I love that Wes doesn’t have an opening graphic animation, theme song or any other waste of time. Straight to the problem at hand.

How does Wes only have 200k subs? Awful lot of folks missing out on Saturday and Sunday mornings before kids and the wife wake up (and between hunting seasons).

The engine tick is designed to be the best harmonic match for the power steering whine. Thanks for keeping this little beauty on the road!

Wes has a lot of patience, a neat mouse chasing dog and a cute wife.

There’s no way a normal shop would do half the diagnosing that you do. They would fire up the parts cannon and hope to get lucky.

Working on old Harleys taught me that aftermarket stuff can be junk. Fortunately for the Harley crowd, a whole ecosystem developed of "better than OEM," stuff like Jim's and S&S and other companies. Here we see how the aftermarket distributor company bought a module with improper alloy contacts. They are supposed to be beryllium-copper alloy so they stay nice and springy. It's a classic problem, the terminal looks springy when they assemble it, but after some heat cycles and vibration they bend open. The distributor company never knew they were getting ripped off since cheapo aftermarket companies don't do exhaustive incoming inspection. The module company might have been clueless as well. This reminded me of when I was an engineer at Ford Light Truck in the early 1980s. We had an ignition module mounted on the fender. It had a paper-phenolic circuit board that would crack and cause the truck to die. After it cooled off, the board would flex back and the truck would start again. I said, "simple, just replace the circuit board with an FR-4 board". They looked at me like I was insane. This module was used in all the cars and trucks, six million vehicles a year. It would cost a dollar to change-- and they explained that Ford engineers were supposed to save money, not cost money. I saw guys lose a career for a 5-cent mistake and managers get fired for a 50-cent mistake. A dollar mistake would have gotten the whole department fired. Finance whiz kids ruined that company back then. So in the end, they poured sand in the die cast housing and placed the crappy board on top before potting it in. This fixed the problem for a few cents, in fact, since sand was cheaper than potting compound, it might have been booked as a cost savings. The reliability of the module was 12 or 14 Rs per hundred, in another words, 12% of the modules failed in the 12-month, 12.000-mile warranty period. It was the worst reliability part in Ford history, and I was the truck guy that had to use it. I quit Ford and went to Silicon Valley, where I met a tech that had the same problem with his old Capri or Pinto. He learned he could wedge a "drunk bump" highway marker under the module against the potting, and when he screwed it down, it warped the board enough so it stopped cutting out. He figured this out on the side of the road. His skills were as amazing as yours, great episode.

Who knew remote starters could cause problems , now we know thank Wes

I'm always excited to see the parts counter person bring out a faded box with rounded edges. It means I'm probably getting a functional part.

Back in the day my dad owned an 86 2.9 Ranger from almost new. From the word go, if it was colder than 20 degrees out, it wouldn't start. If we were ice fishing, we had to go out and start it every couple of hours so we wouldn't get stranded. Finally, after 170,000 miles, the TFI module finally failed. After it was replaced, the cold weather start issue was resolved! He drove that truck all those years like that...

Nicely done! My '84 Escort consumed one of those 3 pin TFI modules every 40k or so and at least 1 pickup coil in 120k. Yes, I always used fresh thermal grease. I put 150k on an 87 with the later TFI setup (7 pins) and had no issues. Makes me think the early stuff was junk.

That Ranger comes equipped with a Dwight Yoakam cassette in higher trim levels.

I just love seeing the 86 ranger. I had one years ago and kept it down in florida to pull a sailboat. 2.0 liter. Basically it ran on air. Thanks for the trip down memory lane seeing that interior

Congratulations on 200K Wes! Lots of stuff repaired nice job!

I can't properly verbalize my appreciation for the level of detail you go in to, Wes. I've worked on Ford EEC-IV stuff, even as recently as a month or so ago, and as a high schooler. I didn't have the gizmos for testing, but I could short out two pins on the Ford OBD1 connector to read stored codes and to also run the KOER test. Something like this would have forced me to go to a mechanic. Thanks for putting in the effort to film and describe all the steps involved in the solution. You continue to fascinate me!

