'87 ford ranger general diagnostic and repair

Automotive
#1

HI,
I am a new member and one of my main projects is my 1987 ford ranger 4x4…
It runs and is my daily driver, but has issues and always needs something. Since getting this truck I have been teaching myself auto repair. I still have a lot to learn and would like to learn from someone with experience who could answer questions and give me advice.

About my ranger; 2.3L gas. fuel injected, previous owner removed EGR…
Power steering pump leaks. I’ve had some electrical gremlins which recently kinda went away, maybe. I recently replaced the front rotors and brake pads, still would like to do the back brakes…

I don’t see any classes on the calendar, but if there are some diagnostics or even basic automotive classes which could help me, I would take them.

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#2

Welcome to the Space!

I had a Ranger of that same body style, a carb model. great truck. By far the best body style the mid size Ranger had.

You have a 30 year old vehicle - no matter what make, model it is - at 30 years old - things are going to need attention. Fortunately most everything mechanically is available & routine maintenance items are reasonably priced.

Eliminating the EGR good thing.
Power steering leak on that style pump - no surprise there.
Rear brakes are time consuming but not expensive they just require patience - we can make a date in the future for that.
Diagnostics on that model consist of the “old school” days of doing a compression test. check the condition of your plug wires with an ohm meter or replace them during scheduled maintenance “a tune up”. check for vacuum leaks etc.
Your truck has a timing belt - that is a critical maintenance item - do you know when it was replaced last?

TLAR

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#3

Thanks for the quick response!
I think the last owner replaced the timing belt, but not certain.
I completely agree with your assessment. I have never had access to a compression gauge, so I don’t know the status of the engine’s condition. I recently had some of my tools stolen, including my OBD-1 reader and both of my multimeters!
The wiring harness needs some attention… I had even been considering rebuilding it completely or replacing all of my wiring one harness at a time if necessary.
Anyways, yep everything you said and then some.
If you see my truck, (see attached) I’m definitely at the space. If anyone wants to help, let me know ( can I post a phone number on here?) Anyways, I’m trying to be there any weekday evenings or weekends that I can be to get into some projects. The truck is a priority as it is also my transportation. -THANKS

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#4

You CAN, but I recommend against it, unless you want your phone number to be all over the web. The search engines tend to do a nice job of placing our site “out there” (cuts both ways).
Note: this thread, already on the googler

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#5

whoa! that is some reach! ok, cool, thumbs up! :slight_smile:

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#6

Could anyone help me with this tomorrow? I know it’s a Saturday, but where else would you rather be? Or next Saturday, Sunday or Monday? Or any evening during the week I can get there around 6 ish

#7

I will be at the Space on Monday doing maintenance to the automotive area and hopefully some maintenance of my own…if you come by I’ll help you as well (not do the work for you).
This of course means if there is room inside the building.

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#8

Excellent,
I’ll try to get out of work a little early this Monday.
The next Monday I can be there all day!
I’m worried my oil pressure gauge shows less pressure than it used to…
Having someone with experience to give me advice is crucial to me, I’m not afraid of work as long as it is the right work. THANKS!

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#10

okay, so i’m pleased that my compression test showed good compression in my 4 cyl. excellent.
those of you who saw my truck yesterday surely noticed the beautiful nest of wires in the engine bay. i know it look bad, and it’s something i’ve been working on/living with for a long time…
ANYWAYS, i have renewed my search for replacement engine wiring harness and there are 2 possible candidates local enough to check out further during business hours. closest in grande prairie lists an 87 but not list the motor size and then theres an 88 in ft worth that should be my 2.3l if they have their wires intact. guess i got some phone calls to get more info, laters

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#11

Alright, may have a line on the wiring harness. Called eagle, who said call a+a, who said call Mr ed, who said call apple… who has a 91 that might work! So i guess I’m going there maybe Saturday.

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#12

Well I just got home from that salvage yard. I don’t know why I always go at the hottest time/days and by myself.

I got the harness out of a 91… has some differences from mine, but the condition is decent for its age. Going to have to investigate it more and clean it up check where it’ll need to be altered etc.
Main differences are:
MAF sensor, mines got MAP
A/C, mine doesnt have it, don’t need it
TFI setup (8 plug) , mines got distributor with 4 plugs
Fuse box under hood, mine has more fusable links
… I took a video once I got it out going over these differences for later, I also have a video of my harness that I’ll make links for later probably.

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#13

You’re going to need to trace the pins to the ECU and copy your OE harness, it will likely be different because of the differences(MAF/MAP, TFI/Distributor,Fusebox). It’s a good number of hours but you can end up with a decent harness after.

#14

Yep, that’s why I seriously considered building one from scratch. This should work better tho. I need to refresh my research a bit and find some time. Really regretting not recording the whole process of removing this harness, but I only have 2 hands and it took long enough as it is.

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#15

Nathan,

What is the build date of your truck ? (month and year of production)

I ask because I know of a wrecking yard in Fort Worth that has the same body style truck and I am headed out that way this weekend. I’ll take a look at it for you.

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#16

If it helps i was putting together a class lastnight to go over front disc brakes and rear drum brakes.

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#17

We do not teach brake classes for liability reasons.

#18

Just playing devils advocate here but wouldn’t pretty much anything done to an automobile be considered a liability? Proper instruction on how to do repairs helps remove the threat of something going wrong. If it’s the liability of someone doing their brakes and not doing them right and going for a drive and wrecking then this helps teach them the right way so that doesn’t happen. Changing a tire is a liability. Even Changing your oil is. Not trying to be a smart ass here. But most of makerspace is a liability. But this is why we have classes. Most of the machines in the wood shop can removed body parts. That’s why we teach safety. Can i please get a list of all things we can not teach across all committees? I was working on a lot of different classes to teach that came to automotive maintenance and standard repair. I have worked on everything from 1920s 1930s cable brakes to electric controlled brakes. Between Tom and I there is enough knowledge to rebuild a car from the ground up. Just food for thought.

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#19

Again, DMS does not allow Brake Classes. Play devil’s advocate to your hearts content. Do not teach a brake class.

Would love to see automotive classes
#20

Then can i please get a list of all things we can not teach?

#21

Well class or not, I’m going to do my brakes sooner or later. If someone with experience would like to supervise I wouldn’t mind. I ve watched a few videos a couple hundred times.

This argument might warrant its own thread.