1993 2.3 power loss

[WeekNgolfer]

I have a 93 Ranger 2.3 4cyl. My truck has a loss of power. I replaced the cat converter, o2 sensor, The plugs (Ford motorcraft), wires, and the ignition coils (2 ) . This truck has 8 plugs for a 4 cyl..It goes ok in slow speeds but on the highway I have to downshift to 4th going up hills, small hills. I was told it might be my exhaust being blocked not letting enough air to flow? I had a compression test done said it was good, #'s wern't off to bad, one mechanic said $ 1,100 for a valve job, other thinks it's the exhaust? any suggestions? thanks.. Also when I first noticed the power loss the exhaust also sounded different, the truck also has 166,000 miles on it, doesn't smoke, burn oil, nothing, still very dependable, just loss of power and oh yeah my gas mileage went from 420 miles a tank to right at 300 a tank..

[williamskinner16]

an old friend of mine had an older Toyota MR2, it had 2 spark plugs per cyl. each had a different heat range. A friend of mine who worked exclusivly on imports told me they were notorius for requiring new caps and rotors very often, now I dont know if your truck even uses a distributer in its ignition system but from what you wrote reminded me of her car. I hope this helps.

[JekylandHyde]

Originally Posted by williamskinner16

an old friend of mine had an older Toyota MR2, it had 2 spark plugs per cyl. each had a different heat range.

I've been playing the MR2 game for over 15 years and I have never heard of such thing. I doubt there would be enough physical space to do this even if you wanted to.

[williamskinner16]

yeah Im thinking it was and 87(maybe older it was a long time ago) and a 1.6 or 1.7L, and the cap looked like one for a V8 the plugs fired at the begining and at the end of the power stroke for each cyl.
your right the MR2 is a small car but they also offered supercharged versions ,I dont understand whats the big deal on the space issue for one with 2 plugs per cyl when they could stuff one with a supercharger.

[JekylandHyde]

The N/As and the SCs are both 1.6s.
The supercharger fits into the engine, the spark plug would have to fit inside. I can see how they added onto the outside of the engine, just not sure how they would have added inside it

[WeekNgolfer]

Originally Posted by williamskinner16

an old friend of mine had an older Toyota MR2, it had 2 spark plugs per cyl. each had a different heat range. A friend of mine who worked exclusivly on imports told me they were notorius for requiring new caps and rotors very often, now I dont know if your truck even uses a distributer in its ignition system but from what you wrote reminded me of her car. I hope this helps.

The truck doesn't use a distibuter, ignition coil packs, I was told it might be a bad cat convertor, Today I had it checked, the exhaust, The cat and muffler is bad, said it was 500 deg from the tail pipe. they cut pipe ahead of cat and still no power.But still don't know what is causing the burn of the cat and muffler, was told it was something internal, but still don't know what? $75.00 an hour for diagnostic, but I had the computer checked, and compression test done , that's all good.Still don't know if it needs a valve job.

[williamskinner16]

If they did a compression test, That sould tell you the condition of, and if you need valve work.(if there was compression lost through a valve or cylender wall this test would tell you.) my guess, only a guess, maybe your timing chain(or belt) slipped a tooth throwing off the valve timing. if the timing needs replaced or if this is your problem and it does it again you would run the risk of having valves interfere with the piston cousing big motor damage. Another guess did you have the ignition module tested?

[Psychopete]

Originally Posted by WeekNgolfer

The cat and muffler is bad, said it was 500 deg from the tail pipe. they cut pipe ahead of cat and still no power.But still don't know what is causing the burn of the cat and muffler, was told it was something internal, but still don't know what? $75.00 an hour for diagnostic, but I had the computer checked, and compression test done , that's all good.Still don't know if it needs a valve job.

First of all, I don't much about the 2.3L itself, however, I am partly fimilar with the ECC-IV system which is probably were the issue is (not the PCM itself).

You've got a rich running condition. All of the symptoms stated so far are all signs of a rich fuel mixture.

