Ranger fails to restart after hard braking

Originally Posted by eljefino
How much oil does it burn?

I had a 2002 corolla 1.8 that burned a quart every 400 miles. If I shut it off to buy gas, it would restart then stall. It would then restart and run fine. I theorize the valve seals were worthless and it dripped down, fouling plugs.

There could be something with oil sloshing around and going somewhere it shouldn't, wreaking havoc.

Maybe try parking it facing down as much as possible then coming back the next morning to see if anything weird happens.


Oil consumption is very moderate. Oil also stays fairly clean between changes, for what that's worth.
 
when you have a crank no stark on these fords, check for voltage at the fuel pump. if no voltage, replace the fuel pump control module. i did this today on a 2015 taurus that was not part of the recall and the oem ford module was listed as one of the "good" ones but it was bad. no voltage at pump while cranking. replaced the module for $50 and it's working
 
I am starting to get it figured out. It happened a third time when I was driving.

I had run the tank down to the E because I wanted to drop the tank, but I was afraid if run out of gas, so I put in a couple of gallons at a gas station a few miles from home. The truck wouldn't restart.

I pressed on the Schrader valve on the fuel line and had my son cycle the key. First fuel dribbled out, then after a few cycles, it sprayed out. Recapped the Schrader and it started right up. One little problem: the spilled gas ignited, starting the engine on fire. If this had happened anywhere but a gas station, could have been trouble, but I was able to put it out quickly with the fire extinguisher from the gas station.

Anyway, I got it home and attached a pressure gauge, and I removed the bed. I found that the start-then-die issue is not a fuel pressure problem, seems like it's unrelated, maybe iacv.

I also found that if I caused the fuel pump to suck air, I could duplicate the no start problem. I think the problem is in the cheap replacement pump I put in. It is unable to prime itself if it sucks up air. I wish I had the old one still, I would compare it.
 
Originally Posted by brages
I am starting to get it figured out. It happened a third time when I was driving.

I had run the tank down to the E because I wanted to drop the tank, but I was afraid if run out of gas, so I put in a couple of gallons at a gas station a few miles from home. The truck wouldn't restart.

I pressed on the Schrader valve on the fuel line and had my son cycle the key. First fuel dribbled out, then after a few cycles, it sprayed out. Recapped the Schrader and it started right up. One little problem: the spilled gas ignited, starting the engine on fire. If this had happened anywhere but a gas station, could have been trouble, but I was able to put it out quickly with the fire extinguisher from the gas station.

Anyway, I got it home and attached a pressure gauge, and I removed the bed. I found that the start-then-die issue is not a fuel pressure problem, seems like it's unrelated, maybe iacv.

I also found that if I caused the fuel pump to suck air, I could duplicate the no start problem. I think the problem is in the cheap replacement pump I put in. It is unable to prime itself if it sucks up air. I wish I had the old one still, I would compare it.


So the first reply you got was spot on. ragtoplvr FTW.
 
I was going to suggest this - when the pump gets air in it, it can't build pressure. Sort of like vapor lock, just different cause. Not really the pumps fault, but if it's one of the canister types where a Venturi pump keeps the entire pump fully immersed, so it has a buffer, then that part isn't working right and the pump is ingesting tank-level fuel. That's what I'd evaluate.
 
Originally Posted by meep
I was going to suggest this - when the pump gets air in it, it can't build pressure. Sort of like vapor lock, just different cause. Not really the pumps fault, but if it's one of the canister types where a Venturi pump keeps the entire pump fully immersed, so it has a buffer, then that part isn't working right and the pump is ingesting tank-level fuel. That's what I'd evaluate.


I looked up replacements for that model year and it's not a canister style.


When you inspect the pump make sure the tank baffle is still in place. If it's not, it's possible for the fuel to slosh around when it gets low and uncover the pump pickup. If this was your problem, you should have a very bouncy fuel gauge when the tank is relatively low.
 
I think there is a kind of a baffle feature molded into the plastic tank, but that's it.

I have a replacement pump, but I haven't tried it yet because I dropped the tank to do some rust work...
frown.gif
 
As Columbo would say, "There's just one loose end I can't tie up."

When I drove it to the gas station where it failed to start the third time, what caused the pump to suck up air then? It drove normally to the pump, although the gas level was low. I even drove it over a fairly steep hill. I turned it off with the key at the pump. I added 3 gallons of gas, and it then failed to start due to fuel starvation.
 
Originally Posted by brages
Fuel filter was replaced a few months ago.

Subscribed to see what fixes this. I've seen new fuel filters fail/clog in older cars shortly after replacing a fuel pump. I've also had new fuel pumps fail shortly after replacement, with symptoms similar to yours.
 
I never did see what brand of fuel pump replacement that you used a few months ago, but replacement fuel pumps are a roll of the dice.
Did you use a Chinese-cheapie from a national chain store? I also suspect a lazy fuel pump.
(Although I will admit I got +200K miles from a Chinese pump on my daughter's Mustang)
 
The fuel pump was a cheap "Ultra Power" Rockauto store brand... So I used the Rockauto online forms to get it replaced, believing it was defective. So they sent me a new one -- another Ultra Power. And it seems no better with the new one.

Here is an interesting thing: Ultra Power fuel pumps for this truck are now no longer available at Rockauto... I assume it's because I got the last one off the shelf.

I disconnected the fuel filter to see if that was clogged up, but it doesn't seem to be, I can push fuel through it easily just by blowing on the lines.

I'm thinking that my best theory at this point is that Ultra Power pumps just aren't good enough to reprime themselves. Wish I had kept the old OE pump, but I pitched it after the first replacement seemed to be working fine. And that's another loose end -- when I originally replaced the pump and filter - with the cheap Rockauto parts - I had no issues at all starting the truck again, even though the filter would have been full of air.
 
I once worked on a friends 1997 E150 with the V6, It had pretty much all the same symptoms as your ranger. He had replaced the fuel pump, some vacuum lines, the DPFE sensor,
and I believe the O2 sensors. The fuel pressure was on the low side of the spec, the scanner showed the fuel system at idle was toggling from closed loop to open loop.
I replaced the fuel pressure regulator and that solved the issue.
 
I replaced the fuel pressure regulator earlier this week. No change.

Put in a new filter, thought maybe the one in there had clogged mysteriously. No change.

I'm running out of ammo for the parts cannon... Next idea is to pop in a better fuel pump... Delphi, Bosch, Denso, what do you think?
 
I'm at a loss of words to tell you. It definitely sounds fuel delivery related. While it is possible, I would say it's extremely unlikely that any of the parts you've replaced are faulty. The only other thing I can suggest for you to check is the fuel rail to see if anything is stuck inside, and also the fuel tank return line.
 
Everybody loves Denso, right? Ordered one off Amazon (who would counterfeit a fuel pump?) and fingers crossed...
 
Maybe already stated or tried: But how about hooking up a fuel pressure gauge you can see while driving?
 
Yeah, I have one hooked up, although I'm not driving the truck around.

I am trying to fix one problem... if the pump sucks up any air, the truck is unable to re-prime its fuel system and you can watch the fuel pressure slowly drop and then the engine dies and won't restart.

Now, maybe it's not really a problem, but it sure seems like one to me. I haven't ever had a vehicle that would die and fail to restart if you braked hard with a 3/8 full gas tank.
 
Back
Top