I've Had it

softshellcrab · Dec 11, 2014

I have been trying to get my wife's late father's 1991 2.9L Auto Kingcab running so that I don't have to get out and push it up hills. A friend of mine took off the Cat and that seemed to help somewhat. I will not go over 55, even down hill. The tranny shift's hard, it has virtually no power. I changed the trans fluid and filter, changed air cleaner, changed fuel filter. It does not burn oil. It did have an oil leak in the valve comver but that has been fixed.

I am considering rebuilding this old motor and transmission, as far as I know it has not been touched in 130,000. I don't care if it goes 120 mph, all I want is something that is dependable and the air conditioner works.

My question is: how much can I expect to pay to get all the necessary items repaired/replaced? And who do you suggest I have do the work? The Ford dealer? Independent? I live near Manhattan, Kansas.

Thanks for your help in advance.

kunar · Dec 11, 2014

Sorry i dont have answers to your specific question, but only 130k, your little 2.9 is just getting warmed up. I suspect youll have much less time and money in diagnosing the issue rather than jumping head first into a full blown rebuild. Have you checked compression, timing and fuel pressure? Thats where i would start anyways. Good luck and welcome to TRS!

BrianbroncoIIman · Dec 11, 2014

Also check the vacum going to the trans could explan funny shifting, fix what you have, rebuild last case

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softshellcrab · Dec 12, 2014

kunar said:
Sorry i dont have answers to your specific question, but only 130k, your little 2.9 is just getting warmed up. I suspect youll have much less time and money in diagnosing the issue rather than jumping head first into a full blown rebuild. Have you checked compression, timing and fuel pressure? Thats where i would start anyways. Good luck and welcome to TRS!

My buddy also suggested that it sounded like a fuel issue when he drove it. I'll do another round of diagnostics on the little fella'. My problem is that I'm not mechanically proficient and I have to find people smart enough to get things done. I hate taking it to shade tree mechanics and waiting until they have the time or the inclination to finish the project. Out here in the country, there are too many shade tree mechanics and not many who know what they're doing. I still think that I may need a transmission rebuild though.

As far as timing is concerned, since it is EFI'ed, can you change the timing? I thought timing issues are only for those engines that still have distributors and coils?

Thanks for your help.

softshellcrab · Dec 12, 2014

BrianbroncoIIman said:
Also check the vacum going to the trans could explan funny shifting, fix what you have, rebuild last case

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Thanks for your help. Where does the vacuum line come from? The engine block?

BrianbroncoIIman · Dec 12, 2014

Timing is fully adjustible, where abouts is your country im in michigan

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BrianbroncoIIman · Dec 12, 2014

Pasenger side rear of trans is a vacuum shift control rubber hose plugs in runs into a steel line up to upper plenium turns into rubber hose and i believe it plugs into the four vacuum tree. What happens a lot is the steel line rusts out creates a vacuum leak.

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BrianbroncoIIman · Dec 12, 2014

Does your truck have a mass air flow sensor? I dont know if your speed density, or not. But have your cats checked, when mine lost power it was barely pushing any exhaust gas out my tail pipe, plus there wasnt really any heat to it, standing there listening to it breathe it sounded like it had asthma. Both of my cats were pluged up.

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Racenut · Jan 9, 2015

Mine was gutless, not running rite. I replaced all kinds of stuff. Turned out to b the injectors were clogged. It had sat up for a few years. And when I got it running. All the rust in the iron fuel rail was pushed in the injectors. And NO! fuel injector cleaner wasnt gona do it. Took them out. Got some remaned ones off ebay. She runs great after that!!

softshellcrab · Jan 16, 2015

I'm sorry I'm just getting around to answer my own post. I was never notified of the updates.

I took it to a mechanic who is fluent in Ford. He said the engine computer threw out a bunch of codes. He had to leave town for a couple of weeks, so I took it to a muffler shop to get the Cat fixed. I'm still waiting on the Cat to arrive. There are several things that I have noticed when driving, the transmission does not shift when going up hill even though the RPM's are showing 2500 or less. I drive it in Drive instead of OD, and the trans still does not shift down accordingly, and when it does, there is not enough power to the rear wheels. I checked all the vacuum lines and I detect no vacuum loss. Short of buying a vacuum gauge, which I will when I get to town, I'm at a loss.

