Ford Ranger / B-Series :: 1989 V6 - Engine Hesitation - Loses Speed When Kick Down
Jun 12, 2013
My 1989 Ford Ranger 2,9 V6 is acting up like crazy (engine hesitation) after kick down (it has an automatic transmission).
It can run like a charm for days and days and for the longest drives, but if I do a kick down it will start acting up (while both cruising or idling). This is making it almost impossible to drive as it looses speed. Only way to accelerate again is to do another kick down (then it will accelerate smoothly for as long as I keep my foot down), but that is really no solution as it will accelerate way past the speed limits and the mpg is horrible going up and down like that.
A couple of times this problem has seemed to solved itself after a while of engine hesitation but normally it would be acting up for the whole drive. On the other hand it will be okay again the next time I take it out for a drive.
Diagnostics: It has nothing to do with the temperature of the motor as this will happen after a kick down on both a cold or hot engine.
Simple solution so far: Avoid kick down!
What I have done so far: I have changed the spark plugs, the plug wires, the distributor rotor and the distributor cap with no luck.
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I've replaced all (3) ignition coils, both O2 sensors, wires and plugs, air filter, fuel filter...Also experience some missing at low rpms as well...not sure what the problem is?
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It started doing this fairly recently - no work has been performed - it just decided to not work right one day... The A/C compressor will not engage until after the engine is hot - the idiot gauge on the dash has to be firmly in the middle. After it engages, though, hoo boy does it blow cold - which is great, except I didn't used to have to wait as long to get cold air... It does cycle.
I thought, okay - low coolant - I get one of those refill bottles of r134a (w/ "conditioners" and whatnot) with an attached gauge at walmart and pump it into the truck - no change. Gauge was cheesy - told myself to get a better one.
I wait a while and get another bottle of refill r134a - one with a better gauge on it - and try again. Truck doesn't want any more - I may have overfilled, but there's no change - before the compressor kicks in, the gauge reads in the red - overcharge - but once the compressor kicks in, it drops and starts reading in the green and, when I checked per ambient temp, it was a bit in the high-end of the green for that temp, but was fine. I have no way of checking the high-pressure port.
Is there a temp switch of some kind on this system? I don't think it's low on r134a, but something is keeping the compressor from kicking on like it used to.
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I have an 89 Ranger 2.3l with 255,000 miles on original engine. The engine runs like brand new. I'm just curious as to why it's extremely sluggish when cold. Example, it was 3 degrees this morning and I literally couldn't get over 45 mph for 5-10 mins. Everyone was passing me. No knocks or other strange noises just doesn't have any power. Once warmed up its completely normal. Obviously my '01 4.0 Ranger doesn't do this so I was mainly interested in why? Do they use different metal materials, is engine wore out (obviously it is to an extent), or something else?
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Bought an 01 Ranger 4x4. The 4wd doesn't work, no clicking in kick panel, lights etc. got a used unit and plugged it in, blew my brake switch fuse (#9 on side dash) I failed to disconnect the negative ground ( oops) the original part # in the truck is
1L547H417AC
Do I need to get the exact same part number on a donor vehicle? I can get a CM for 25.00 at a local pick n pull, they have a lot or explorers there. Also will this solve my fuse issue? The truck sat for a few months and the battery died before I owned it.
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My 2004 Ford Ranger has 220,000 miles, runs great, and when I bought it this summer the 4 wheel drive worked great. Starting when the weather got cold when I engage the 4 wheel drive (no lockouts electronic engagement). I will drive and it will kick in and out of 4 wheel drive when it starts to slip or I have to accelerate.
When the 4 wheel drive kicks out I will let off the gas then it will engage again on its own, but will slip out again when on ice or I start to slip. When the 4 wheel drive engages it does NOT make any strange sounds, no clunking or nothing, it engages smoothly, and disengages properly.
What it could be? a connection? Any way to fix or diagnose the problem? I have been told that it probably is not the transfer case, because if it were it would not engage or stay in 4 wheel drive at all.
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I have posted on here before about this very issue, thinking it was primarily the transmission. In additon to a hard upshift/downshift (it almost feels like getting a little "kick" from behind while in the truck) I was getting a flashing O/d light, etc.
