idle issue on 2.3l t/c swap

[jw58tg]

Hey guys,

pretty new on here and also new to the ford rangers. i recently bought a turbo ranger for very cheap. the truck seems to have a lot of good parts on it and i had found the guy who originally built the truck, but sold it a few years back, it had been passed around and had some things changed on it... now i have it. let me tell you what i know the truck has, and what its doing and maybe i can get some help... the motor is out of an 88 t/c, and has the LA3 computer in it, before the motor was swapped in the bottom end what completely rebuild, all new gaskets, clutch and slave cylinder, backed by a t5 trans. it was originailly a 2.9l truck and the harness was modified to work with the engine, it seems to have a tubular exhaust manifold, t3/t4 turbo, external wastegate and a front mount innercooler... the battery was relocated to the bed. now for the issue, the truck runs, but runs very rough.. idle is up and down, and engine shakes a lot. for a few seconds it will idle ok, sounds like the engine itself is ok... the guy i bought it off of said that he thought the timing was out on it.. he had a buddy that is ASC certified look and that was his conculsion...

where should i start on this build? i got the whole truck, delievered to my house for 800 bucks.. i know he easily has this in parts on it, so if i can get it running right it could be a fun truck.

let me know what you think.. im open to any suggestions.

 

[turboj74]

First off, check the timing. It should be at 10 degrees with the spout out.
Next make sure you have a good set of Motorcraft plug wires and plugs.
These are the basic starting steps to diagnosing the problem.
Once these are all in check, you can look further if the problem still exists.

 

[scotts90ranger]

mine idled bad a lot for a long time, turned out to be a bad lower intake manifold gasket...

 

[turboj74]

That is another good point. Any vacuum leak can also cause issues.Make sure all the vacuum lines are in good shape and connected securely.Leaking throttle body and intake gaskets will also cause a vac leak.

 

[jw58tg]

hey, thanks for the responses. i have the turbo off, along with the intake manifold and throttle body right now. i did find that the TPS was not hooked up to the throttle body, as well as the fuel rail wasnt bolted down and no clips on any of the injector harnesses ... while its apart im going to change the plugs and wires, and check the cam timimg. ill replace the intake/ throttle body and turbo gaskets while im here also. we shall see where im at once its put back together... the other question i have with this is i do not seem to have a VAM on this truck.. would the truck run without one? could the ECU have a flash or a tune on it making the VAM no nessicary??

 

[Hammermechanic]

All I can add to this is the fact that once put back together, it will run with no VAM, however you will see NO timing advance. This should be an easy way to answer your question about whether the ECU has been reprogrammed or not.
If the timing advances,when revved with a timing light on it,you have some kind of magic ECU. If not,you need to add a VAM.
Hope this helps.

 

[jw58tg]

Perfect, that's what I'm looking for. I am sure there is no VAM. But it COULD idle normal without a VAM?

 

[Hammermechanic]

Yep,pretty sure it'll idle w/o a VAM. Should throw a code 66 (I think it's 66 or 63...no VAM signal) Good luck.

 

[scotts90ranger]

I had a VAM fail on a trail ride once... that WAS NOT a fun drive home, there was one happy spot for any given rpm, any more or less throttle and it ran bad...

 

[jw58tg]

Well I guess I should find a VAM and wire it in. Or order the PiMP from stinger performance... Decisions... I'm away for thanksgiving right now, hoping to get the timing done and all gaskets/tune up by next weekend. See where I am when the dust settles

 

[jw58tg]

Ok guys, can someone talk me through the easiest way to check the cam timing on this engine? I have never done anything with timing..

 

[jw58tg]

We'll guys, did a full tune up, checked timing, new gaskets, and fixed all the vacuum lines and she's purring like a kitten. I have a small oil leak from the oil line that goes to the turbo, and a water leak from a freeze plug in the block.. After those two I should be able to drive her and see what she's got

 

[scotts90ranger]

Glad it's coming together, mine went through all sorts of weird running issues before I got most of the kinks ironed out...

Boost is addicting and fun, but it is directly related to the lack of fuel mileage