I have a 1998 ranger with the 4.0 in it. Truck ran and drove fine, parked it the other day, then the next day it would not start. Seems to turn over fast enough, so i'm assuming its a fuel problem.
What kind of simple things can a guy who does not know a lot about mechanics check out to try and diagnose the problem? My friend told me to have someone turn the key and see if i can hear the fuel pump turn on for starters. The truck usually started decent, but sometimes took a few extra cranks to fire, so he said the fuel pump may have been going out and now finally decided to quit.
Any fuses or anything else I could check?

 

So the truck hasn't started for two days, my friend tells me to go bang on the gas tank with a rubber mallet. It fires right up after doing that. So is my fuel pump probably going bad and whacking the tank just jolted it or something? Think its safe to drive around?

 

the pump is going bad, you driving around on a ticking time bomb, there gonna be a day where its gonna leave you stranded.

 

its still running fine, besides the fact that I now am buring/leaking coolant and have a cylinder misfire. Could there just have been some junk caught up in the fuel tank or a hose?

 

yeah i would park it until you cant that fixed and check plugs and wires, stuff like that as well.

 

We bought our 98 4.0 last year and the next day, it would crank but not fire. Wound up checking everything! In the end, it was either a not-really-dirty battery terminal, or me wiggling the connector for the crank position sensor. Fired up and has run fine since!