Since then the tranny died. No shifting at all. I was able to find a usable replacement from another truck (the guy sideswipped a pole, and decided he was done with it, as he tweaked the front frame slightly), which was working fine (before the accident).
I swapped the units out (trans and T/C), and the truck has life again! No flashing O/D light, nice power, and good gas mileage (I went from pre-failure 15mpg to 20mpg now).
However, the kick has never gone away.
So, what next? How much "play" should there be in the driveshaft when the vehicle is parked? I can move it a little bit. Should I consider servicing/replacing the U-joints? Or should I now suspect the rear diff to be the culprit, and how can I best determine this?
Also, can you switch out one rear end for another? If you can, is there any any paricular one that is better to use for towing/hauling as opposed to, let's say, off-roading or city driving?
As for the vehicle in question, it's a 1995 Ranger XLT extended cab with a 3.0V6 and auto trans. I believe it's supposed to have a limited-slip diff, but how do I determine this?
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I have been thru everything i can think of except the main ECU on the ranger.
I've replaced the starter as well as the starter solenoid also the ignition switch.
What is happening is there is no power after the main wire to the solenoid from the battery. it doesn't power up anything. I've checked the fusible link and it appears intact. with a test light i can see that i have no power from the ignition itself i guess to tell the solenoid to work. i have noticed that the ignition cylinder is a little loose but what can cause there to be no power at all?
Could it be a bad solenoid?
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I have a 89 Ranger, 2.3, 2wd, Mazda 5 spd. Last year, 10,000 miles ago, I replaced the clutch, pressure plate, slave cyl, and pilot bearing. Today, it started making a terrible grinding sound/vibration when you let off the gas. The noise is coming from the clutch/transmission area. It is so bad that any amount of "engine braking" sounds terrible and I have to press the clutch in and the noise immediately stops. What to check for?
The only thing I can think of off the cuff is
1) bad pilot bearing,
2) low/no tranny oil. I replaced the oil and put silicone on the known leaky spots while I had the tranny out,
3) Input shaft had some "wobble" in it when I had the tranny out to replace clutch 10,000 miles ago.
This could be it but why would it start 10k miles later?
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89 4 wheel drive 2.9 5 speed can it be cleaned or cleared.
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I recently acquired a 1989 Ford Ranger midsize pickup with an electronic shift button/console between the visors. I put it in 4WD and the manual does not indicate the procedure to take it out of 4WD. What is the procedure?
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My 89 2.9 has gotten water in the oil. One year ago I pulled this engine to replace the crank shaft (defective Ford design 1/2 thust bearing created a nasty grove in the crank allowing it to slide back and forth1/4 inch), new bearings, oil pump, timming chain, all seals and gaskets (not head gasket). The engine had great compression so I didn't do any thing more. Now I have a leak. No oil in water. NO compression leaking off into the water jacket. No "steam" coming from the exhaust. I've replace the intake manifold gasket. It showed signs of water leaking through the gasket, actually bubbles of water trapped inside, so I hoped this was it, but I still have water in the oil. I have now removed the intake and driver side head (head gasket shows now sign of leaking). No signs of water in cylinders. Is it possible to have a warped intake manifold? I have removed it twice, and I was told that some V6's need to be slowly removed VIA de-torque the bolts. I didn't do it the first two times I removed it, today I did. I plan to remove the passenger side head tomorrow. I will take the intake down and have it tested for warping. I have read many stories on this web site of the heads getting cracks, but they all seem to be in or near the valves, I assume that allows water to be burned off as a steam engine OR compression being pumped back into the water jacket.
Is there any other source of the leak that I'm missing? Is it possibly my intake? OR should I go ahead and replace the heads?
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Needing to do a timing belt on the Ranger I bought, the crankshaft pulley just feels it needs to be stubborn and not come off easy. I know the front pulley is pushed on and kept in place with a pin, however I think my puller may be too large to fit where it needs to be to pull it off. I want to say I am just pulling an pushing on the same part but not sure. This is my first 4banger vehicle and I have never ran into such a deal even with working on the heavy OTR diesels.
