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Let's wildly speculate about why a 95ish Ford Ranger I bought was parked!

posford said:
No shit a distributor isn't EDIS :homer:

I doubt OP gives a fuck about the nuance to EEC-V and EDIS, and just wants the truck to run?
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arse_sidewards said:
I thought you were speaking generally, not about this specific engine.
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I'm a curious guy and am treating this as a learning experience (mid 80's through late 90's Fords are a bit of a blind spot for me) but yes, a running truck is the goal:grinpimp:
 
arse_sidewards said:
I thought you were speaking generally, not about this specific engine.
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Yeah I'm talking about a Bronco with a distributor 4.9 in a thread about a guy with a 95 4.0 Ranger that won't start :homer:

IowaOffRoad said:
I'm a curious guy and am treating this as a learning experience (mid 80's through late 90's Fords are a bit of a blind spot for me) but yes, a running truck is the goal:grinpimp:
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Its info not worth knowing. 15 years of fucking around with this shit and my 2 90s Ford are HEI ignition or IDI for a reason :flipoff2:
 
Sorry if I got it off on a tangent. One thing about Fords I know is if it has no spark and a TIF module on the side of the distributor, Change IT!!!!! :grinpimp::grinpimp:
 
Back to basics.

theres an obd2 port... scan it. Codes or connectivity?

Get out the noid light and inline spark plug ignition light. Do they flash at you?

Typically, ignition is tied to fuel pump concerning the ecm working. If it kicks on and doesn't fire off ether, start replacing parts
 
Haven't gotten my service manual yet for wiring diagrams, but plugged in the Solus last night. No connectivity under any scenario. Key on, tried cranking it (just for shits and giggles), nothing. Attempted connection several times.

Here's the score:
Lights, radio, HVAC, start circuit, work.
Fuel pump seems to work (hit schrader valve and fuel sprays)
No spark
No connectivity through OBD2 port and no "Check Engine" bulb check upon key on.

Also, looked at ECM plug again. Thought it was EEC-IV, its not. It's EEC-V. According to the interwebs and IBB (the important source:grinpimp:) should have OBD2 functionality.
I'll update when I go through the wiring and find out what's dead.
 
Does a ranger have a CCRM relay module like mustangs of similar vintage did? That feeds ignition, ECU and fuel pump power (on a mustang anyhow).
 
Update:
I know everybody’s been waiting with bated breath to find out why this thing wouldn’t start. Fuse 19 on the IP panel was missing. I know what you’re thinking, why didn’t I find that earlier? Well, I didn’t have the door for the fuse panel that told which fuse did what. I also couldn’t tell that there were cavities that were missing a fuse due to wasp nest mud stuck in the cavity that it should go into which was masked in the gray dash. Still, :homer:
Has a miss and an exhaust leak, heading to get plugs right now.
Drove it a bit, tires are shot but it drives okay. Pulls a bit but I haven’t checked tire pressure since I winched it on the trailer. Carries good oil pressure, ac compressor short-cycles, probably just needs Freon.

So far, :smokin:
 
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Don’t mind the shitty scab tires/wheels, the ones that were on it were coming apart on my 20mi drive.
Plugs/wires fixed miss. Mouse chewed a wire and one plug has a gap that was closed. Filled tank, filler hose leaks. High beams non-op. Interior lights are intermittent. Drives down the road good, high geared as hell it seems (3.42s maybe?)
I’ll keep plugging away at it. Cleans up pretty good.
 
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I bet you can buy them. That trans had a long run and had a pretty high take rate well into the 00s.

And if you can't car-part has cores for cheap.
 
Was it low on oil? Those trans were known for the plugs on the top at the shifter coming out and then it pumping all the oil out while you drive, then melting down on you.
 
arse_sidewards said:
I bet you can buy them. That trans had a long run and had a pretty high take rate well into the 00s.

