i just did a engine swap on my 1999 ford ranger that had a worn 2.5l in it so i put a rebuilt 2.3l in it from a 1995 ford ranger. After about a week of working on it and it not starting I have came here for help. It started about two days ago but had so much white smoke coming out of it that I knew it must be burning coolant from a blown head gasket. Yesterday I replaced the head gasket and today it won't start again. I have checked that all the timing marks match up. I have fuel and I have spark. I just do not know what to do from here. Any suggestions is greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

50/50 test
Add fuel to the intake manually
Try to start

If it starts and dies then fuel injectors are not working or no fuel pressure

If it doesn't start then No Spark, check that coils have 12volts with key ON
Only the Exhaust side coil and spark plugs work while cranking the engine.

Crank engine and pull out 1 spark plug, it should be WET with fuel, if not then fuel injectors are not working.

Crank position sensor tells computer when to fire spark plugs and open fuel injectors, make sure it is hooked up

 

I will try that today but I know I have fuel because the engine will flood if I try to start it for too long. If anything I have too much fuel. Also the car has only started when I change the spark plugs out.

 

Which fuel injectors are you using?

1998 and up fuel system was 65PSI and used one fuel line
1997 and earlier used 35PSI and TWO fuel lines with fuel pressure regulator on the fuel rail(injectors)

Are you using 2.3l or 2.5l intake?


Hold throttle wide open(WOT) while cranking engine, that will Turn OFF the fuel injectors to "Clear Flooded Engine", it is a routine in all Fuel Injection Computers
Key on
Press gas pedal to the floor and hold it down for WOT
Crank engine

Spark should still be working but injectors should be off

 

Wow thats a huge difference. I used the intake and fuel rail from the 1999 2.5. I believe flooding could be a major problem because if I try to crank it with the fuel pump relay in it wont start but if i take the relay out (turn off fuel pump) it really wants to start and even fires but won't run. But then I have more problems where if I use a timing light to check my timing it shows I am about 12 degrees BTC. Also I have low compression in all cylinders. Extremely low, but all timing marks line up for the timing belt. The compression readings in order of cylinder are 70-80-100-80. I have no ideas on what to do from here.

 

Check compression gauge on another engine or air compressor.

Engine can't start under 100psi compression.
Liquid gasoline won't burn, yes the movies get that wrong, lol.

Only gasoline Vapor will ignite and burn.
Compression is HEAT, when you compress the air and gasoline in the cylinder it heats up and that vaporizes the gasoline enough for a spark plug to ignite it.

So low compression means low heat, and since gasoline is NOT being vaporized by compression heat most stays in liquid form so engine is flooded fairly quickly.

What is the history of this 2.3l engine?


1995 Timing marks here: timing mark on a ford ranger 2.3 engine year 1995

Spark at 12deg BTDC would be right for starting, but that is from the Crank sensor, so timing belt being off wouldn't effect that either way.

I would recheck the timing marks, if they are good and compression gauge is good then engine needs an over haul, burnt valves or very very bad rings
1995 2.3l should have 160+ PSI compression, closer to 175, it has 9.4:1 compression ratio

 

Compression gauge is good. Just bought the engine off craigslist as a "rebuilt engine" and transmission. It was blowing a LOT of white smoke when I got it to run this past week for 5 minutes but then it died and never to start again so I replaced the head gasket believing that was the cause of the white smoke. I believe it was rebuilt because all the valves look good when I took the head off as well as the cylinder walls not looking worn. Timing marks are perfectly lined up. I guess my best bet would be to do a leak down test on it and find out if the rings are bad unless you have a better idea. Not sure what else could cause low compression.

 

yes, leak down is the best way, dry and then wet test.
You can do the same dry then wet test with compression gauge, that could tell you if rings are the problem as well.

Could the Cam be the wrong one for the cam's timing gear?
Just grasping at straws here, wrong cam could mean wrong cam gear so wrong timing mark.

Or are the 'rockers' misajusted, holding valves open too long, or not long enough

But compression is the problem, for sure