2.3L ('83-'97) misfire

[Dav]

95 2.3 with approx 400k on it. random misfire. it will be moving, both cruising and accelerating but never at idle. the first time I thought the injectors had sprayed water. but it only lasts a split second. i am not sure if it is just one cylinder missing or one whole revolution. have since changed the fuel filter. no lights or codes are showing up. each time it happens, it seems like the motor shut off then fires again and it feels like the rear axle is going to come loose. have no clue where to start looking for a solution. i started to replace the motor with a 96 with 89k but got hung up at changing the front seal; the crank gear won't budge and noone has the special puller for it, ford included.

 

[Shran]

I don't recall that the crank pulley or timing gear need a special puller. Seems to me that they just slip on and are held in position with a woodruff key? Might be fighting rust?

Not sure what to say about the misfire, could be a lot of things. I guess I would lean towards something electrical. Coil pack, crank position sensor, could even be a worn and loose ignition switch...bad ground, etc.

 

[RonD]

2.3l 1989 thru 1997 has dual spark plugs and BOTH fire at the same time, adds more power

So for a spark misfire to occur BOTH spark plugs would have to misfire on BOTH coil packs at the same time

You should test the dual spark system once a year, its easy
Unplug the 3 wire connector on either coil pack
Start engine
See if there is a steady misfire, you can drive it this way as well, will have less power but this 2.3l engine ran fine on just 4 spark plugs from 1974 thru 1988

Then plug that coil pack back in and unplug the other coil pack to test

Only way to tell if 1 spark plug in a cylinder is bad or weak

If both coil packs and all 8 spark plugs seem to be working OK, then you are looking at a fuel or compression caused misfire

 

[oldgeek]

the crank gear won't budge and noone has the special puller for it, ford included.

I made my own puller fashioned after Ford's puller.

Saw an easy one on Youtube. Can't provide the link though.

 

[scotts90ranger]

If you get a couple long 6mm bolts to put where the pulley bolts go and use a steering wheel puller it should work fine, getting it started is the hard part. Clean it up really good and put some grease on it for reassembly...