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identify engine and heads in my 89 ranger


Chuck Willis

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I always wanted a ranger...careful what you wish for! I bought an '89 long bed 2wd with 5 speed manual transmission. Doesn't have spark and the previous owner just gave up on it after putting in a junkyard distributor and changing the coil. His mechanic gave up on it too, saying the brain box at the distributor was the wrong one and they couldn't get the correct part (huh?) I plan to follow the steps and figure it out. It cranks over, has power to the coil, but no spark at the plug, so I am thinking I should be testing the distributor and TFI module. Any advice?

Also, I suspect this is a different motor than an '89 2.9L. I think it is a 2.9L (If I believe the lettering on the aluminum air intake thingy (that's a technical term), but the valve cover and heads look like pics of pre '89 heads that have more wavy curves where the edge of the valve cover seats to the head. I have had trouble finding out how to identify the block and heads. Anybody out there that can tell me where to look?

Finally, thanks to all the folks out here at ranger station submitting advice and info; I've read alot of interesting stuff that has already got me going on forming a plan of attack on this thing. It ain't about money, just fun!:beer:
 


adsm08

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Not sure about block ID. There are going to be casting numbers in it, but reading them after so many years of dirt and rust and whatnot might be a problem if you don't take the engine out and clean it.

The heads should be easily ID'd if you pull the valve covers off, we have pics of the different styles in the tech library.


But you def have a 2.9 if the intake says 2.9. That plenum won't fit any other engine that I know of.

And you can still get the TFI modules. I can get them easy enough at pretty much any parts store, and have one or two spares laying around myself.


You can stick a dumb light between the battery + and the green wire at the coil and watching it while cranking to test the coil trigger system. It should flash or light up dimly while the engine turns.
 
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Chuck Willis

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Thanks! I'll test that coil trigger.
Do you think the tfi module is specific to certain heads and/or block? And the same question for the distributor. I know the guy replaced the distributor trying to fix it, and for all I know, he put the wrong one in!
 

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TFI trouble shooting:
http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/TFI_Diagnostic.html

Print the worksheet
My bet would be a bad/shorted wire, some mechanics tend to just swap parts, then give up.


If distributor has been out make sure it was put back in correctly not 180deg backwards.
This wouldn't prevent sparking, but would prevent starting.
 

Chuck Willis

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Thanks Adsm08, RonD,

The coil trigger test was a good start. I think the new coil in there is toast, I just get a solid light-no flashing.

Checked the wiring very thoroughly; burnt pin (RUN wire) on the harness connector downstrean of the connector at the distributor, and some suspicious non-factory connections, e.g. a black wire from same downstream connector is soldered to shieldlike wire in the harness that is just terminated at the tfi module connector. No way this section of the harness came with this motor.
Further investigation from a friend who knows the owner: rig was running rough, he changes plugs, ran great and then just dies on the road. He finds a melted section of the wiring laying on the motor and replaces with a junkyard section. Never gets it going again after changing distributor, coil,...sends to mechanic and they wash their hands of it.

That troubleshooting proceedure is going to be very helpful, so thanks for that! I have some work to do on this truck, but I hope it is salvageable. Maybe the truck isn't worth the work, but this is a hobby project, so as long as I am enjoying myself, it's all good. I just hope a bunch of expensive parts aren't doomed!

Again, I appreciate y'all pointing me in the right direction.
 

Chuck Willis

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Update on my project:

I looked over the wiring thoroughly and checked against the diagram in the book, fixed the burnt pin and I get a happy flashing on the coil trigger test, and spark on the coil wire and one of the plugs. It makes an odd popping sound at the exhaust pipe when i try to start it; the pipe doesn't have the rich smell of fuel, just clear gases coming out. I have fresh treated fuel in the tank, checked the firing order at the distributor.
I think I hear the fuel pump kick on when I turn the switch. Checked the pressure valve thingy on the fuel rail and a stream of fuel comes out for a second or two, but not the great spray all over that I've read so many warnings about.

I'd appreciate any suggestions. I'll probably check a few more plugs for spark to be sure, and learn how and where to spray in some accelerant to see if I can make it fire off, as i understand that may confirm a fuel problem.
 

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Popping at the tail pipe and a no start is a good sign of the timing being out.

Start timing it from scratch. Pull the dist and the #1 plug. Spin the engine over until you hit the compression stroke. Line the maker and the pointer up on the balancer and spike the dis back in so that the rotor is centered on the marks around the 11 position on the dis when it is the whole way in.

Postin' from teh Galaxy
 

Chuck Willis

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Thanks adsm08,
I found a timing scale on the crank pulley/balancer (with the deepest groove marked TC). I think that is top dead center for #1 piston, right? I have it lined up with a metal pointer on the passenger side of the block. So I think I have things where they should be, although I forgot to pull the #1 spark plug, and there is probably a good reason for doing so. Hope I didn't f--- sh-- up there.?

