Crank No Start after Timing Job and Oil Pump
 

My truck: 2003 Ranger 2wd, flex fuel 3.0 with coil suspension - 120k miles

Hi folks,

Wanna start with a thank you to all who have posted their troubles and solutions here- this forum has been an incredibly valuable resource for me as a lurker, I've saved myself a whole lot of money and enjoyed my little truck for over 50k miles of seat time over the last few years thanks to you all. Special thanks to Ron D who seems to always have the expert knowledge on threads I stumble upon while seeking answers. Posting this here both for answers, and hopefully to help anyone else out facing the same unfortunate situation.

This long, frustrating saga started as a gushing coolant leak from the passenger side timing cover gasket. I pulled everything on the timing/front cover apart, and of course stumbled into the dreaded oil pan gasket ripping, necessitating me to lift the engine, drop the transmission, and oil pump to replace the oil pan gasket.

For anyone looking up a similar job on a coil spring suspension: you must lift the engine and drop the trans. No way around it if you want that oil pan out. I love this truck, but curse the engineers for that crossmember placement on my coil spring suspension option. Did the rear main seal and put in a fresh oil pump and intermediate drive shaft while I was in there. Then, I replaced the timing gears and chain, timing cover, and water pump. Everything went back together, and I was excited for a job well done until... I went to start it, and was greeted with a crank, but no bang boom vroom.

Spark tester showed a present, but weak spark.

Battery was dead after sitting for 3 months, so I replaced it.

Cranking seems stronger and the starter sounds healthy.

Noid light on injector connector blinked as it should.

No codes on the OBD.

Starter fluid sprayed into the air breather got some ignition, but died after a few pops. I also had a minor backfire into the intake, popping the PCV valve and tube out of the manifold, and blowing the breather tube off the MAF. I suspect this was because I got a little too happy with the ether spray. I also might have had the firing order connected incorrectly on the coil pack, but corrected it and it stopped backfiring (I think). Whoops.

Fuel pressure reads ~50 psi at the fuel rail schraeder valve. Lower than spec, so I am replacing the filter/pump, but I would expect a start and then rough idle/running.

Compression is yet unverified: my tester fitting is too wide to properly seal in the 3.0 plug holes. Unless I can find a fitting or adapter locally, I plan to crack the ceramic on an old plug and weld on a fitting for my tester. Hand cranking feels like compression building, and then a hiss as it releases.

The truck died with E85 in the tank, about 1/4 full. I live on the coast, humidity is high, and it has been sitting for 3 months. Is this long enough for ethanol fuel to go bad enough to not start?

So, it seems I've got 2/3 of the fire triangle going on in there. Compression, timing, or fuel delivery are my areas of suspicion.

Crankshaft sensor has continuity and resistance, but I might replace it as a Hail Mary. From what I have read on here, my understanding is that because I have spark and injector signals, a bad sensor is unlikely.

My fear is that I somehow turned the crank or cam out of time, without noticing. The new gear and chain was installed at TDC on #1, as far as I know, but I am admittedly an amateur at this. Would I still get spark and injection if the engine was out of time? Could I have installed the oil pump drive shaft into the camshaft sensor incorrectly?

Any insights, or anything I may be missing? This is my only vehicle, which I rely on, I live in a rural area with limited resources, I don't have much money, but I do have some tools and know how to turn a wrench, and am desperate to get it running.

Thank you!

More details
 

Automatic 5r44e trans, by the way. I am paranoid I rotated the torque converter/flexplate to drop the trans while getting the oil pan out, while the timing chain and gear set was off, and took the cam/crank out of time. I don't think I did, but it might explain the crank but no start. I hope not.

Found the problem! (I think)
 

Here's another update, hopefully problem solved as soon as parts get delivered.

I pulled all 6 injectors and tested them with 12v to the pins- all but one of them were completely bad, no click from the solenoid. They must have totally seized? Noid lights showed signal, and the injectors were squeaky clean, so I had no reason to believe they were the problem until I had ruled everything else out. Lesson learned, always test! New injectors are on the way, and hopefully the truck will be up and running once they are installed!

You mentioned no click from the injectors but can you blow or pump cleaning fluid through them with a 9v battery on the terminals? 9v is used to clean them because a prolonged 12v current is supposed to be bad for them. I've cleaned my injectors and don't recall hearing them click. Also, check that they close completely (don't leak with pressure on them), Not closing completely seems to be the most common problem when gunk builds up in the injector.

Yep, I tried both carb/choke cleaner and dry air at about 60 psi (thinking I should try similar to fuel rail pressure) - the bad injectors let nothing through, and the one "good" one sprayed in a pattern that looked close to what would be expected for normal, but a bit more towards a "stream" pattern than aerosolized spray. I had been running E85 through the fuel system for several months. I'm the second owner of this 2003 truck, it came with very extensive service records, but nothing indicating the injectors had ever been changed out.

When the truck went down for the original coolant leak, I pulled the injectors when I pulled the fuel rail, because I was doing the valve cover gasket as well while I was in there. My theory is that because the injectors were sitting dry and unpressurized for about 2 months, whatever gunk was in there completely dried out and hardened, effectively glueing the injector solenoids in their closed positions.

Fixed
 

Update, the old injectors were absolutely the problem. All 6 injectors replaced with TRQ brand (hopefully they hold up well as they were the budget option) - and the 3.0 started up on the first attempt and ran beautifully!

...Right up until the brand new water pump I installed experienced a truly catastrophic failure and the cast housing broke apart under load, but that's gonna be another thread.

Thanks for the update. It definitely helps build the knowledge base. Have fun the the pump. Second time is always easier.