Dad and I continue to work on our 87 2.9l Ranger 4WD manual, so I love it when the Rusty Ranger gets some screen time! Over the years I've replaced a lot of those top-end parts, but i haven't gotten into those parts you replaced in this video (i've done injector cleaning, IACV, fuel pressure regulator, among other fun vacuum parts). Come to think of it, I bet they are playing a part in the overall weirdness in the performance. You had that thing sounding better than ours has in decades! Thanks for this - sending it my dad's way to discuss later!

I'm a huge Ranger enthusiast, especially these 1st Gens. Currently restoring a single cab 83' Ranger 2.3L 4x4 '4 Speed stick shift and absolutely love it. I bought mine out in San Diego while I was there for the Navy back in February, drove it to Norfolk in May. Drove over 2700 miles and it made it with out a single issue. Every Ranger I owned that had that dreadful 2.9L never ran right and always had issues. They aren't bad motors, it's the 80s emissions and technology that plagued the 2.8/2.9Ls. It's why I bought a carbureted 2.3L and currently about to throw in a Holley 350 that is jetted and tuned down for a 2.3L along with a RacerWalsh cannon port intake.

Very thorough testing, nice seeing positive results

That Sun Tach brings back 1974 thru 1976 memories!

That fuel pressure regulator is one of the first things I check on these old Ferds. 20 years seems to be their lifespan, at least here in Arizona. I've had a couple fail in that exact manner; one burned out a cat and melted the downstream O2 sensor, the other just severely fouled it's spark plugs. Thank goodness it's easy enough to pop that vacuum hose off lol.

Had an old 87 Ranger with the 2.9L. The EGR pipe between the manifold and the valve had rusted through and caused a loud ticking exhaust noise. Took it out, drove a brass plug in the manifold, folded the pipe over and sealed it and put back in the valve to keep from sucking dirty air. Miss that truck

Been running into a bunch of junk new parts. Just did a timing belt on a Dodge 3.5 and the kit I bought was from Gates. The timing belt idler pulley bracket was supplied by GMB and when tightened down to 61 Nm the tensioner would not allow the idler to pivot. I removed the new idler pulley from the GMB bracket and used the factory bracket. Gotta be careful with these parts nowadays.

I literally never comment but I’ve been binging your videos for about a year and I gotta say you’ve brought more entertainment and knowledge to my life than anything else on the internet, big thanks man 👊

Wes, EXCELLENT diagnostic!! Pre-OBDII stuff can be very difficult, and I know 20-30 year Leed techs that won’t touch that stuff because they don’t have the ability to diagnose it. I really appreciate how straightforward you are. Thank you!!

When I watch your videos I realize how far things have come from the old points and condenser days I’m used to. I’m impressed by your diagnostic talent. I’ll stick to the 50 year old and older stuff

I had a 91 Ranger 4x4 with the 2.9L. Put over 210,000 miles on it. I sold it and saw it around town for several years and it kind of made me sad that I got rid of it. Was a great truck.

I've been holding off watching this video because of other things I needed to get done so you may not see this comment (728 before me). I have an 86 Crown Vic and have found the books by Charles Probst really helpful in understanding how things work and diagnosing problems on my 86 Ford. Very interesting watching what you did on this one. So far I've been really lucky that not many parts have died because replacements are getting really hard to find. Still running strong at 302,000 miles!

Yep, the trouble shoot process for all of mine was : If it dies and cranks back, pickup sensor. If it dies and doesn't crank back, TFI module. I used to keep an extra TFI module in the glove box on mine, then I learned about those nifty remote mount TFI modules and switched over to them.

Oh for the days when the most complex thing in a car was the nut behind the wheel. 🤣 Congrats on the 200K Wes.

Yeah, I love my 09 Ranger. 4 cylinders, 5 speed, 2 Wheel drive. And 33 miles to a gallon! It does everything I need it to do.

That distributor was bad when it was made, You got to love it! Thanks Wes!! Somewhere I read that Frank Fritz had a stroke.