1) If an engine is running rich, it will create extra heat, as well as nasty exhaust. I believe it can get so hot that it melts the internals of the cat. You would have to verify that by looking at the old cat. Leaking valve stem seals will cause a cat to clog with oil as well. You'll need to find out what was in the cat that made them determine it was 'bad'.

2) Your fuel mileage dropped.

Did you look at the plugs yourself? If all are black, something that contributes to the air fuel mixture is not functioning right. If only 1 cylinder is running rich, I couldn't see it being so much a sensor. I would be more leaning towards something that is giving the fuel to that single cylinder being out of whack. Like a fuel injector (these RARELY go bad, I'll use a fuel injector with 200,000 miles and not think twice about it). I'm running 19lbs. fuel injectors from a mustang with 130,000+ miles in my 88 2.9L Ranger that has 104,000.

Do you know which diagnostics have been done? Check the fuel pressure, scan the codes. It could be something as simple as an overlooked ruptured fuel pressure regulator.. I am not sure though, there's not enough data to point my finger at anything in perticular. When was the last time the o2 sensor was replaced? Can they determine if your computer is stuck running in open loop mode? This will cause the o2 sensor to not be used as a contributor to the air fuel mixture. The end result is a rich fuel mixture (better rich than lean). Other than that, dunno.

Good Luck,
Pete

[rangerguy]

Originally Posted by WeekNgolfer

I have a 93 Ranger 2.3 4cyl. My truck has a loss of power. I replaced the cat converter, o2 sensor, The plugs (Ford motorcraft), wires, and the ignition coils (2 ) . This truck has 8 plugs for a 4 cyl..It goes ok in slow speeds but on the highway I have to downshift to 4th going up hills, small hills. I was told it might be my exhaust being blocked not letting enough air to flow? I had a compression test done said it was good, #'s wern't off to bad, one mechanic said $ 1,100 for a valve job, other thinks it's the exhaust? any suggestions? thanks.. Also when I first noticed the power loss the exhaust also sounded different, the truck also has 166,000 miles on it, doesn't smoke, burn oil, nothing, still very dependable, just loss of power and oh yeah my gas mileage went from 420 miles a tank to right at 300 a tank..

I have a '94 Ranger that just now is giving me the same problem. I am about to change the fuel pump and considering changing the oil pump at the same time. I am glad that I found your message, maybe you can help me lower my expenses by telling me if and how you resolved your problem. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[WeekNgolfer]

Originally Posted by rangerguy

I have a '94 Ranger that just now is giving me the same problem. I am about to change the fuel pump and considering changing the oil pump at the same time. I am glad that I found your message, maybe you can help me lower my expenses by telling me if and how you resolved your problem. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I had the exhaust checked, no blockage, but everything is burned up, cat, muffler...But they still don't kow what is causing it. For now itt will have to sit...I've spent to much $$$ on vehicles lately.. It cranks everytime, idles good, runs good other than the lack of power and loss of fuel mpg...It sounds like a VW bug but it still gets me to work and back everytime... Sorry this doesn't help, but if ya gonna try something let me know before and I'll tell ya if I've tried it yet....Maybe it will save you some $$$.....

[rangerguy]

I had a mechanic friend check it out and he noticed the there is no spark coming out of the wires. I am about to replace the coils and the module to make it turn over. As for the power loss, well I have replaced the whole exhaust system and it still has problems. let me know what you think.

[WeekNgolfer]

I replaced the ignition coil packs, My mechanic said they were being shotred out, but I replaced the packs, wires plugs, $ 177.00 in parts and nothing helped..exactly the same...I was told it was something internal, but don't know what yet.

[rangerguy]

I did not see a spark when I removed the wire plug and placed it close to the spark plug. Did you check for spark? Also, I plan to replace the ignition module? I am told to replace both the coils and the ignition module at the same time. what do you think?

[WeekNgolfer]

Is your truck turning over at all??? Will it run the way it is? My truck has been running the entire time, just lack of power...But ither than that runs good...The ignition coil packs ( 2 ) about $ 55 apiece didnt do any good to replace them in my case.

[rangerguy]

Did you happen to change the ignition control module? The vast majority of technitions pointed me in that direction. The coils were secondary.