2000 X AWD 5.0 cranks but no start after new exhaust/cats installed

[410Fortune]

I can send you a fuel rail if it comes down to it

Not sure how you had 50 psi when the line was apparently blocked

Nobody is Laughing at cutting an access panel we do it all the time

I have videos of this truck you guys trying to start his v8

 

[Josh P]

I can send you a fuel rail if it comes down to it

Not sure how you had 50 psi when the line was apparently blocked

Nobody is Laughing at cutting an access panel we do it all the time

I have videos of this truck you guys trying to start his v8

You posted it, so no doubt there.

 

[Stickman1966]

I've about come to the conclusion that there is some "leg pulling" going on.
I haven't seen a single picture that this vehicle exists. No pics of test gauge results, neither fuel pressure or compression test.
Also, no pictures of the exhaust work performed and of the new parts "thrown" at it.

I've about come to the conclusion that there is some "leg pulling" going on.
I haven't seen a single picture that this vehicle exists. No pics of test gauge results, neither fuel pressure or compression test.
Also, no pictures of the exhaust work performed and of the new parts "thrown" at it.

I've about come to the conclusion that there is some "leg pulling" going on.
I haven't seen a single picture that this vehicle exists. No pics of test gauge results, neither fuel pressure or compression test.
Also, no pictures of the exhaust work performed and of the new parts "thrown" at it.

410fortune has all the media associated with this 'make believe' rig. and believe me, I wish it was not true. more than anything.

 

[Stickman1966]

You posted it, so no doubt there.

well I took the top end and take off got down to the fuel rail removed it, both pieces lol + with my wire feed flux core welder, welded the fuel rail back together and it has been secured on top of all eight injectors + fastened with the screws to the block or the heads all the way down tight. I am in the process of here in the next couple hours going to run fuel through it and see if it holds I did a somewhat of a pressure test on it and with all eight lines blocked including the vacuum line I blew in the end of that ****er and I could not get any air out so crossing my fingers I am going to order a new fuel rail for it eventually depending on if this weld holds or not. + 410Fortune, I appreciate you brother. he offered to send me a fuel rail is greatly appreciated and who knows I might need to take you up on that. my address is 5829 Cheyne ave Klamath Falls, OR 97603. The way it is around here it might be a while before I receive one so and if I do health two's better than one. thanks again.

 

[Stickman1966]

If that was the case, I'd have to give credit for how well written it is describing the frustration. I would like to see pictures of the modified fuel rail.

I'm going to do that as soon as I get back to my house Josh p. I don't know why I didn't do it yesterday. not that I'm extremely proud of my weld job. just keep in mind, flux core....

If that was the case, I'd have to give credit for how well written it is describing the frustration. I would like to see pictures of the modified fuel rail.

that last picture or selfie if you want to call it just for all the haters LOL yes I am real. and like I said before believe me I wish this wasn't.

 

[Josh P]

None of us are hating, just an unusual set of events. Carry on...

 

[allmyEXes]

@Stickman1966 I assumed that AI was f@*#ing with us. You've about covered every base.

 

[410Fortune]

Interesting that the injectors are black.. not sure where they come from or how many psi those are rated to

Make sure you hookup all the vacuum lines once the intake is back on
With that hole welded shut no real way to test fuel rail pressure now?

Let’s hope she fires up once you get the intake all put back on

 

[Stickman1966]

Interesting that the injectors are black.. not sure where they come from or how many psi those are rated to

Make sure you hookup all the vacuum lines once the intake is back on
With that hole welded shut no real way to test fuel rail pressure now?

