1988 2.9 rough idle, lots of smoke from exhaust.

[matt12305]

I have a 1988 ranger, it's got the 2.9l engine.
It has been sitting for probably 8-12 years. After replacing pretty much all of the fuel system parts (both fuel pumps, file filter, fuel tank, professional injector cleaning) I was able to get it to start. It does start up pretty quick, and it runs okay until it wakes up.
After it's warmed up, it doesn't idle right, the rpms fluctuate up and down. I replaced spark plugs, didn't help. Last time I worked on it, I replaced the map sensor..that seems to have made it worse. After replacing the map sensor, it ran better at first. But once it warmed up, it was so bad it couldn't even stay running, it would die unless I gave it gas. I suppose it could be a bad map sensor, I still have the old one but I haven't put it on to check.

Aside from it running poorly, it smokes like crazy. Its a thick white smoke coming from the exhaust. I'm not sure if this could be from cracked heads or maybe work out rings burning oil.

This car is not my main focus right now, I have two other cars to get on the road first. But I wanted to start doing some research so I can have ideas of what I need to look at. I hope for this to be my daily driver one day as it only has 77k miles.

Any ideas of what the problem(s) could be? Thanks

 

[tw205]

White smoke? No Es Bueno. Coolant/antifreeze. Cracked or warped head. Blown head gasket. Is that why it was parked for so long? I think that is your problem. Warms up and dumps coolant into at least one cylinder. Bummer.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Pull the heads and have them checked

 

[matt12305]

Sounds like I'll have to pull the heads and check them. Im not sure why it was parked so long actually. I got it for free from my grandpa's brother. I just finished replacing valves and head gaskets on a Subaru engine so I feel confident doing that.

Thanks for your input.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Sounds like I'll have to pull the heads and check them. Im not sure why it was parked so long actually. I got it for free from my grandpa's brother. I just finished replacing valves and head gaskets on a Subaru engine so I feel confident doing that.

Thanks for your input.

Free is good. Even if you gotta spend a few bucks getting it running youll be ahead.

The 2.9 is a great engine. Unfourtantly its heads are its really biggest weak point,

 

[bcschief]

Might pull the vacuum line off the fuel pressure regulator and see if fuel is leaking past the diaphragm. and if so, replace the fuel pressure regulator and see if it clears up.

 

[gaz]

@matt12305 ,
Nearly the exact same circumstances/situation happened to me with a 2.9l that sat for about the same number years.

My lower intake manifold gasket deteriorated due to dissimilar metal corrosion between the iron heads and the aluminum intake. With the gasket compromised, coolant was permitted in the engine valley and into the oil pan.

Some managed to get into the combustion chamber, causing the same discrepancies that you described ( misfires, irratic idle and smoke).

I'm not telling you that you have the same failure but I CAN TELL YOU HOW TO CHECK.

- If you drop your oil and find coolant, you may have also learned why.
- if you do not find coolant in your oil, change the oil... it's been sitting 8-12 years and would be prudent to change it anyway; you are out the cost of if an oil change to resolve your delema.

Also, if you have let it sit a few days, the oil will be on top, with any water on the very bottom, the water will come out first giving you an immediate indication.