OT - ? 95 mazda B2500 truck, stalled won't restart

souNdguy

Well-known Member
cousin was driving, 1/4 tank fuel, went around a corner, truck stalled, she pulled over.

i went out to look at it.

battery turns over starter fine. lamps and gauges work, I checked for fuse burnouts, found none on the panel just inside the door.

I pulled a spark plug wire and held it near ground and it has spark. I had to get back to work so I just towed her here.

I'm ?wondering? about fuel pump.

at key-on, I don't here any fuel pump charging up the plenum... but wasn't sure on this truck how that worked.

Ps.. this truck has lots of stuff that crosses with a ranger. ;)

Also.. thru me off when i counted spark plug wires at first. ;)

If this does have a pump that should be running.. is this a rail /frame mounte dpump or in the tank? and is there a charge pump under the hood?

thanks
 
Fuel pump is in the tank. Should be a Schrader fitting on the fuel rail to make it easy to check fuel pressure.

Have someone get their ear as close to the fuel tank as possible and listen for fuel pump at "key on" and while cranking.

Besides fuel pump, I would check fuse and relay, and power wires and grounding at the fuel tank.

Also, Ford pickups of that era had an "inertia switch" to shut the FP off in case of a crash, and they would sometimes trip for no reason, or simply fail. You might want to do some research and find out if that feature was shared with their Mazda cousins.
 
I'll have to find the fp relay.

No fuses are bad.

and i don't hear ANY fuel pump running.

Hadn't thought about the shutoff switch.

I found the schrader valve. it 'looks' like a small one though.. I'll have to see if it is normal size or just looks smaller, and if I have or need to find a gauge to fit it..

no owners manual with this truck.. anyone know if there is a second fuse and relay box hidden under the hood. I know some trucks do that.

thanks
 
All you have to do is hold the shrader valve pin down and have someone turn the switch on. Fuel will spray out if pump is working. Put a cloth over the valve. Have a fire extinguisher handy.

Find the inertia switch and check it out.

Whack the bottom of the tank with a big rubber hammer or a big long 2X6 etc and see if that will make the pump come back on????

It works sometimes?? Even if it does the pump probably is about shot.

Might find the connector that goes to the tank pump and check for power with the switch turned on and off. The pump is only on for a few seconds if the engine is not running.

Zane
 
(quoted from post at 08:20:38 08/04/15) I'll have to find the fp relay.

No fuses are bad.

and i don't hear ANY fuel pump running.

Hadn't thought about the shutoff switch.

I found the schrader valve. it 'looks' like a small one though.. I'll have to see if it is normal size or just looks smaller, and if I have or need to find a gauge to fit it..

no owners manual with this truck.. anyone know if there is a second fuse and relay box hidden under the hood. I know some trucks do that.

thanks

Inertia switch should be in front passenger floor board. Up on the bottom of the fire wall, around the heater duct for you feet.

They are a little black box with a gray button in the middle. Just push it in. You may have to move the floor mat and carpet to find it.

I bought a 94 ranger for $300. With the same problem, crank all day but would start. Push that little button in and fired right up. Best $300 I've ever spent.

FYI the inertia switch is a safety feature that cuts all fuel off in case of a collision
 
A shop mechanic told me about smacking the bottom of the fuel tank to get the fuel pump to work. He said that it was likely to only work once so if the truck started to drive it directly to the shop without shutting it off.
 
More info.

it is actually a 5/98 truck.

Got to checking spark again and it was intermittant.

pulled plastic cover off front of the engine, and the timing belt was 3/4 chewed thru, so I am QUITE SURE TIMING HAS JUMPED.

I have a new belt, and am getting the ac and power steering out of the way, top rad hose is off... how do you time this engine.

2.5l
 
Line up the cam timing marks, the crank timing marks and the timing marks on the aux shaft that drives the distributor. Easy peasy.
 
Yup, got fan and shroud off, found the triangle cam marks, found the oil pump marks. Cleaned the crank, looking for its mark. Found the timing ref on the cover. Will try again tomorrow, rain came. I need to get #1 plug out or vc off so I make sure I'm on comp stroke and not 180 off. Either way, I will get it or get it on 2nd try :)

Rain predicted tomorrow but not Thur. I have the new belt in hand, I figure latest by Thur afternoon I will have it back together.