Let’s hope she fires up once you get the intake all put back on well

I was able to find a fuel rail at our local U-Pull-It wrecking yard. It was a fuel rail for return system mine is a non-return system so I did have to modify that fuel rail by connecting a fuel line that had been welded shut on one end. now I don't know if I'm going to get laughed at or what but the way I look at it as if the return part of that fuel rail is basically terminated I have a fuel rail that should provide fuel to the injectors just like the original fuel line did. well I got everything hooked back up and no start. I am literally figuratively emotionally physically mentally done. I don't ****ing get it. You guys can only imagine how many times I've said the phrase this is got to be the problem or the only other thing it could be is.... well I don't know anymore obviously I haven't known anything before. 410 Fortune said or med mention about checking the compression or one of you guys made mention about that. listen, it's not the compression. What would cause the compression to go bad? A blown cylinder bottom half of the motor scattered? That's not the problem. My truck has not started in 2 months and I have thrown the entire O'Reilly's Auto parts list at it and still nothing. It is absolutely the most ridiculous situation that I'd ever been in. and yeah that's including my ex-wife being a lesbian now and her Peter Griffin looking **** lol. I'm taking it Monday I'm taking it down I'm going to tow this ************ again and I'm going to take it down to the guy that installed my my flow cats because he said he'll take a look at it He's no mechanic he says but he'll take a look at it because this whole problem started after he installed the exhaust system. Just a breakdown the list of parts that I have installed.....

PCM

crankshaft sensor

camshaft sensor

coil packs

throttle positioning sensor

fuel pump

fuel filter

fuel line

fuel injectors 8

 

[Turdle]

Which spark plugs are you using ?



I'd like to see what they look like, if you do check compression ( you should) can you get pictures of them?

This should run on starting fluid. If not there is spark or compression- timing issue. It's rare but this might have jumped time, or, broke the chain. Hesitant to post as to add to confusion and anxiety

 

[410Fortune]

Check fuel pressure <——————

Read Below about The two different fuel rails



You can turn the engine over and watch the flag turn in the cam synchronizer… this confirms the camshaft is turning (timing chain)

Valve seat issues can lead to low compression but that is not likely the cause here since it was running one day and not the next

There are 4 02 sensors on a 5.0
And you can plug 3’of them in wrong.. I would triple check that they are plugged in correctly, green is upstream sensor blue is downstream after that it’s kind of obvious which ones plug in the where. Make sure he didn’t torch through any big wires or pinch the main transmission 02 sensor harness on the spine of the trans

You are doing g a good job! I feel like if I was there we could have this sucker running in a few minutes.. but I’m loaded with spare 5.0 everything and tons of Knowledge about these rigs…how did we get this way? School of hard knocks… desperation to get my truck running lol you only have us and YouTube…

Check your work, the last place you worked it likely where the issue came from
You know this started when he chop cut welded on the exhaust… there Is a bunch of wiring down there and welding can do crazy things to wiring (especially if the key is on or battery still Hooked up) to make things worse this is a custom Rig that somebody else did the conversion on… not factory so a number of things could be contributing to the no start situation

Your injectors are black, not sure if they were painted or have always been black? Factory injectors for returnless 5.0 are white
Your old pcm could have been tuned.. as this is a v8 ranger. And now we are running a stock pcm.. who knows what those injectors are rated for or where they came from?

I can send you a complete fuel rail for a returnless system and a set of stock white injectors.. it would take me a few days to get parts together and ship.. you gotta pay me for shipping though so let’s see how the next round of testing goes

It’s got to be something simple so the best advice it stay focused on the simple

Air, fuel, ignition timing, and spark if all of those check out then it is compression

Check all wiring especially near where he was working
Check firing order and ignition wires carefully

FUEL RAILS
Your fuel rail is not correct. I know you dead ended the return line but there is one more
Difference between a return fuel rail and an returnless

On the return rail the thing the vacuum lines hooks to is the pressure regulator. The vacuum regulator is what regulates the 42
Psi at the back of the injectors and all un used fuel is sent back to the tank

On the returnless rail the vacuum Device is a pulse damper, there to soften any pressure spikes that happen inside the rail. On these systems the 64psi to the back of the injectors is regulated inside the fuel tank

I’m not sure how that is going to effect things but as long as you have 64 psi fuel tail pressure this sucker should start

