires under a load. Something is not right with it. Changed the plugs,coil, new battery, cleaned MAF and IAC. Still no change. When I unplug the MAF when the truck is running it doesn’t change at all. I just wonder if maybe the sensor is bad. Any suggestions would be great.
#2
12-25-2018
Welcome to the forum
What year Ranger?
1997 and older have the 2.3l SOHC Lima engine
2001 and up had the 2.3l DOHC Duratec
If 1997 or older then it has a timing belt that can slip if its older, this causes lower compression, which cause the symptoms you describe
Just as a heads up about any vehicle that uses electronic sensors or controls, they rarely fail, not never but rarely
And they are monitor by the computer at all times so if they do fail you will almost always get a Check Engine Light and a code
They are often replaced, lol, and 90% of the time the original sensor was fine, just needed the connector cleaned by unplugging it and plugging it back in, sensors only use about 5volts so need a clean connection
Only sensor that does where out is the O2 sensor, it uses a chemical to detect oxygen on the exhaust, and that chemical gets used up, they last about 150k miles
And no, failing O2 won't cause your problem
If possible check compression on any cylinder, 2.3l should be 150psi or higher, if its low you will need to check them all to see the average
Once compression is off the table you can then look at fuel and spark system
If you don't check compression first then you can waste time and money on non-fixes for the spark and fuel systems
Bad gas, gasoline with higher water content is "bad gas", it can happen any time you get gas, and causes just what you describe
All gas has some water in it, and water is heavier than gas so sinks to the bottom of the tank where it sits waiting to be sucked up by fuel pump
What year Ranger?
1997 and older have the 2.3l SOHC Lima engine
2001 and up had the 2.3l DOHC Duratec
If 1997 or older then it has a timing belt that can slip if its older, this causes lower compression, which cause the symptoms you describe
Just as a heads up about any vehicle that uses electronic sensors or controls, they rarely fail, not never but rarely
And they are monitor by the computer at all times so if they do fail you will almost always get a Check Engine Light and a code
They are often replaced, lol, and 90% of the time the original sensor was fine, just needed the connector cleaned by unplugging it and plugging it back in, sensors only use about 5volts so need a clean connection
Only sensor that does where out is the O2 sensor, it uses a chemical to detect oxygen on the exhaust, and that chemical gets used up, they last about 150k miles
And no, failing O2 won't cause your problem
If possible check compression on any cylinder, 2.3l should be 150psi or higher, if its low you will need to check them all to see the average
Once compression is off the table you can then look at fuel and spark system
If you don't check compression first then you can waste time and money on non-fixes for the spark and fuel systems
Bad gas, gasoline with higher water content is "bad gas", it can happen any time you get gas, and causes just what you describe
All gas has some water in it, and water is heavier than gas so sinks to the bottom of the tank where it sits waiting to be sucked up by fuel pump
#3
12-25-2018
Thread Starter
|
Member
Joined: Dec 2018
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
From: Bloomington
It’s a 1995 2.3. 5 speed. It never had any problems until the starter went out last week, so I changed it. And after that it wouldn’t start. Ended up putting new battery in it and it fired up. After putting that starter in the truck has never been the same for some reason. The ground and everything on the starter is tight. I don’t know what it could be. I’ll check compression, just seems odd that it would have low compression all of a sudden.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
BMMMGMHM02
2.3L & 2.5L I4 Tech
3
10-09-2018 06:24 PM