Boy that tensions is a beefy spring!

And i thought some other trucks I worked on were cramped!

Belt was so bad it finally broke taking I off.
 
You must have been really tired when you quit. If all the timing marks are lined up and the No 1 piston is on tdc, you are good to go. I believe this is a clearance engine. At least the 2.3L version is.
 
rain caught me so i had to close the hood for the night last night. If I get some time I might be able to get back to it today, if not thur morn.

If it is a clearanced engine, which i am THINKING it is, it will be no problem.. I have 2 possible cam lineups.. either correct or 180 out, and if clearanced, if I get it wrong it's no biggie, just lost time.

I'm either gonna pull vc or #1 and go from there when I get back on it.

Harmonic ballancer is being a booger.
 
Don't hold me to this but sometimes you can go to autozone web site and pull the info needed to replace the belt.

It would get a new Tensioner if I were do'N the job :wink: It is one of the EZ ones to do... YOU DO HAVE TO TIME THE OIL PUMP SPROCKET.

If you get the Timing Component Kit it will come with instructions...

I spec you could google a ford ranger 2.5 are even a older 2.3 and come up with the needed info...

Once you get the Harmonic ballancer off and the belt you install the front cover back on a loose fit'n ballancer and index in TDC to the TDC mark :wink:

Years ago I have read folks could do this job not removing the ballancer I never could :(
 
Yeah, I got the belt kit that came with the tensioner.

I didn't mean the oil pump didn't need timing, just that it was easiest.

I don't see how someone could get that belt on/off the crank gear with the hb on ??

I got a little work on it today, fan and pulley and shroud out, got 1 #1 plug out. Started cleaning ballancer to find mark to Lin up on cover and rain came, will pick up tomorrow.

Ps,

Think I found parts for that darn jd mower.
 
Got her done today, no rain finally.

Boy that job wasn't as fun as I hoped it would be.

Chinsey plastic cowl to mark tdc on ballancer.

Even with radiator out couldn't get my good air gun in there so had to breaker bar it. 4 screw puller got the hb off easy, I expected a fight.

Serviced the vehicles trans since the oil that came out with the cooler disconnected looked nasty. Oil, filter change, coolant, hoses, belts, yada yada.

Did a highway 60-70mph test. Glad that truck is outta my yard...

I would not want that kinda job daily.. :)

I'm glad there are people lile you that do like it!
 
(quoted from post at 05:47:02 08/07/15) Got her done today, no rain finally.

Boy that job wasn't as fun as I hoped it would be.

Chinsey plastic cowl to mark tdc on ballancer.

Even with radiator out couldn't get my good air gun in there so had to breaker bar it. 4 screw puller got the hb off easy, I expected a fight.

Serviced the vehicles trans since the oil that came out with the cooler disconnected looked nasty. Oil, filter change, coolant, hoses, belts, yada yada.

Did a highway 60-70mph test. Glad that truck is outta my yard...

I would not want that kinda job daily.. :)

I'm glad there are people lile you that do like it!

I could have made a days work out of it... :wink: Cam/crank seals water pump themo etc... Just wait till you get to do the plugs and wires :evil: Its not bad if you go ahead and remove the upper Plenum try'N to work around it is a beach...
 
Passanger wires looked easy, plugs maybe a bit deep. Drivers side is a jymble, but the back 2 did have those neat pull tabs on.

Hadn't seen those before... Probably my first 8 spark plug 4 cyl I've worked on too :)

At less radiator was easy to remove. The Yukon my wife had, the radiator was a royal pita!

Thanks for the help and info.
 
Glad you got it finished. Setting up the crank timing does make you a bit uneasy doesn't it? Aux shaft and Cam timing is easy but the crank is not so much.
 
Biggest pita think about the crank timing was that the hb had the mark, and the flimsy plastic cover/shroud for the timing belt had the retard, center and advance marks on it, and you have to keep pulling it off and on to check.. Its flimsy and held kinda loosely on with a few plastic tabs and a single bolt.. Didn't instill me with confidence lining up a hard mark to a plastic cover that never snaps on the same way twice.. :)
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top