So a pressure test of the fuel system check is needed, We at least need to rule it out

Check battery terminals and wiring especially on the ground side, I’ve seen a missed ground cause a no start a time or two on the 5.0
One of the main grounds feeds the engine down by the timing Cover

 

[Stickman1966]

Check fuel pressure <——————

Read Below about The two different fuel rails



You can turn the engine over and watch the flag turn in the cam synchronizer… this confirms the camshaft is turning (timing chain)

Valve seat issues can lead to low compression but that is not likely the cause here since it was running one day and not the next

There are 4 02 sensors on a 5.0
And you can plug 3’of them in wrong.. I would triple check that they are plugged in correctly, green is upstream sensor blue is downstream after that it’s kind of obvious which ones plug in the where. Make sure he didn’t torch through any big wires or pinch the main transmission 02 sensor harness on the spine of the trans

You are doing g a good job! I feel like if I was there we could have this sucker running in a few minutes.. but I’m loaded with spare 5.0 everything and tons of Knowledge about these rigs…how did we get this way? School of hard knocks… desperation to get my truck running lol you only have us and YouTube…

Check your work, the last place you worked it likely where the issue came from
You know this started when he chop cut welded on the exhaust… there Is a bunch of wiring down there and welding can do crazy things to wiring (especially if the key is on or battery still Hooked up) to make things worse this is a custom Rig that somebody else did the conversion on… not factory so a number of things could be contributing to the no start situation

Your injectors are black, not sure if they were painted or have always been black? Factory injectors for returnless 5.0 are white
Your old pcm could have been tuned.. as this is a v8 ranger. And now we are running a stock pcm.. who knows what those injectors are rated for or where they came from?

I can send you a complete fuel rail for a returnless system and a set of stock white injectors.. it would take me a few days to get parts together and ship.. you gotta pay me for shipping though so let’s see how the next round of testing goes

It’s got to be something simple so the best advice it stay focused on the simple

Air, fuel, ignition timing, and spark if all of those check out then it is compression

Check all wiring especially near where he was working
Check firing order and ignition wires carefully

FUEL RAILS
Your fuel rail is not correct. I know you dead ended the return line but there is one more
Difference between a return fuel rail and an returnless

On the return rail the thing the vacuum lines hooks to is the pressure regulator. The vacuum regulator is what regulates the 42
Psi at the back of the injectors and all un used fuel is sent back to the tank

On the returnless rail the vacuum Device is a pulse damper, there to soften any pressure spikes that happen inside the rail. On these systems the 64psi to the back of the injectors is regulated inside the fuel tank

I’m not sure how that is going to effect things but as long as you have 64 psi fuel tail pressure this sucker should start

So a pressure test of the fuel system check is needed, We at least need to rule it out

Check battery terminals and wiring especially on the ground side, I’ve seen a missed ground cause a no start a time or two on the 5.0
One of the main grounds feeds the engine down by the timing Cover

I'll tell you what Fortune I really appreciate you man. you have been money on this whole thing and I just want to let you know that nothing you have said has gone without notice. I have battled this rig for so long + I'm not going to stop until I get it running. the injectors were put in by me when I first got the rig last year + they were purchased off Amazon + as I remember right I got the wrong injectors the first time because the electrical connections did not match I'm going to send you a picture of the injectors that I got the first time and you'll be able to notice the difference on the orange injectors that I got the first time the electrical connection was square rectangular sharp corners the injectors that I got that worked were more rounded and smaller and they worked on my connectors on this rig. So that explains the injectors and also if you remember right I told you and everybody else that when I replace the injectors I fired this rig up and it ran brand new it was a ****ing dream I was getting 25 mi to the gallon I also did a EGR delete and the computer recognized it and didn't skip a beat and I'm not kidding I had power I had downshift I had everything with this truck I was on cloud 9 especially for the amount that I paid for it 1,500 bucks I even told the lady who was asking $2,000 for this rig that I bought it from that I would have if I had the money giving her another 500 bucks to match what she was asking for that's how happy I was and then fast forward a little over a thousand miles later here we are. I am going to check the fuel pressure and I just relieved the pressure in the valve and it it's it sprayed pretty good but I know what you're saying and that's where I'm going to go is check that and then I'm going to start checking underneath more closely with areas that he welded the exhaust at and keep in mind where he welded both lines about a foot or so down from the exhaust manifold so keep that in mind I'll keep you posted bro and again I appreciate you more than you probably know. and also I call it a crankshaft sensor now, FYI well hopefully you laugh at that cuz it's ****ing funny.