I know the parts situation makes you question any preventive maintenance. I have a 96 Mazda B2300 that I pull behind my motor home and the clutch is getting close to the end. I keep thinking about replacing it, but sometimes it’s better not to touch stuff that still works. 😂😂

Thanks for stirring up lots of memories, Wes. Spent a lot of time under those hoods chasing DPFs, EGR problems, module's and pick up some on Fords. The DPF would short the 5 volt line and kill the truck. Kept dozens of them in stock. Sold them as maintainence. Made lots of mortgage payments of those 80s ford's. Thanks for another good show.

The aftermarket ignition modules are usually junk too! I never had a specialty tool just (several) turned down deep well sockets in my toolbox. I never could find the specialty one when I needed it and ended up turning down multiple. Good diagnostic video Wes! 👍😁

Fields look nice and green. Be curious to see how the beans produce though. Gotta love the parts problem we have in this country. America needs to be producing their own!!!

Subscribed. I saw your comment on Eric O's fix of an Ecoboost Ford; about the parts man finally letting you know the part you ordered months ago and the look on his face handing it over to you was that of a guy with a record setting bass........and thought, let me check this guy's channel out. Glad I did, too. Loved your troubleshooting and repair work on this 2.8 Ranger. I miss my own 89 Ranger STX with the 2.9. Keep up the great work, I love what you have here.

Thanks for sharing Wes, always enjoy your solutions and your humor! Its always the wires!

I had an 85 Oldsmobile Calais and the ignition module went out. Swapped it out and 3 months later the module died again. Swap, run and fail 3 months later. Bit the bullet and bought an OE GM module. Never had a problem again....

Wes, when you are dealing with loose connections or even one connector, you can twist the prongs a little and make connections that way. If it is on the outer side connection shell portion, crime the rolled portions a little to tighten it up. Could allow a part to work that way... Another great video and troubleshooting issue. Thumbs Up!

Lots of progress and repairs done in this truck good video as aleays @Watch Wes Work

That cricket chirping in the background would drive me nuts! I would have to go find that sucker........

I like the rusty Ranger. I owned a 1983 Ranger V6 2.8 4x4 for 10 years. Hauled a 900 pound camper all over British Columbia . Heard a balsey sound from tranny so got all the bearings changed. A great ride. Thanks Wes.

Nostalgia: check ✔️. My first Ranger was an '88 2.9 standard long box, with 200000 km of previous enjoyment already clocked. I put almost another 100k of perfect motoring before it started to exhibit these exact complaints! Multiple diagnostics from the dealer included over 40 hours of "computer connected diagnostics", a new/used ECM, then a brand new ECM, replacement of most of the electro-mechanical do-dads...all to no avail: it stalled in the parking lot when I went to pick it up. The dealer stopped charging me shop time, because the head mechanic was then on a mission to get to the bottom of this. The entire book and read-outs were eventually sent to Ford. Their considered response: "Tell your customer to buy a new truck" 😡

This brings back memories. I had a 1984 Ranger that I purchased brand new and it was almost identical to the Rusty Ranger. My Ranger only cost about $10,000, if I recall. Those were the good ole days. I had a part time job barely above minimum wage and was able to pay for college and make payments on my new Ranger and had money left over.

Interesting to see that diagnosis and fix, well done Wes 👌

you know what’s sad wes with the part shortage going on you still was able to locate 3 different “sensors” for this old ford lol people wonder why we keep a hold of these vehicles lol

I hate the cheap replacement parts on the market today. You’re almost better off cruising the You Pull It junkyards for OEM vintage stuff. Takes time and luck though.

Can't imagine how you know all those intricate electronic schematics, and then know how to fix them!!! I doubt that your "local garage mechanic" would have a clue about this. Your amazing and your ability to explain these issues so that we "lay" folks can understand and at least be entertained. Love your channel!!

