My husband bought a 89 Ranger back in Feb. Ran good for about two weeks. One day he called me thinking he was running out of gas (gauge doesn't work) while he was on the interstate. Told him I would meet him when he was able to either pull over or get off the interstate. Well he made it to the gas station, put gas in it and it still wouldn't start. So I went and picked him up. Later that night we went to try to get it. It ran for about a mile but while I was following behind him it had a foul smell coming from it. So it got towed home. He thought maybe it was the fuel filter so he replaced that. It will crank but as soon as you let your foot off the gas it cuts off. He thinks it is the cat converter because we had a car that had that problem. (half the muffler is gone from rust) Any other ideas of what it could be? Oh, the check engine light doesn't come on.

 

bliss i am having a problem like that with my 93 2.3l 4 cylinder.....i about to bite the bullet and take it to ford.....tommorrow i am going to check the icm(ignition control module) on fender. the guy at autozone said to check that also i have heard rangers do have ignition problems. autozones website will tell u how to check icm with multimeter

 

when taking off does it buck and sputter real bad??

 

Yes it bucks and stutters really bad. He's taking it to a mechanic soon. I was just trying to find out if anyone had any info on it before we took it to a mechanic.

 

i had a problem like that with my 88, and it was the fuel pump wires kept shorting out and it would act like it was running out of gas when the wire was in the wrong spot, i would have to shake them till i could here it turn back on.

 

a bad smell and symptoms match mine and just talked to old knowledgeable mechanic today and he said it sounded like catalytic converter. he told me too pull my o2 sensor out completely and see if it runs better. i had this happen once on a different truck and unhooked exhaust behind cat and took a long screwdriver and hammer and knocked the insides out of cat and it ran fine. i will be doin this tommorrow to mine( before draft of course lol) will post results if good pm me and i will give u # so i can tell husband steps i took