 

[Stickman1966]

I'll tell you what Fortune I really appreciate you man. you have been money on this whole thing and I just want to let you know that nothing you have said has gone without notice. I have battled this rig for so long + I'm not going to stop until I get it running. the injectors were put in by me when I first got the rig last year + they were purchased off Amazon + as I remember right I got the wrong injectors the first time because the electrical connections did not match I'm going to send you a picture of the injectors that I got the first time and you'll be able to notice the difference on the orange injectors that I got the first time the electrical connection was square rectangular sharp corners the injectors that I got that worked were more rounded and smaller and they worked on my connectors on this rig. So that explains the injectors and also if you remember right I told you and everybody else that when I replace the injectors I fired this rig up and it ran brand new it was a ****ing dream I was getting 25 mi to the gallon I also did a EGR delete and the computer recognized it and didn't skip a beat and I'm not kidding I had power I had downshift I had everything with this truck I was on cloud 9 especially for the amount that I paid for it 1,500 bucks I even told the lady who was asking $2,000 for this rig that I bought it from that I would have if I had the money giving her another 500 bucks to match what she was asking for that's how happy I was and then fast forward a little over a thousand miles later here we are. I am going to check the fuel pressure and I just relieved the pressure in the valve and it it's it sprayed pretty good but I know what you're saying and that's where I'm going to go is check that and then I'm going to start checking underneath more closely with areas that he welded the exhaust at and keep in mind where he welded both lines about a foot or so down from the exhaust manifold so keep that in mind I'll keep you posted bro and again I appreciate you more than you probably know. and also I call it a crankshaft sensor now, FYI well hopefully you laugh at that cuz it's ****ing funny.

 

[410Fortune]

Yep

So the orange injectors are 96-97.5 v8 return fuel explorer
and then in 98 -01 they went to white and returnless fuel

The ranger went returnless fuel 98-11
So when we put a 5.0 into one of these rangers we use the white injectors and returnless rail

Crank sensor lol
It is funny ****! I laugh too
She will be a good rig for you! Just have to get over this hurdle

Glad you bought the injectors make sure when you bought them they were specked for a 98-01 explorer v8

Let us know what you find

FYI I have a 04 ranger here I built with a friend, it’s a v8 with lots of goodies and updates… I’m selling it for $15,000
V8 ranger is a forever truck
Been driving my bii with a v8 for 20 years now

 

[Stickman1966]

Yep

So the orange injectors are 96-97.5 v8 return fuel explorer
and then in 98 -01 they went to white and returnless fuel

The ranger went returnless fuel 98-11
So when we put a 5.0 into one of these rangers we use the white injectors and returnless rail

Crank sensor lol
It is funny ****! I laugh too
She will be a good rig for you! Just have to get over this hurdle

Glad you bought the injectors make sure when you bought them they were specked for a 98-01 explorer v8

