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  #1  
Old 12-16-2014, 06:04 PM
Justin_Apperson Justin_Apperson is offline
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Default 1988 2.3l.. Please help me!!

ok here we go. I got an 88 ranger with a blown head gasket. After taking it apart and redoing all gaskets from the head up, and fuel injectors (i got injectors used to save money) i couldnt get the timing quite right. finally I got the timing straightened out and the truck started. Then it would start up idle up to about 1000 rpm for about 30-60 seconds and then drop to about 700 and it wanted to stall out.

i took the idle air control valve apart cleaned it as best i could. This seemed to help the idling problem. now it idles up to 1000 and drops to 800 but its steady and doesnt seem like its wanting to die out. But now when ever i put it into gear and give it ANY gas at all the RPMs drop from 1000 to 500 and it trys to stall. it will occasionally jump to 1500 then to 3000 rpm but it drops right back down to 500-600 and wants to die again. this is all while holding the gas peddle to the floor. its also over heating really quickly. My temp guage isnt working to i dont know exactly how hot its getting but i it enough to burn yourself on the coolant hose from the thermostat to the radiator after just 5 minutes of running at a low idle.

only thing i can think of would be possibly a bad injector and its trying to flood out the engine?

Please any advice would be great, before i light this thing on fire and roll it into the ocean.
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Last edited by Justin_Apperson; 12-16-2014 at 06:15 PM.
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  #2  
Old 12-16-2014, 06:22 PM
tomboy tomboy is offline
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Default Re: 1988 2.3l.. Please help me!!

If everything is back where it belongs, and the timing is right on, and the injectors were the only thing changed, I'd put the old ones back in. But why were they changed out to start with?
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Old 12-16-2014, 07:31 PM
Justin_Apperson Justin_Apperson is offline
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Default Re: 1988 2.3l.. Please help me!!

oh yeah, I left out the part where i change the head gasket once and the timing was so far off and re-blew the head gasket and when it did it cracked all 4 injectors, blew out the valve cover gasket and about shot my dip stick across the garage. it sounded like a 12 gauge went off under there.
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Old 12-17-2014, 04:03 AM
-Ray- -Ray- is offline
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Default Re: 1988 2.3l.. Please help me!!

Sounds to me the timing is still off. A compression leak into the engine doesn't occur from ignition timing being off. Did you check the head for flatness prior to installing it?
Do you have a timing light?
You need to find the source of it over heating. You'll end of with another blown head gasket.
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Old 12-17-2014, 09:34 AM
Edsel II Edsel II is offline
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......Sounds to me the timing is still off. A compression leak into the engine doesn't occur from ignition timing being off. Did you check the head for flatness prior to installing it?
Do you have a timing light? .....

Hey Ray thats a good point. By the way just as a matter of investigation I have not yet checked my timing. I bought this truck at least a year ago and I have been working on some other issues with it. I have an old analog timing lite that I've used on my 72 duster. But I'm not sure if it will work on my 2000 ranger. (2.5L 5speed). Does anybody know what the hook up technique is for the timing light on this engine?
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Old 12-17-2014, 05:19 PM
-Ray- -Ray- is offline
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Default Re: 1988 2.3l.. Please help me!!

Hook to battery and lead to number 1 plug.
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Old 12-18-2014, 11:01 AM
Edsel II Edsel II is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by -Ray- View Post
Hook to battery and lead to number 1 plug.
hmm thats good news. glad i dont have to buy an updated version. thanks.
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