I owned an AMC Gremlin back in the 70's. I would drive down the road and the engine would die. I would turn the key to start and it would start within seconds. This would only happen once in maybe 20-100 miles. I was afraid to take it to the dealer because they would think i'm nuts. Finally about 2 yrs' later I received a recall that the plugin for the distributor sensor needed cleaned and lubed with electrical grease. Back then they didn't have computers, most machanics didn't have electricial knowledge like today.

such a cool old vintage truck. Funny, how electronics replaced all those vacuum components and the vehicles run so much better now. Nice video.

Great job and diagnostic. I do have the TFI socket. I had a 1985 T-Bird that I had new. I learned about the fact that the distributor had to some apart back then. They were a real weak point. I think they had an issue with getting too hot. I had a 1987 Bronco with that engine too. The 1991 Ranger I had with the 3.0 was much nicer and more powerful. It reached 340K miles with only an oil pump and other wear items. Trans started slipping and I sold it for $1000 in 2000 ish.

Nice job! Good to see her running so well.

Your knowledge never ceases to amaze me.

I had this same problem with my '87. It was notorious for the PIP sensor to overheat and quit working. Autozone even stopped providing the warranty from replacing it too many times in a short period. Come to find out it was a combination of a bad EGR valve, TPI sensor, PIP, and crankshaft sensor. If either goes bad, they burn out the others. I really miss that truck. It was my best friend. I put 493,000 miles on it before it finally gave up the ghost. Wish I could find another like it.

Bored on a Sunday afternoon, you just made my day Wes.

Love that background noise, the crickets are awesome! You should include them more often, gives the video a more homey feel, relaxing. No joke.

sweet to see this sweet old truck cruising down the road again when it was left to deteriorate down to a 300 dollar vehicle. its way nice now how nice it goes and looks.

The chirping cricket is a nice touch...at least it is not in your food...yet. Your diagnostic and mechanical skills always amaze me. Thanks for all you do!!!

Wes, You put out the best content with a great sense on how difficult the repair/ parts industry has gotten. Thank you so much for taking all your viewer along on your ever changing daily adventures in automotive repair. Have a great labor day weekend!

LOL...Wes, don't worry about the traffic noises.... while you were fixing the distributor, it was that dang cricket in your shop that was really loud!

Wes; Congratulations on hitting 200k !! Seems like yesterday I was watching "Hi Mom" videos..time flies.

Frank called...he wants his Ranger back!

That snap on setup takes me back to the 2000s - one enormous blow-moulded case for the scan tool, another for the cables, keys and adapters!

This EEC-V emmissions system was an easy to troubleshoot, reliable set up..congrats to the ford engineers. Unfortunately, all fords will eventually need every electronic or electrical engine emmissions component replaced. My 1992 F150 went thru just about every part by 2005. Im surprised it wasnt just busted or rotted vacuum lines. Always check the plastic lines first

You certainly made that look easy. Well done and enjoy the long weekend.

Nice diagnostic Wes. It’s a nice old truck. Most of the problems are related to an accumulation of birthdays😏

Wes you have to love the quality of the new parts now days. If you get more the the 1 year warranty off of them you did good. Not all that way but most seem to be on that . Good video today. Have a great day 👍🏻👋

So Frank Fritz old truck went on the fritz again. Nice job Wes.

My 1981 ford truck would just die going down the road so I won’t drive it anymore then a mile to town figured I could walk back home. I fooled around with that old truck for a year until one day I was in a local auto store telling the guy my trouble and he came up with two things in his hand one was was the brain box and the other was the distributor, I had already changed the brain box so I took the distributor and dropped it in and that old ford fired up like it was 1981 and I’m still driving it to this day. It’s been over ten years. 😃

Wes is an awesome mechanic. A great problem solver. Fantastic with electronics. He keeps producing- I keep watching.

As a farmer yes the prices are good but the price of diesel fuel,fertilizer and chemicals have also doubled and some have tripled. The government wont allow high prices without everything else following. That goes with everything i guess though.

another valuable lesson on new parts failure wake up folks it's not getting better

love the 8 grand tachometer, move that red line up to the top! nice job thank you ALL stay safe

In the past I've soldered up a bit of a bead on male spade connectors to snug it up into the female connector which couldn't be accessed easily to bend them back into shape. Works good in a pinch.