And if you can't car-part has cores for cheap.
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Yeah, found parts on eBay, would be about $200 but would probably take a week to get here. I'm cheap so I hit up a loser on MP for a complete trans and shot him a $100 offer. As much about getting it out of my shop this week as being cheap:laughing:
Ummduh said:
Was it low on oil? Those trans were known for the plugs on the top at the shifter coming out and then it pumping all the oil out while you drive, then melting down on you.
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No. This was 1 "spirited acceleration" in reverse.:eek: 1 time that I did anyway. PO was an old man who passed, have no idea about the previous umpteen owners.
Trans was full of somewhat red oil.
Odometer says 332k, have no idea if that's original to the truck considering how fucked up the wiring and the hack illumination lights on a stand in front of the IC. IC may have been replaced, truck doesn't seem to have 1/3 million miles on it...
#builtfordtough?:flipoff2:
 
IowaOffRoad said:
Yeah, found parts on eBay, would be about $200 but would probably take a week to get here. I'm cheap so I hit up a loser on MP for a complete trans and shot him a $100 offer. As much about getting it out of my shop this week as being cheap:laughing:

No. This was 1 "spirited acceleration" in reverse.:eek: 1 time that I did anyway. PO was an old man who passed, have no idea about the previous umpteen owners.
Trans was full of somewhat red oil.
Odometer says 332k, have no idea if that's original to the truck considering how fucked up the wiring and the hack illumination lights on a stand in front of the IC. IC may have been replaced, truck doesn't seem to have 1/3 million miles on it...
#builtfordtough?:flipoff2:
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I was about to recommended a cheap complete trans, but you're ahead of me already. Those are super common so you'll have no issues finding one to swap in.

Ford called for ATF in many manual gearboxes IIRC, could be the case here too.
 
Yotota said:
I was about to recommended a cheap complete trans, but you're ahead of me already. Those are super common so you'll have no issues finding one to swap in.
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:laughing: looking at MP the few I could find were 2wds so I'll probably pull the parts I need. All the listings under Ranger 5 speed or Ranger Transmission or whatever else I searched returned listings for parts trucks that were 4x4 with "transmission bad" or "5 speed transmission out" so there ya go. Fuck these Mazda transmissions, I'd rather have an Aisin. I'm surprised they used these in 1/2t pickups too, though I'm sure there were some internal differences. Everyone I knew who had a 5sp 1/2t ford back in the day ended up with transmission problems. Of course, these were mostly people in their late teens/early 20's ripping on them, so maybe it wasn't all the transmissions' fault:lmao:
Yotota said:
Ford called for ATF in many manual gearboxes IIRC, could be the case here too.
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My FSM says ATFII or Mercon, assuming its something like that.
 
Yotota said:
I've actually seen something similar (minus the dildo) in an ASE competition to troubleshoot a car. One trick that the judges liked to do was stuff a tennis ball into the intake tube. Pretty much everyone failed to do something as simple as check for obstructions in the intake... But mice/rat/squirrel nests are serious issues.
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What was the ASE competition? I remember doing one for Ford and the GNYADA comps back in the vo-tech days. I didn't win the Ford comp because my team mate couldn't get a drivebelt installed on a fucking V6 Mustang 🥱
 
IowaOffRoad said:
:laughing: looking at MP the few I could find were 2wds so I'll probably pull the parts I need. All the listings under Ranger 5 speed or Ranger Transmission or whatever else I searched returned listings for parts trucks that were 4x4 with "transmission bad" or "5 speed transmission out" so there ya go. Fuck these Mazda transmissions, I'd rather have an Aisin. I'm surprised they used these in 1/2t pickups too, though I'm sure there were some internal differences. Everyone I knew who had a 5sp 1/2t ford back in the day ended up with transmission problems. Of course, these were mostly people in their late teens/early 20's ripping on them, so maybe it wasn't all the transmissions' fault:lmao:

My FSM says ATFII or Mercon, assuming its something like that.
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Interesting. With all the Ranger and F150 prerunner dudes driving these flat-out and power shifting, I bet a lot of the transmissions got killed. Then heavily overloaded work trucks, because you know Rangers and F150s are the truck of choice for cheap construction rigs.
 
Skinny said:
What was the ASE competition? I remember doing one for Ford and the GNYADA comps back in the vo-tech days. I didn't win the Ford comp because my team mate couldn't get a drivebelt installed on a fucking V6 Mustang 🥱
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It was through the local community college automotive program, and high school students would attend as well. Late 90s/early 00s.
 
Yotota said:
Interesting. With all the Ranger and F150 prerunner dudes driving these flat-out and power shifting, I bet a lot of the transmissions got killed. Then heavily overloaded work trucks, because you know Rangers and F150s are the truck of choice for cheap construction rigs.
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They kill them pretty easy with abuse, most just get sloppy with trash synchros.
 
Anything easily swappable? I think I’ve read an AX15 can bolt up if you stack up adapters :laughing:
 
Thought I'd update this:

Spent too long in my shop up on jackstands. Found a 2wd trans and robbed the OD gears out of it, though after looking at it I could have swapped the whole trans if I wanted to. Point in Mazda/Ford's favor. Looks like tossing the 2wd tailhousing and the speedo gear and it would have swapped. I didn't as I didn't know the history of my parts transmission. After pricing new parts I decided using a parts trans was best.