As to the distributor, it is new, so I know earlier meddlers swapped out the original. None of the yellow and blue sharpie marks I inherited line up with anything. At present, I will hope the distributor is the correct component!

The rotor is now pointing at about the five o'clock position (if one looks down at it from the front of the motor), and the rotor is within a half inch or less of the contact where they have plugged the wire from #1 plug.
If I understand you, the rotor should be facing the 11 (11 o'clock position?), so I have questions:

1) When you remove and turn a disributor, doesn't the whole base (and TFI module) turn with it? Because if the is the case, the TFI will end up facing the drivers front of the motor and likely be out of reach of the harness plug.
2) As long as the firing order is correct, does it matter which tower on the cap the #1 plug is connected to, as long as the rotor is lined up with that tower when crank is at TDC? If it doesn't matter, I may just need to swivel the distributor a bit to get the timing closer.
3) Will a distributor stab in only two ways (correct orientation or 180 degrees wrong), or are these distributors able to drop in in multiple orientations, with only one correct? If multiple orientations of the distributor are possible, and if swiveling the distributor doesn't bring the rotor close enough to line up with #1 plug tower, could the distributor be dropped in a bit closer?
4) Does the plenum need to be removed to install the distributor?

All this being said, I note that you specifically say to start from scratch. Any answers to the above questions would be a huge help.
 

adsm08

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I will try to answer all of that in order.

The reason for removing the #1 plug is so that the compression stroke can be identified. With the plug out and your finger in the hole it is easy to tell the compression stroke from the exhaust stroke, even turning the engine slowly. Obviously you can't break anything by spinning it over with the plug in, the engine wouldn't run very well if you could. You have correctly set the engine to cylinder 1 TDC, but since you left the plug in you don't know if it is top of the compression stroke or the exhaust stroke. Also, for timing you want to be back around the 10* mark, not the 0. I prefer to use the 12* myself.

Assuming all else is correct, with cylinder 1 about 10* before TDC you should see this with the cap off.



Top of the pic is the rear of the engine bay. It kinda sounds like the plug wires are on backwards, which will work just fine if the dis was stabbed in with the rotor 180* out.

When stabbing a dis back in you want to center the rotor on the third mark that is a little farther clock-wise from where I have it set. The helical cut on the cam/dis gears will move it as they mesh and if done right it should end up more or less where I have it set. It wouldn't be perfect, but if you had to replace it on the side of the road you could start the engine and drive it home like that.

1) Yes, the whole case, TFI and all turns. The TFI mount has to be in the rear and the end of the module has to be with an arc of about 20* facing the air box (or the AC drier is a better land mark if you have air conditioning) or the plug will not reach very well.

2) Correct. The cap, rotor, and engine don't really know or care which terminal is which, as long as the relationship of the rotor to the terminals and firing order are correct you can set it up just about any way you like. The reason for using the order and orientation given in the service manuals is the plug wires. They are all different lengths and will route and reach best when you set it up that way. Other setups may allow too much slack which can let them rub or melt on the exhaust, or too much tension which can tear them after time.

3) If the TFI is removed you can spin the stem 360* without issue. To plug the module in you have a fairly narrow arc that has to be used for the dis stem, but the shaft and rotor can be almost anywhere. The only real determining factors on shaft positioning are the splines inside the shaft for the oil pump drive and the teeth of the gears.

4) I know a few guys who prefer to remove the upper intake to work on the distributor. I have never done it. The bare minimum removal is the 3 wires for cylinders 1,2 and 3, the dis cap, and the hold down. With those 3 wires off you can take the 2 cap screws out, set the cap aside, and the dis will come up and out past the back of the intake. It kinda has to be tipped on it's side (towards the driver's side has more space) after the gear clears the block and then it comes out sideways.


I do strongly suspect a timing issue here. I also strongly suspect that an idiot or a dyslexic has worked on your vehicle in the past. Watch out for loose lug nuts.

If you haven't moved the dis yet try swapping your wires 180* across the cap before pulling it out.

The reason I say to start timing it from scratch is that you don't know who did what wrong before you got there. I have always found that the easiest way to fix someone else's screw up is to take it all apart and start over. Then you know it was done right, or you only have yourself to blame if it is wrong.
 

Chuck Willis

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Thanks adsm08, that rascal fired right up! I had the #1 piston at the top of the exhaust stroke, so I corrected that and of course the rotor went from 5 o'clock to 11 like you said.
Turns out the previous owner had the plugs in the right order but starting in the wrong place. The burnt pin on the run wire from the TFI to the coil was the original problem, and incorrect diagnostic led to other fixes that ended badly.
Couldn't have done it with Ch----ns, a truly incomplete publication. Thanks for your help, adsm08, and a shout out to RonD and the Ranger Station crew.:beer:
 

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