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I have some OBD 1 codes I could really use some help on. These only showed up after badly over heating, so its either head gasket or head leaking, or badly fowled plugs or something. Prefferably the cheaper and quicker of the 2.
I will try to attach a picture of the Code read out, and see what you guys think. But it definately sounds like its running on no more than 3 cylinders, maybe even just 2 :ohmy: Also, I need to know how to tell what wires are for what cyl, as this 4 cyl has 8 wires and 8 plugs. The plugs are so burried under the fuel injectors and valve cover that I can’t even see where they meet into the head.
Any help would be very much appreciated. I tried finding a PDF of a service manual, but I’m very sure its not OEM, and is really hard to follow. Any guides on either Gasket replacement, or Plug replacement for this truck would be great. I Generally learn by doing, but with having to take valves off and such for the gasket, I would very much prefer a step by step plan.
Thank you and God Bless
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I would find your Coolant temp sensor first. Check the wiring on it. You said the engine badly over heated so that may have caused the wires to frey. I would also look at your spark plug wires and your ignition system. Could you post a picture of your engine with the wires your talking about? I looked on google imiges and couldn’t find a 4 cylinder with 8 spark plug wires…That part is confusing me…
see if this helps I know its the 4.0 but same troubleshooting.
https://www.google.com/#fp=aae3bcc417c03f0c&q=1994+2.3+ranger+code+117
http://www.justanswer.com/car/0dvk4-ford-ranger-diagnostic-codes-218-223-224.html
Thank you both.
Things have been really busy and havn’t been able to look at it again. I am going to try and take a picture of the engine on Tuesday.
God Bless you guys, and thank you for pitching in.
I’d also recommend starting with the coolant temp sensor diagnosis. Repair that first and then recheck for the misfires. They may be related. Good luck and keep us posted.
Thank you LanEvoX, college man, and of course Eric the main man!
I’ll see about testing the Temp sensor. Could the the circuit failure described in the code listing indicate fairly certainly that it does have some kind of plug problem. Right after it cooled down (bout 13 or 14 hours), I started it and there was alot of steam coming from the exaust. But now theres none at all. Maybe there is a gasket leak, but in the time I drove it home it fouled the plugs, causing no combustion and there for no steam? Like I said before, after it cooled down I was able to drive it home with no temp problems. But was obviously running extremely rough, probably 2 – 3 cylinders. It was about a 35 minute drive. I have not drove it since out of fear of damage with running on less then all 4.
I work all week and don’t have much time on the week end so It’ll be a slow repair. But I’ll try to keep updates coming.
I did take a BUNCH of pictures of the engine to try and give a good over view of what is where and what it looks like. And as good a look at the spark plugs as I could get at this point. Here they all are.
If you are seeing heavy steam from the tail pipe
and you are fouling the plugs. Try doing a block
test to confirm a head gasket or cracked head. or
pressurize the cooling system to see if it holds
pressure.http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/what-to-do-when-your-engine-overheats
[quote=”college man” post=71247]If you are seeing heavy steam from the tail pipe
and you are fouling the plugs. Try doing a block
test to confirm a head gasket or cracked head. or
pressurize the cooling system to see if it holds
pressure.http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/what-to-do-when-your-engine-overheats%5B/quote%5D
Thank you, but I don’t have any pressure testing tools. And the spark plug are really really buried under various parts, especially the EFI controls and intake. Is there a way to test this without special tools?
Don’t make assumptions about a head gasket failure. Moisture out of the exhaust is normal. I’d recommend you proceed with the coolant temp sensor diagnosis and go from there. Probably not a bad idea to check for air in the cooling system either just for good measure.
Mkay I’m back. Sorry its been so long. I have all the spark plugs changes, and a couple wires feel apart in the process, so replaced them all too. Now it was running much much better. But was still rough, and sounded as if it still missed on one cylinder every other cycle or so. But revving it up sounded great. No spits or sputters. So I test drove it to get some gas (15 minute ride). But it began to over heat again, and was pushing coolant out the overflow tank all over the engine compartment. The temp gauge didn’t show it getting hot till right when steam appeared, so that thing is bout useless.
Will change the thermostat tomorrow as I’m sure it needs it anyways, but could this really be the problem, or could this be a compression leaking into the coolant? Or something else??? Grrrr lol
Also, a long time ago, we flushed the whole coolant system as it had really nasty brown foam in the radiator. No one could tell us what causes this so we just flushed with a vinegar and salt solution (one box salt, rest vinegar) and this made it a little cleaner for a while. But now its brown and foamy again. We use standard green coolant, not red. Its really nasty looking so please don’t tell me this is normal. :sick:
Hoping to use this vehicle on a trip to Missouri (bout 9 hour drive) on Dec 1st. So not a whole lot of time. Hate to take it to a shop budget wise, but might have to due to time.
@EricTheCarGuy , is the temp sensor the same one that gives the dash gauge reading? It doesn’t show it as hot until steam appeared, so doesn’t that mean its bad, or is that normal to act that slow?Thank you guys for all your help, God Bless
[quote=”EricTheCarGuy” post=71418]Don’t make assumptions about a head gasket failure. Moisture out of the exhaust is normal. I’d recommend you proceed with the coolant temp sensor diagnosis and go from there. Probably not a bad idea to check for air in the cooling system either just for good measure.[/quote]
Don’t know if I would agree Eric, he said it overheated very badly and than the running issues started. I would want to verify mechanical integrity before starting the electrical diagnostics.
Ill post the wiring diagrams for the truck to help ya if you want to start with the electrical
UPDATE
Was looking it over today and noticed milky oil. Dun Dun Dunn :S
This is a very recent development as I checked it after the first over heat and it didn’t have milky oil. I know it is caused by coolant and or water in the oil, and definitely not drive it this way. But tracking down the cause will suck and I don’t have the time since I hope to leave on Sunday Dec 1st.
:'(
When you blown a head gasket it takes a little while before the oil changes color and consistency. The reason I was leaning toward a head gasket is I remember that engine did NOT being overheated one bit.
Yes, the major over heating happened, then cooled for 13 hours or so, then drove it home (30 minute drive or so) at 55 mph with no problems. Now it over heats and loses water quickly (less than 1 quart every hour of driving maybe)
The thermostat that was in there at the time was a Fail Safe one less than 6 months old. Could this after market part have caused the original overheat then blown the head gasket due to the heat, or something else caused it?
Also it looks like a steel head to me. Nothing but rust around where the spark plugs are. I assume that is the head itself? My dad keeps worrying that if its an aluminum head it could be warped. But the 94’s were steel right?
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