My 2000 4.0 OHV will start with no problem cold (if it's been sitting for over an hour) If I turn it off and let it sit for about fifteen minutes (say about a quick run into a store) the vehicle will not restart. If I wait five to ten minutes after trying to start it, it does start and seems to run fine both at idle and in drive. I do not have this starting issue if I'm trying to start it first thing in the morning or let it sit for a while before trying to restart it.

If I turn off the engine and then immediately try to restart it it does start.

More than anything, this problem is annoying but it also has me very confused.

If anyone has any suggestions or has dealt with this problem before please let me know how you would or have solved this problem, thank you.

 

my dads diesel did this not to long ago, I'll ask him what it was and get baaack to you. its frustrating, I know that haha.

 

My truck doesn't seem to like to start easily if I just fire it up, move it a few feet and shut it off. Not too sure what causes it!

 

If you give it a bit of gas will it start?

 

No, It does not start with throttle from the gas pedal, or starting fluid... either directly sprayed in the intake mani. or through the intake filter.

 

Sounds like it has no spark, this can be a wiring gremlin screwing with you.

I would check all grounds under the hood, make sure they are flexible and not green.

Beyond that I am out of ideas, at least trying diagnosis it from my chair.

 

I would agree if it weren't for the fact that it does start without any miss firing after a while of letting it sit... I'm going to once over my wires, plugs and distributor cap? (I know that's not what it's called on this engine but the actual name escapes me.) and I'll see if I can find anything.

 

I had a similar problem with my OHV, Sometimes it would start sometimes it wouldn't. It ended up being the crank sensor that went bad. Replaced it and all is good!
Here's the thread I made on it. It has some good info in it
https://www.ranger-forums.com/general-ford-ranger-discussion-15/trucks-giving-me-grey-hairs-need-help-106662/

 

The truck runs coil packs, no distributor.

For the 20 bucks and few minutes to change the crank trigger, its worth it to try.

Otherwise the ford manual wants you to use one of these with the correct cartridge for the vehicle. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ROTUN...#ht_2624wt_939

Looks like a PITA or a trip to the dealer to get a definitive word.

 

my dad said it was an o-ring on an oil line or something of that sort. causing it to not build oil pressure. he thought it was something to do with wiring too, but it was something with a high pressure oil line. but, it was a 6.0 diesel, so idk. just my knowledge on the subject. no garuntees.

 

My 95 Ranger did this until eventually it wouldn't start! I kind of had the problem located though. I noticed that if you monkeyed around with the relays in the power distribution box it would end up starting. Well, one day I was heading home from work and it started bucking and running real rough! I headed straight for the shop with it and had to restart it a couple of times before I got there. In the morning I went back to the shop and asked them to check the connection to the power distribution box. They called me back and told me it was the pins that connect the power distribution box were loose. Problem fixed.

 

Doesn't apply here, but good effort. I would suspect a Crankshaft position sensor, although the wiring may be at fault.

 

Doesn't apply here, but good effort. I would suspect a Crankshaft position sensor, although the wiring may be at fault.

 

I took all of the information from this Thread and took a trip to autozone. There the resident "go to" guy agreed that it was most likely a crank position sensor. I purchased one and am currently trying to replace it.. the only problem is that I can't find it. I saw that someone with a 3.0 had thiers on the passenger side. If I can't see it I assume this is going to be a difficult swap. Does anyone have any tips for changing this part? Or about where it is?

I have a chilton's manual and it says in a few more words,"1 disconnect wire, 2 remove part, reinstallation is reverse of 1 and 2."

 

I did manage to do a massive amount of googling and found out the part was on the front of the engine, passenger side, resting on the crankshaft. (Go figure) It was about a twenty minute job and five minutes on each end of it was spent removing and replacing the stock skid plating.

After about a day of having the new CKP sensor on the truck has had strong starts, better gas mileage (I already did a sixty mile round trip), cooler running temperature and better acceleration.

Thank you all very much for all of your help!

 

I did run into another problem with the car not starting after short trips. For those of you with a similiar problem, make sure that the coil pack you have is of good quality and in good working order. I had used a poorly manufactured autozone coil pack which had a problem with heat soaking and cross firing. I did upgrade to thier higher quality coil pack, but I am still not happy with it's performance. I have an accel replacement on it's way. Due to the design of this coil pack, I would not suggest going with a bargain part made from inferior materials.

I will be installing the accel coil pack, new wires and plugs along with a jet 180 high flow thermostat. Hopefully running the engine slightly cooler will assist in eliminating the heat soaking issue. I'll update on how this set up works for me.