hey guys, new here. i was driving my 03 ranger 4x4 about a mile down the road to return something to my friend, on the way back the check engine light came on and then the check gauge light. i looked at my gauges and noticed the oil level needle was burried in low. by this time i was at my drive way and the truck had died. i checked my oil level with the dipstick and it was fine as a matter of fact i did an oil change 2 months prior. so i tried starting the truck and it turned over but didnt start. the engine was only warm to the touch and i could even touch the manifolds. i tried starting it again but all i get now is a twitch out of the belts and some clicking but no turn over. i then changed batteries and the gauges started going crazy the speedo jumped up to 90kmph when the truck wasnt even started! whats wrong with my ranger:(

 

Search the forums for "cam syncronizer"

 

how would this give me a false oil reading?

 

Just do it.

 

It may not be a "false" oil reading.
The cam syncro drives the oil pump.When it goes it's bye-bye engine.

 

i noticed when i try to turn it over it almost does and the belts move then it grounds out, how do i know this? because the ground strap near the back of the engin that goes to the firewall is extremely hot. any ideas?

 

bumppppppppppppppp

 

The ground cable is probably getting hot because the starter is drawing a ton of juice trying to move the motor. Did you read the link on the cam syncro? You probably lost the syncro, which stopped the oil pump which starved the bearings of oil which, while it would still turn over before it cooled, probably spun a bearing, which will lock up the motor. Just be glad it didn't ventilate the oil pan.

 

Oh snap... the cam syncro is a little round thing behind the intake manifold plenum, goes into the lower intake, kinda like the distributor on a Chebby V8. It has one wiring plug on it, with 2 screws that hold on the cam sensor. There is one bolt under the cam sensor that screws into the lower intake. Remove that bolt and unplug the wiring, then pull the entire assembly out. Just in case there is no problem there, mark the location of the syncro with a sharpie. if its all good, then you will need to re install it with it clocked in the exact same position (it can be turned or adjusted with that bolt out). Do that and post pics and results!

 

If you bothered to take the time and use the "SEARCH" feature and do a little research , you would know that you most likely locked up your engine .














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