I purchased a 2001 2.5L Ranger last week as a daily driver. Over the last week I have been doing some much need maintenance to it to get it to run correctly. I have gotten it to about 85-90% right now. The biggest issue I have currently is if I go to crank it right now chances are it will not crank but I have found that if I turn the key to the on position them off then back to the on position and then crank it will crank right now. This is telling me that the fuel is losing prime and or not getting enough fuel pressure right way. I have read about a check valve that keeps pressure up. Is there a how to to check the operational of mine or a way to troubleshoot it?

The slight knock is something I have sometimes when idling. I'd doesn't always make the noise. Using a long screw driver as a stethoscope I have found that it appears to be coming from the harmonic balancer area. It doesn't seam to have a negative affect on engine performance at all. FYI oil level is good!

Wayne

 

2001 with have a Returnless fuel system, so if you are losing fuel pressure when engine is off and you don't smell gasoline anywhere then most likely the check valve IN the fuel pump is leaking, it isn't a separate part.

You can check the fuel filter in the frame rail under drivers seat area, if yours is a 3 hose filter then you can try replacing it, it also has a check valve inside.
If it is just a 2 hose filter then it won't have one.


Does it make the noise only when engine is warmed up, when oil is thinner?
If so then probably not a good thing

When engine is cold you can remove fan belt and start the engine, it can run for 2 minutes without water pump or alternator.
Then try and locate the noise without fan and accessories making all the other noises, you will be surprised how quiet an engine bay can be, lol.
Or you could find the noise was from a pulley

 

The fuel filter is brand new and has 3 ports on it. I purchased it from the parts store so it's not a OEM filter so unless some aftermarket filters that work for the truck don't have this built in check valve I can only assume the issue is in the tank, correct?

I will remove the belt and see if I can hear anything with the belt removed. Yes I hear it more often when the engine is warm but I have had it idling for 10+ mins after driving it and not heard it. It's really random as I said before. Also, the "dummy" oil pressure gauge on the cluster jumps straight up as soon as I crank it.

 

Can't speak for 3rd party fuel filters but if the problem started after it's installation.............
And leaking check valve doesn't mean pump is going bad, could last for years that way.

Just to take leaking injector off the table:
Next time engine is warmed up shut it off.
Turn key on
Push gas pedal to the floor and hold it down all the way.
Turn key to START
Engine should NOT start or even fire, fuel injectors are shut off if gas pedal is held down to the floor
This is called Clear Flooded Engine, all fuel injection computers have this built in.

If engine fires then you have an injector that's leaking, not check valve.
As soon as you release gas pedal injectors will start working, or if engine fires and RPMs go above 400 injectors will start working


And just FYI, the above works great when buying a used car/truck, hold gas pedal down the first time you try to start it, "hey, no start??" Hmmmm
Could get a couple of hundred off the price, lol.
Knowledge is power


You could try running a 10w40 oil next time you do the oil change, assuming 10w30 now.
How many miles on the engine?

 

Well the truck didnt run very well when i bought it so i did a bunch of maintenance when i first got it. On the way home from buying it i stopped and bought most of the parts, so i didnt have but 1 or 2 starts to see if the issue was there before i changed anything. I Changed the Fuel Filter, Plugs, Wires, PCV Valve, Cleaned the MAF Meter, Wiped Out the TB, T-Stat and T-Stat Gasket. I also repaired 2 vacuum leaks i found while doing all the other work. Doing all of this has basically made it a completely different truck. I also picked up a can of Engine Restore and added it to the oil to try and help with the knock. I think it may have helped but it may just be in my help.

I knew about the trick for the holding the gas pedal down all the way causing the engine not to start but never thought about using it to troubleshoot a leaking injector.

Oh and the truck has 85K on the clock but something in the back of my head keeps telling me that it may be more.

Wayne

 

Here she is.....

I ordered some vehicle wrap vinyl for the roof. I plan to sand down the surface rust and chipping paint in the roof, prime it to protect from future rust and then wrap it with the vinyl. This is a daily driver/work truck so being perfect isn't a must just want to make sure it's reliable.

Wayne

 

Just fixed two more small issues the truck had.

The instrument cluster bulb for the fuel level was burnt out and I was finally able to find the vacuum leak that was causing my A/C to blow out the defrost vents. Took me repairing 3 vacuum leaks and rerouting the vacuum lines the correct way to finally fix it.

Wayne

 

Looks like a good truck

 

Update!

After buying a fuel pressure gauge i found that at idle i was seeing 55PSI of fuel pressure, as soon as i shut the truck off the pressure would drop to 0. Replaced teh fuel pump and not i see 63ish PSI at idle and the fuel pressure holds after shutting off. It doesnt hold at 63PSI but it stays high enough so that when i crank the truck it starts right away!

The random knock i havnt been able to find the cause of but it doesnt seam to be affecting the performance of the truck. Its strange because sometimes it knocks at idle some times it doesnt. It also doesnt matter if its cold or warm.

Wayne
Wayne