Have to say Wes, you must have the patience of Job to continue down the rabbit holes these wrecks present.

Great job on the rusty Ranger, It's just like a bad penny it keeps rolling back

Excellent work, as always Wes. Keep it up. 21:47 you're just asking for trouble, you didn't flip down the battery positive post cover. That'll short to the hood, that's about six inches above it, and the truck will burn to the ground... 🤣🤣

What a multitude of detected problems. Good fixin.

Thanks Wes, we look forward to watching your vids. Thank God for guys like you who fix this stuff cause I ain't doin it

Wasn't that Frank's truck? It's on the road again.... Thank you Wes... beans in central Illinois are almost 4 1/2 foot tall

Wes, you have some of the best content and I love your sense of humor. I also like the in house brake bleeder assistant and her prodigy. Max too.

I'm looking around my room like did one of those damn crickets get in my house, then I pause the video to listen for where it is and it hits me lol

As usual, pure genius 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✅✅✅✅✅

As a retired (mostly industrial) electrician I like your approach to troubleshooting. I sometimes had to train apprentices and would ask them "do you want to be a technician...or a parts changer"? They always said technician but down the road they would proceed to just change out parts to troubleshoot.

Thank - you, for posting Wes. Happy Labor Day too... You, your wife, son and pup.

A true mechanic. Stay safe.

It appears that the cricket is still alive and well in the workshop ! Have a great week enjoy the traffic silence, I am guessing everyone who has gone... has gone !

1985 Dodge 1 ton 360. Always had running and starting issues. Replaced the pickup in the distributor, no change. Finally replaced the distributor. Total improvement! However, it's still running on 7. Probably a burnt valve.

get that cricket, welcome to my shop

Had an 85, with the last year of the carb and 2.8, and the ign module went out (died when hot, but would run when cooled,off, until it didn’t). When I went to replace it, found the connector on the part inside the distributor had melted. Had the little tool, too. Ended up swapping the whole distributor in the parts store parking lot. Got lucky, and got the gear in the right way on the first try. Also did the egr controller at some point. But my favorite fix was the carb would ice over on hot humid days. Would have to let it sit and thaw. I put a bolt in the flapper in the air cleaner from the manifold heat riser so it would always draw hot air, and it ran great from then on.

We can all learn from this guy ! Thanks for sharing wes !

I hate it when you get bad new parts. I replaced the carburetor on an old riding mower that I was reviving, and I couldn't get it to do anything. I couldn't get it to even try to start. It had been sitting for several years, so it could've been anything. Assuming that nothing was wrong with the carb, I spent a month on and off trying to find my blockage in the fuel system before realizing that the fuel shutoff solenoid on the new carb was bad. I just deleted it and the mower fired right up.

The 2.9 was actually a pretty good engine for all the bs you had to go through to diag one. Dad had a bronco 2 with the 3.0 and it was a bear to work on

Friday traffic! No kidding it was nuts everywhere. It was 540 miles of bumper to bumper traffic across Al Ga SC interstate hiway. I have never seen so much traffic in 40 years of making the trip home to moms place.

When a vehicle gets to be that old it seems to want the parts cannon let loose. I know it sucks but if that fixes it and it goes a long time then it's worth it. Wes you have the patience of Jobe and again a great video.

Arbor presses are so handy. You don't think you'd ever use it, until you use it and realize how much easier it makes jobs.

I made a Special Tool to turn the oil pump for alignment. I ground the outside of a 5/16 drive socket to fit the distributor shaft bore, it is not the correct socket but will turn the pump drive.

*3 cars go by* "The traffic is just unreal". God I miss living in rural America. LMAO

Nice work fixing the Ranger..again! 🤣 I hope you and the misses have a wonderful Labor Day weekend. 🔧

That Ranger says, " I'll be back !!! ".

What a great Video. The Methodical Troubleshooting is why I like the Channel. I appreciate you showing the voltage difference between bad and good part, amp draw of bad and good Solenoid. Thanks for sharing your time and knowledge, Wes.