94 ranger 3.0L ran well until it jumped time. Replaced chain and sprockets set engine in time. Battery gave out during attempts to start, replaced with new one. Now I have fuel injection and spark but despite cranking easily will not start.

ICM, battery, Distributor, fuel pump and filter, spark cables, plugs, coil, have been replaced within the last three months. All relays and fuses are good. Diode is good. I rebuilt the motor as well, valves are clean and their is no warpage on the cylinder heads.

Pretty stumped at this point. Like I said it ran fine until it jumped time due to the retaining bolt being loose. Started easily. I also rebuilt the transmission since the timing chain jumped but it shouldn't affect starting in neutral.

Any help is appreciated.

 

Do 50/50 test
Spray fuel into the intake and try to start
If it starts and dies then spark and spark timing is OK, fuel flow is the issue
If it doesn't start then spark or spark timing is the issue

50/50 instant results

Fuel pressure and spark tester means nothing trust me, 50/50 test has been used since the late 1800's on first gasoline engine, best test there is for a crank but no start

In your case compression could be an issue but hard to mess up the timing chain setup on OHV engine, crank gear at 12:00, Cam gear at 12:00 or 6:00

But after doing the timing chain the distributor can be 180deg off
50/50 test will tell you that
If no start then distributor needs to be lifted up and rotor turned 180deg then lowered back down

 

Thank you I'll try starter fluid and let you know the results.

Update, I tried starter fluid with no success. I tried lifting and rotating the distributor rotor 180 degrees and that didn't work either. Could it be the computer not timing the sparks correctly?
Update, I changed the crankshaft position sensor and ignition capacitor without change. I have a bright white spark. Distributor is positioned correctly. Starter fluid still doesn't start it. Any ideas?

 

I got a code for an open circuit in the fuel pump secondary circuit. After verifying that everything was connected properly with no loose or damaged wires and proper grounds.

I ran the codes and got the 111 system pass code and attempted to start with no success.

Then I ran the codes again and got a code for the engine coolant temp sensor. I replaced the sensor and the code went away. The old sensor had too high of a resistance so was faulty but that still didn't start the engine.

I tested the solenoid coil for resistance and discoveredo it was 0 ohms and so had shorted. I'm thinking that might have been drawing so much current that it didnt leave enough for the rest of the ignition system. The new solenoid should arrive today or tomorrow. I'll update once I've tried it.

 

If adding fuel manually(50/50 test) to engine still doesn't get it to start then you have no spark or spark is out of time when cranking, simple as that, gasoline engines are not that complicated, fuel and spark

OR.............you have no compression, since you changed the timing chain I would test compression on a few cylinders, 160psi is expected, need over 110psi to start
3.0l OHV Vulcan is a non-interference engine, so crank cam timing can be off without damaging engine, but it wouldn't start

1994 3.0l has no crank position sensor, it uses a distributor
If Check engine light(CEL) goes off while cranking engine then computer is getting a timing pulse from distributor, if CEL stays on then its not getting that pulse
Doesn't mean timing is correct, just that the pulse is there

 

Thanks for the tips, I checked and I do have good compression 160psi on piston 1 and 4. I have the pulse from the distributor as well as 0-10v square wave from ICM.

I'm going to get a spark tester. I'm wondering if the plugs might be worn out. I had changed them before I started the engine repairs so they have been removed and replaced quite a few times. And I've gapped them twice.

 

Engine would start even if 3 spark plugs were bad

If you still have compression gauge double check #1 TDC and distributor rotor pointed at #1 spark plug wire

That's all that is left of the 3 things an engine needs to start
compression, above 110psi
air/fuel mix(50/50 test)
Spark, and at the right time

 

I'll double check the distributor position. I appreciate the help.

 

Distributor is in the right position. First plug sparks right at tdc. All others spark as well. The plugs are coated in gas whenever I've removed them. At this point I'm thinking it's too rich a mixture. I hear an odd like suction/thumping sound coming from the air filter box whenever I crank with throttle down.

I'm wondering if it's not getting enough air. Could a bad MAF cause no start?

 

No, MAF is there to weigh the in coming air

Check the Fuel Pressure regulator(FPR) vacuum hose for gasoline, if FPR leaks raw gas will be sucked into the engine

What color is your TFI module on distributor, grey works in Rangers, black doesn't

You can pull the Fuel pump fuse or fuel pump relay and then crank the engine over with gas pedal to the floor, to "dry it out", then spray fuel into the intake to see if it starts with less fuel added

 

The TFI module is gray. I checked FPR vac hose no gas in it. I tried flushing out the cylinders and then spraying starter fluid and although it didn't start it did fire twice.

When I crank it with the throttle down I get a loud thumping noise from the air box. It almost sounds like something is try to pull air but not getting it. It happens even if the air filter is removed.