While it was in the shop I did the "add an extra clutch" to the 8.8LSD, tossed in new u-joints in the front driveshaft, installed new u-joints in the front axle shafts. Since I had the front axle shafts out I pulled the carrier and installed a clearance lock-rite in the front axle. Been a while since I fucked with a TTB. Yes (arse:flipoff2:), I'm aware of the superiority of the TTB vs IFS for off-roading, but fuck I hate tearing it down past the outers. Fixed the bead leaks on a couple of the 80% tread 31" Mastercraft all terrains that it came with. Then lost one of them as the PO must've filled one with fix-a-flat and deteriorated the tire enough that it 'sploded on the way to work the next day:laughing:. Now it's got a 31 off an XJ I had years ago.

Finally change the 10? year old oil. Oil pressure gauge shows random oil pressure levels (some day's it's just above 'L' on the gauge, some days it's in the middle). Bitch doesn't rattle so fuckin' SEND IT.
Got high beams working (another fuse missing from the panel, PO must've robbed fuses from a bunch of different cavities when trying to get it running, oh well), interior lights don't work except dome light, which is now staying on all the time (hadda remove all the bulbs last night). Think the dimmer switch is bad, but also wondering if the GEM module is fucked (dome light issue?). Going to work on these issues as I get time.

Filler neck leaks when filling it. IC odometer and trip meter work and don't work randomly. It shows 332xxx on the clock. I'm still not sure if this is the factory IC but some of the things I saw while it was torn down make me think it might, others don't. Not sure I've ever seen a 1/3mil mile 4.0L Ford, but it doesn't appear to have been swapped. Rad went to leaking at the pinch seam on the tank, got one coming from RA tomorrow cuz I couldn't find one at the self-service yard Sunday. Did get a tailgate though (fuck air gates:flipoff2:). Leaking slow so I keep driving it (with 2 spares cuz the XJ tire I put on it is probably 20yo, the 3 that are still on it from the original purchase are 15:homer:) putting 80+ miles on it a day.

The reason I tightened up the LSD and added the lock-rite is I think it's gonna be an occasional wheeler. May toss a body lift on it and run 33's, but with the 3.42 gears I think I'm just going to find a more aggressive set of 31's. Probably a DIY front/rear bumper and a winch in it's future, and maybe some DIY skids as well. I kinda like the idea of a low clearance but capable off-roader to get my kids driving on trails in a safer manner than my too-tall Toyotas. When I do tires/bumper/winch/skids I'll probably start a build thread. For the basic repair/resurrection stuff I encounter I'll update this one.

I kinda like this li'l guy:dustin:
 
IowaOffRoad said:
Oil pressure gauge shows random oil pressure levels (some day's it's just above 'L' on the gauge, some days it's in the middle). Bitch doesn't rattle so fuckin' SEND IT.
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Mine does that too. It's just a dumb switch so anything other than zero means you have at least single digit PSI.
IowaOffRoad said:
but also wondering if the GEM module is fucked (dome light issue?).
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Order a radiator cap for a '72 Beetle while you're at it.
IowaOffRoad said:
Filler neck leaks when filling it. IC odometer and trip meter work and don't work randomly. It shows 332xxx on the clock. I'm still not sure if this is the factory IC but some of the things I saw while it was torn down make me think it might, others don't. Not sure I've ever seen a 1/3mil mile 4.0L Ford,
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2k miles per year isn't a lot.
 
arse_sidewards said:
Order a radiator cap for a '72 Beetle while you're at it.
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Had some other issues with things GEM controls that I've sorted through and not detailed. FSM says timer for light is controlled by GEM (among a multitude of other functions), light will go off when key is turned on, comes back on when key is off. Perhaps I should have detailed it more. I have sorted through the other control functions for the light (door switches, dimmer). Dimmer did work to turn if off/on until I was working through the grounds between GEM and 4WD actuator module and IC lights. GEMs are know for being "problematic".

Maybe Arse knows more than Ford? Dunno myself, just following the book from the guys who make the truck.:flipoff2:

BTW I'm not touching the POS GEM until I've sorted through more of the wiring as this thing is a disaster. The way it acts it's either a timer control that is stuck or something else.
 
Dome light is not controlled by the GEM on a '95-96.

Basically everything in the doors and dash is controlled by the GEM, dome light is still analog though.
 
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