Let us know what you find

FYI I have a 04 ranger here I built with a friend, it’s a v8 with lots of goodies and updates… I’m selling it for $15,000
V8 ranger is a forever truck
Been driving my bii with a v8 for 20 years now

well 20 years on the bronco 2 and the money you're asking for that ranger that's pretty impressive all the above. here's what I just found out on my rig, I am not getting power to my injectors. I had checked them with a stethoscope because I didn't have a voltmeter at the time so as I cranked the motor I would hear a slower repetitive tick more like a tick... tick....... definitely not a fast tick but it was letting me know that the injectors were pulsing. well that led me to believe that they were functioning well I just found out that not so much and this is the embarrassingly layman part of me so I need to know your thoughts on what could be causing the injectors not to get power. there's not a fuse dedicated to the injectors or any of the injectors as you know and all of my fuses are checking out. they're good all my relays are checking out they are good so in between the battery terminals and the injectors I have a ****ing short or a broken wire or something so where would you suggest I look first. thanks in advance jordan I appreciate you like I said more than you will ever know.

 

[Stickman1966]

Check fuel pressure <——————

Read Below about The two different fuel rails



You can turn the engine over and watch the flag turn in the cam synchronizer… this confirms the camshaft is turning (timing chain)

Valve seat issues can lead to low compression but that is not likely the cause here since it was running one day and not the next

There are 4 02 sensors on a 5.0
And you can plug 3’of them in wrong.. I would triple check that they are plugged in correctly, green is upstream sensor blue is downstream after that it’s kind of obvious which ones plug in the where. Make sure he didn’t torch through any big wires or pinch the main transmission 02 sensor harness on the spine of the trans

You are doing g a good job! I feel like if I was there we could have this sucker running in a few minutes.. but I’m loaded with spare 5.0 everything and tons of Knowledge about these rigs…how did we get this way? School of hard knocks… desperation to get my truck running lol you only have us and YouTube…

Check your work, the last place you worked it likely where the issue came from
You know this started when he chop cut welded on the exhaust… there Is a bunch of wiring down there and welding can do crazy things to wiring (especially if the key is on or battery still Hooked up) to make things worse this is a custom Rig that somebody else did the conversion on… not factory so a number of things could be contributing to the no start situation

Your injectors are black, not sure if they were painted or have always been black? Factory injectors for returnless 5.0 are white
Your old pcm could have been tuned.. as this is a v8 ranger. And now we are running a stock pcm.. who knows what those injectors are rated for or where they came from?

I can send you a complete fuel rail for a returnless system and a set of stock white injectors.. it would take me a few days to get parts together and ship.. you gotta pay me for shipping though so let’s see how the next round of testing goes

It’s got to be something simple so the best advice it stay focused on the simple

Air, fuel, ignition timing, and spark if all of those check out then it is compression

Check all wiring especially near where he was working
Check firing order and ignition wires carefully

FUEL RAILS
Your fuel rail is not correct. I know you dead ended the return line but there is one more
Difference between a return fuel rail and an returnless

On the return rail the thing the vacuum lines hooks to is the pressure regulator. The vacuum regulator is what regulates the 42
Psi at the back of the injectors and all un used fuel is sent back to the tank

On the returnless rail the vacuum Device is a pulse damper, there to soften any pressure spikes that happen inside the rail. On these systems the 64psi to the back of the injectors is regulated inside the fuel tank

I’m not sure how that is going to effect things but as long as you have 64 psi fuel tail pressure this sucker should start

So a pressure test of the fuel system check is needed, We at least need to rule it out

Check battery terminals and wiring especially on the ground side, I’ve seen a missed ground cause a no start a time or two on the 5.0
One of the main grounds feeds the engine down by the timing Cover

also I need to add as far as the camshaft sensor and the whole timing chain all that yes I did look into that I opened it up and I looked and then I can see it turning as I'm cranking the motor so that's a good thing also I was told by one of your boys or one of our boys not sure if it was Josh p or someone else but they said that oxygen sensors the O2 sensors would not prevent my rig from starting.not that the O2 sensors are bad or wrong because they're new and wired correctly and all that. like I said my injectors aren't getting power I checked those with I checked a couple actually with my voltmeter and getting nothing so I am going to investigate that and the ground issue I'll check out that ground by the timing cover Infinity list

 