 

Just to cover all bases
The 3.0l distributor rotates clockwise
Firing order seen here: https://easyautodiagnostics.com/imag...63/image_2.jpg

You said it fired twice, if firing order on cap was reversed then only 1 and 5 would be correct and fire

You said the hall effect sensor in distributor is working because you saw the on/off voltage pulse while cranking engine over, so distributor is turning

You pulled the fuel pump relay to avoid flooding but still no start with 50/50 test, just fired twice

With no fuel, except what you add, and still a no start it has to be spark or compression, and 1 and 4 tested as 160psi so its not compression

I too am really baffled???

If you can get your hands on a timing light you could see if you have #1 spark at TDC, and then continuous spark while cranking and test a few other spark plug wires

 

Yeah haha I am stumped too. I checked for number 1 spark at tdc and it does. Others spark in correct order. Firing order is correct.

I'm thinking maybe my battery isn't strong enough to crank and produce a strong spark.

But the battery turns the engine over very easily. And it won't start even when I'm using the 200 amp engine start function on my charger.

I'm thinking the pcv valve may be clogged. I'm picking up another tomorrow so we'll see if that's it lol.

 

Ron, are you sure that the Vulcan is a non-interference engine, I would check all the cylinders for compression, not just 1 and 4 ?
When I did my engine, there wasn't a lot of room for any valve to be fully open with any given piston at the top of the stroke.

 

From what I've read it is non interference. I'll check compression on the other pistons.

Previously I overhauled the motor and did some valve lapping but the truck ran fine after that until the timing chain jumped due to a loose bolt.

 

What loose bolt exactly, is that the one on the end of the cam shaft ?
Just trying to think of what else could have been damaged.

EDIT:
The large sprocket gears on both shafts are held in place with a woodruff key, so even of the cam shaft both was loose, I don't see how it could have jumped _ I'm missing something.
Even the crank bolt being loose, the gear could not have slipped or moved enough to cause the timing chain to jump _ I suppose if it was really worn maybe.
The cam shaft gear would have started to grind away on the timing cover if it moved out, would it not ?

If compression tests out, at this point you should have all the plugs out.
Check that #1 is on compression with the gauge and turn the engine over by hand to do this _ you will feel the resistance and see it on the gauge even turning it by hand.
Confirm that distributor rotor is pointing to number 1.

All this seems rather presumptuous I'm sure, but something is being missed, so starting with obvious things on the table to eliminate them.

 

Go to 3:45
If the heads and/or block were machined, the clearance would be even less.

 

I also think I am missing something. It was the cam sprocket bolt. I opened the timing cover and noticed the bolt was loose and had cut a circle the diameter of the bolt into the cover about 1mm deep. I must not have torqued it properly.

I'll check compression in the rest of the cylinders. I have verified that it sparks right at tdc.

As far as the valve clearance goes I lapped the valves and did the leak test shown in the video and had zero leakage even after an hour. So I'm not too concerned about it. And the motor had been running fine after i overhauled it.

I'll describe what happened a bit better. I was going about 45mph in 5th gear when I shifted to neutral the engine stalled. I was still coasting so I tried to start the engine with no success.

I pulled off to the side of the road and attempted to start it with no luck. And after a few attempts I had no more juice to turn it over. I assumed it was just too drained.

At that point I thought it stalled due to the transmission (it had been having issues shifting to fourth) and wouldn't start up because of the drained battery. Although I thought it was odd that the battery drained so quickly.

So I rebuilt the transmission. I replaced the fifth gears and the input shaft which all had broken. I put it back on tried to start it with no luck.

I had some backfiring so I opened the timing cover and discovered the loose bolt. And it looked as if it had jumped one tooth. I removed the sprockets and chain and timed it again. This time I torqued the bolt to 40lbs.

I know I am missing something. I'm sure it's going to be some stupid little thing but so far I can't figure out what. The only codes I have got so far have been 542 fuel pump secondary circuit wiring and one regarding the engine coolant temperature.

I checked all the fuel pump circuit wiring and everything checked out and when I ran the codes again it came back with the coolant temperature error. So I replaced the engine coolant temp sensor and that fixed that code.

 

We'll know more when a complete compression test is done on all the cylinders and that has been taken off the table.

And TDC on compression for spark, not on the exhaust stroke _ right ?

Once the compression is checked, confirm that the distributor is turning in sync with the engine and at least two full revolutions of the distributor, that's 4 revolutions of the crank. (this should be done by hand with a large socket and ratchet)
Watch the movement of the rotor.

It's acting like it's still out of time somewhere.

 

Finally got it started. Thank you all so much. The distributor was at TDC on exhaust stroke. I rotated it 180 and it fired up. Sounds great too. Again thank you all very much for your help I really appreciate it.

 

Good stuff

 

Don't worry Justin, when you get into your 50's like me and Ron, you'll be perfect and never overlook anything ever again.

 

Hahaha I hope it doesn't get too much worse