2004 Ford Ranger 4x4 4.0 engine

Truck cranks with no start at all, I sprayed ether into the intake and it backfired through the throttle body. I tried once more to be sure and it did the same thing. I bought the truck in its current state, previous owner stated that it ran fine until he replaced the water pump and radiator and then it died a few days after. I messed around with it a little and determined that it was getting no spark, I replaced the crank position sensor, no luck. My next step is to get a multimeter and check for power to the coil, any other ideas for a diagnosis?

 

Welcome to the forum

Compression test
At least 1 cylinder on each side, but all 6 would be best
You have a 4.0l SOHC engine that has 2 long timing chains that can slip
Expected compression is 170psi, 9.7:1 CR

Should be first thing on the list or you will be wasting time and money on non-fixes if its a compression issue
Compression is mechanical, good/bad, black/white, no grey areas like spark and fuel


If it backfired there is spark, it uses a Waste Spark system so no reliable way to test spark other than shooting some fuel into the engine
Spark plugs are wired in series, so spark testing methods usually don't work


You can test for 12volts at coil pack, red wire, with key on, if it has 12v then spark will be OK
If no 12v then fuse is blown in cab

CEL(check engine light)
It should come on with key on, that means computer has Booted Up
CEL should go OFF as soon as starter motor starts to spin the engine, that means Computer is getting a good timing signal from Crank Sensor, so it will start Spark and then fuel injectors a second later
If CEL stays on when cranking then no spark and no fuel, could be crank sensor or damaged tone wheel on crank pulley, or wires
But if CEL goes off while cranking then spark and fuel injectors are usually OK, dead fuel pump would cause a crank/no start but adding fuel manually and getting a startup would ID that issue

You can check any spark plug tip after cranking, pull it out and tip should be WET with fuel(means injectors are opening), use a match or lighter to light up the tip should burn fast and bright if the gasoline in the tank is OK
Gasoline only lasts 4-6 months in a vehicle gas tank, longer in a sealed gas can but it still "goes bad"

 

Copy all, say it is a slipped timing chain, how intensive of a fix is that? Ill do a compression test and test power to the coil soon when I get time. Thank you for the fast reply by the way.

 

Have to pull out the engine to replace rear timing chain, most common one to have issues
Parts are not that expensive and it rarely causes other engine damage like bent valves

The 4.0l SOHC engine was first used in 1997 Explorer as an upgrade to the 4.0l OHV, had about 30% more horsepower
Around 1999 or so there started to be issues with a "rattle" from the front or rear timing chains
Ford originally blamed owners for lack of service, oil changes, BUT..........dealers who had done all the service work on the 4.0l SOHC Explorers they had sold were ALSO reporting the problem
Ford found that the two long timing chain tensioners were having issues with broken springs inside, these springs held the tensioners/chains tight during start up before oil pressure takes over
The loose chains on start up would BANG on the guides until they broke, and then no tensioner could hold it tight and you got "the rattle", called the "death rattle", lots of videos on this

So Ford redesigned the tensioners and the new design was put into 2003 4.0l SOHCs and up
But the new design tensioners should be replaced every 100k miles regardless
Its been a good reliable engine since the new designed tensioners were available/used

How many miles on the 2004?

 

194,000 miles on the odometer, I figured I would have to pull the engine. Now the question is what other common failure points should I replace with the engine out? or would it be more effective to find a lower milage engine all together?

Other small note, I noticed that when replacing the crank position sensor, the old one had wear marks on it, like it was harshly rubbing against the harmonic balancer. Now I don't know if that is an issue with the truck or some miss matched part that was put on before my time. I assume the latter.

 

Also OBD2 port unreadable

 

Fuse 29(20amp) in cab fuse box powers OBD2 port, and Cigar lighter, so could be blown without you knowing it, people often plug stuff into cigar lighter and blow that fuse, but doesn't effect anything else so...............they never replace it

The crank sensor is a VR sensor, it generates its own AC Voltage as metal teeth on a Tone wheel(reluctor ring) pass by it, WITHOUT TOUCHING IT, so yes wear on a crank sensor is not good
Crank pulley with tone wheel seen here: https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/q28AA...m~B/s-l400.jpg

There is a "tooth" every 10deg so should be 36 "teeth"(360deg) but 1 "tooth" is missing, as seen in picture, when that "gap" goes passed the sensor it denotes #1 at Top Dead Center to the computer, and that's how computer knows when to spark each cylinder and when to open each injector
If tone wheel is out of round or otherwise damaged then no spark or fuel, but CEL should also stay on when cranking engine over, because timing signal is bad
This tone wheel is press fit on the crank pulley, not KEYED, so while rare it could shift positions, in the picture you can see the timing line on the crank pulley and then the "gap" is about 3 or 4 teeth away, see if yours is close to that


4.0l SOHC engine are usually good for 400k miles, so another 20 years, would worthwhile just replacing timing chains and tensioners
Replace knock sensor, rear main seal, front main seal, usually oil pan gaskets unless there are no visible leaks
If you do pull the oil pan then new oil pump just because, lol

Automatic trans is good for 250-300k so if its an automatic then it is closer to the end than the beginning, but still has 8 to 10 years left if serviced

But check compression first

 

Update on this issue

Compression test showed 120 psi on cylinders 1,4,5,6 however cylinders 2 and 3 required more effort than I was willing for a compression test (will dig in there later to replace plugs). After replacing those spark plugs, I found two severed wires at the MAF sensor, did the repairs, reset the ECM via discharging electrical system and tried to start. It started unwillingly after giving it gas and has an extremely rough idle. I also noticed my harmonic balancer was broken and replaced that as well with a crank sensor. Still running rough, low and behold I found missing emission tubing (vacuum lines?) coming off the PCV hose (ill make a new thread for that set of issues).