I sprayed things down with Liquid wrench and let it sit while I unloaded and mounted an engine onto a stand last night. I think I might have to buy another puller and reduce the diameter of the pivoting end to fit, which I don't know why Ford would make a pulley on a 4banger engine family different than a 6 or V8 platform. Am I just dealing with a stuck piece?
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I got this 89 ranger xlt with a 2.9 and automatic transmission. I mainly bought it because it was in such good shape and I was planning on putting a 5.0 in it. everything works on it. the a/c, radio, lights and it runs real nice. the only problem it has is it shifts pretty hard going into second gear. every once in a while it will shift smoothly into second but only like once or twice a day. he said he had recently changed the trans filter and fluid and the fluid does not smell burnt.
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I've recently acquired a 1989 ford ranger xlt 2.9L V6 and iv got my elbows deep already..... starts right up and scene its an older truck i let it warm up for a few minutes seems to sound alright so i jump in and take off... well i make it about two blocks and as soon as the truck seems to warm up it starts to sputter and die out... starts back up and idles for a min and i try to take off, but it seems to have NO power and jerks and dies.... so i push to a street parking spot and get situalated start the truck up again and take off only to make it about half a block tell it does the same....
First i think iv run outta gas witch i might of not sure so I walk to station and get three gallons. put in truck and same is happening. so i start kicking myself for not haven any tools with me and i leave tell next day... that night do a little research and get some idea's of what could be the problem'(s) so i start out with things that look like they need tending Badly WIRES, PLUGS, ROTOR, CAP, MAP SENSOR, and now after a whole day in the rain (Northwest BTW) and grease to elbows? 2.9 V6? What step's should i take next?
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89 2.3l 4x4 will crank just fine but no start. It is getting plenty of fuel. Replaced ignition module,crank sensor,computer, checked all fuses. I've been looking for a broken wire with no luck. Doesn't seem to be getting any power to the coil packs. Truck was not driven very often until a month ago. Started up fine everyday until the no start.
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Found a tee on the heater hose leaks when it warms up. Appears the PO had noticed it but put a hose over it and now is leaking around behind the valve cover. This is a hard plastic line around 5/16. No online parts show it as being available. Is there a fix for this ?
I would bet several others have had this problem as it lays right on top of the flange of the valve cover where I think it would rub a hole pretty quick.
1989 Ranger 4X4 4 cylinder....
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i have an 89 ford ranger custom and my driver side tail light works just fine but my passenger doesnt work when i mash the brake the passenger side brake light wont come on. the parking lights work, turn signals, and hazards work but the brake light. ive checked the wires and replaced the socket and still the same problem so either theres something in the wires that im missing or i dont know what else. any hints?
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I'm replacing my clutch components in my 89 Ranger with an M5OD transmission. While I'm doing it I'm going to replace the input shaft seal on the transmission. I'm looking for the torque specs for the housing that holds the seal.
Also, should there be any play on the input shaft? My transmission has never made any noise but I noticed some slight play in the shaft.
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The other day I was driving down the road on a long, flat section and all of a sudden my truck started missing out of the blue. Ever since it started missing it hasn't stopped. The truck is an '89 Ranger, 2.3l, 5 spd. The plugs and wires were replaced last year along with the timing belt and fuel pump. It has been running great since then until now. I thought maybe it might be a clogged fuel filter so I replaced that but it didn't work. Also, it doesn't miss all the time. It doesn't miss when its idling or if you are going down the road while it is missing and slowly release the gas pedal it reaches a point while you are letting the pedal up where it will even out. It definitely seems like it is an "under load missing" scenario. Also, the Check Engine Light is not on. Where should I start looking?
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I'm having problems starting my truck. The second it catches, it just dies right away. It doesn't stay running even if I keep giving it throttle. Although when I did try to start it 5-10 times the other day, one of those times, it started and stayed on for about 5 seconds then died again. What to check? I'm a complete newbie when it comes to this vehicle, but I would consider myself mechanically inclined since I've worked with newer cars and smaller engines before.
Also I don't know if this might be related, but I recently changed the oil & oil filter in the truck (after not having changed it for a long time).... and it was a castrol full synthetic high mileage oil. It ran and shifted a lot better for about a week before this starting problem happened. I checked the oil level and it's still perfect so I know it's not leaking oil or anything like that. Just wanted to throw this in there just in case.
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