[Stickman1966]

also I need to add as far as the camshaft sensor and the whole timing chain all that yes I did look into that I opened it up and I looked and then I can see it turning as I'm cranking the motor so that's a good thing also I was told by one of your boys or one of our boys not sure if it was Josh p or someone else but they said that oxygen sensors the O2 sensors would not prevent my rig from starting.not that the O2 sensors are bad or wrong because they're new and wired correctly and all that. like I said my injectors aren't getting power I checked those with I checked a couple actually with my voltmeter and getting nothing so I am going to investigate that and the ground issue I'll check out that ground by the timing cover Infinity list

also one more thing. I saw a post or a thread on this forum of a guy deleting the fuel injection system and the PCM and all that and doing a carburetor conversion and I believe it was on a 98 + obviously he knew what he was doing cuz he got it done in about a day and a half 2 days but he raved about it anyway what I'm getting at is the amount of time and effort that I'm putting into this thing we are putting into this thing I am going to spend the time and the money to beef this truck up I want it to be the aftermarket hot rod LOL that I know it can be everything from intake to cam to whatever you think I can do to modify this rig. it's got a 302 V8 ****ing motor in it I want to take advantage of that

 

[410Fortune]

Red wire to injectors is powered by the pcm relay

Fuse 10 under the hood powers all the injectors when the ignition key is turned

The ignition key sends power to trigger the relay though fuse 19 interior fuse box and the power diode in the under hood fuse box

The red wire from that relay goes to many places including all 8 injectors

Through plug c115

Here is c115, pin 9 red

If you jumper pin 30 to pin 87 at the pcm relay you should have power at red wire

 

[Stickman1966]

Interesting that the injectors are black.. not sure where they come from or how many psi those are rated to

Make sure you hookup all the vacuum lines once the intake is back on
With that hole welded shut no real way to test fuel rail pressure now?

Let’s hope she fires up once you get the intake all put back on

I dug up the order on those injectors and yes they were ordered on Amazon. not sure why I ordered these ones but like I said they worked great when they were assisting my rig and running lol. and I am getting power to the injectors according to my my volt meter I don't know why I thought I wasn't I must been doing something wrong when checking them. I also have don a ton of tracing grounds and I haven't been able to find that ground that you were talking about on the front of the motor the other timing chain cover I believe that's what you said. and then looking in the areas where they welded the Left Bank line coming down that exhaust was welded right there downstream of the O2 sensor like right after the O2 sensor but the O2 sensor wasn't installed when they welded so no wires were melted or anything and the other side is pretty close to the starter and I see no damage. I also added to the total cost of parts today bought a new battery 130 bucks. I'm going to recheck for spark at multiple locations. one thing that I was going to look into or ask is that automatic shut off switch I forgot what it's called but the the deal passenger side the firewall at the feet that shuts off I believe the fuel pump in case of of accident. or does it shut off the injectors? I believe the pats system shuts off the injectors in that year also. I'm getting really close to the point of just doing away with the whole fuel injection system + doing a mod new intake and a carburetor and going old school. with a little bit of this group's help I'm pretty sure I can make it happen. I might be getting a hold of you to send me an intake and a Holley four barrel. worst case scenario because I'm not getting rid of this rig. anyway, thanks again have a good night.

View attachment Screenshot_20250405-222458.png

 

[410Fortune]

The inertia switch cuts power to the fuel pump when it trips

The pats theft system does disable the injectors, the theft light will tell you if pat’s is happy or not

Going carbed you would need to limit fuel pressure to 6psi and add a distributor and some sort of ignition.

Rhe battery should have three grounds, one to the body at the radiator support, one to the frame and one to the engine
Also there should be a ground strap at the back of the intake drivers side head that connects to the firewall near the wiper motor

The injectors are powered at red wire with key on and then the pcm triggers or fires them with the ground wire

Sorry your truck is being a pita!!! Test fuel psi
It could be a fuel pressure issue that is still there because the rail is still not right?