The engine does not miss. There is no oil being used or leaking. It responds to throttle input. Aside from the transmission not shifting, I cannot find any other issues. I cleaned out the throttle body and looked at the Air sensor and it looks OK. I changed the PCV valve and changed the fuel filter again.

I am concerned about the "codes" that the mechanic found. I believe one of them may be the O2 sensor, but he has already told me that he doesn't want to change it out since it may break when he removes it. I say, "if it breaks, it breaks!" I'll have the muffler guy weld on another nub.

Until the mechanic gets back I'm still trying to trouble shoot the issue myself.

I live in Kansas.

RonD · Jan 16, 2015

Most of your issues seems to point to blocked exhaust, if Cat was bad what about the rest?

$25 vacuum gauge would help, that and a volt/ohm meter, are the two best testers to have in the tool box these days.

You can rent a fuel pressure tester and test it right in the parking lot then return it, doesn't take long at all.
Low fuel pressure will of course limit power.

Any pinging/knocking under load?
indicates lean fuel mix

Can you get your hands on a old timing light, these can tell you if spark is advancing as RPMs increases, lack of spark advance lowers power as well.

softshellcrab · Jan 16, 2015

I did purchase a vacuum gauge and referred to a vacuum gauge primer someone sent me on how to interpret the information obtained. The vacuum "tree" has three or four tubes coming off of it. I assume that I need to remove the entire tree and plug the gauge into the hole and then do the measurements??? I will do that tomorrow (Sat) and post the results. It seems that every parts shop in Manhattan, KS only has(d) one vacuum gauge or one fuel gauge to sell. Today they have NONE. I bought the last vacuum gauge and a fuel pressure gauges are sold out.

I need to check the vacuum tube from the manifold to the tranny. That was suggested more than once.

I just wish the exhaust would show up, why does it take two weeks to ship? It's not like there isn't any Rangers out there to fix! :icon_bounceblue:

RonD said:
Most of your issues seems to point to blocked exhaust, if Cat was bad what about the rest?

I''m getting an entire exhaust cat back installed. The cat was de-bulked by a friend of mine (bad idea) but he didn't weld the hole closed. I don't know if the O2 sensor is needing replaced, but I'm going to buy one ($17) just in case.

$25 vacuum gauge would help, that and a volt/ohm meter, are the two best testers to have in the tool box these days.

You can rent a fuel pressure tester and test it right in the parking lot then return it, doesn't take long at all.
Low fuel pressure will of course limit power.

Any pinging/knocking under load?
indicates lean fuel mix

My hearing is bad even with hearing aids. If there is a ping under the hood its not as loud as the tinnitis in my ears!

Can you get your hands on a old timing light, these can tell you if spark is advancing as RPMs increases, lack of spark advance lowers power as well.

alwaysFlOoReD · Jan 16, 2015

As a few others have suggested, check for a stretched throttle cable. get someone to push the gas peddle to the floor [not running] and look for the throttle to be fully open.

softshellcrab · Jan 17, 2015

alwaysFlOoReD said:
As a few others have suggested, check for a stretched throttle cable. get someone to push the gas peddle to the floor [not running] and look for the throttle to be fully open.

I have no stretch in my throttle cable.

softshellcrab · Jan 17, 2015

worn rings?

I warmed the engine up, put the vacuum gauge into the vacuum tree hole and screwed it in to make sure I didn't have a leak. Not good news.

At idle: 13-15 and at a quick throttle: 0 to 20. It looks as if my rings are worn. The only problem is that my oil level is still in the "good" although I noticed a small oil leak on the floor of the garage, maybe two ounces. I guess that even a small piston ring failure will not burn oil? The plugs look OK, at least the one that I looked at, it may not be attached to the piston with a bad ring.

Incidentally, I noticed a decal on the radiator frame that said, "Equipped with M&W pistons" My father in law bought this used and from him, he is now deceased, it has never run that well, it was primarily a local driver to and from work *three blocks!" Apparently, someone has performed a piston changeover in the past. So it looks as if I'm in for an engine rebuild? Anyone want to take a stab at this?

If I do a rebuild, what should I ask for?

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