No Charge in Intake System

[XionUAV]

This 2020 Ranger XLT with 34k miles was a salvage rebuild having been hit in the front driver corner. It sat for almost a year at the body shop while they dinked around doing some frame and body work. I recently got it back and replaced the intake manifold (lower vacuum connector was broken off), new FoMoCo throttle body (broken plastic cover) and reconnected all hoses and electrical.

It fired right up, sounds good and idles reasonably well, but the intake is in a vacuum condition. Both hoses are sucked flat. Obviously something in the intake associated with the charge system isn't opening. I just barely finished getting it running and haven't even connected an OBDII to it yet.

I have experience using VCDS VAG-com for VW and Audi (currently own a Q5, Touareg and Taos) but have zero experience or diagnostic equipment for anything Ford, since my 1994 F250 doesn't really need it.

I'm not opposed to purchasing diagnostic equipment as long as it isn't stupid expensive. I'd rather pay for the equipment and do the work myself rather than pay someone else the same amount to diagnose the problem then not have the equipment.

Any advice and direction would be appreciated. Thank you.

EDIT: I just realized that one of the shredded wiring harnesses that still needs to be repaired is one that goes to the map sensor on the intercooler. No point in going any further until that's sorted and reconnected.

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[airline tech]

Get it figured out, but I would be Leary and watchful of the tubes being weakened and want to memory collapse even when in normal ops.

 

[taildraggerpilot]

Another reason for many owners to consider rigid, aftermarket charge pipe kits……..

 

[Rp930]

Another reason for many owners to consider rigid, aftermarket charge pipe kits……..

Thousands of Rangers are fine without rigid pipes. There is obviously a restriction in the hose somewhere. Did you leave a cap on, rag stuffed in there somewhere?

 

[taildraggerpilot]

Thousands of Rangers are fine without rigid pipes. There is obviously a restriction in the hose somewhere. Did you leave a cap on, rag stuffed in there somewhere?

I said consider

 

[Big Blue]

I'm surprised it ran at all pulling that much vacuum on the intake.

 

[AZ_Stryd3r]

I updated to the rigid pipe and mishimoto intercooler the day of a trip up the mountain to Flagstaff. With the 5star tune, i barely knew the 24' camper was back there.. until i lost boost.

I thought I had left a packaging material in one of the new hoses.

Turns out, one or more of the hose clamps was not tight enough. After driving the rest of the way with a tiny 2.3l naturally aspirated engine with 33" tires and a 10400# gross weight, I removed all the hoses, and started install again. ordered those new style hose clamps from camp.

Much nicer working under a pine tree at 60 degrees than on concrete at 105 degrees..

 

[NerkyMohawk]

I updated to the rigid pipe and mishimoto intercooler the day of a trip up the mountain to Flagstaff. With the 5star tune, i barely knew the 24' camper was back there.. until i lost boost.

I thought I had left a packaging material in one of the new hoses.

Turns out, one or more of the hose clamps was not tight enough. After driving the rest of the way with a tiny 2.3l naturally aspirated engine with 33" tires and a 10400# gross weight, I removed all the hoses, and started install again. ordered those new style hose clamps from camp.

Much nicer working under a pine tree at 60 degrees than on concrete at 105 degrees..

I had a similar experience when I installed my intercooler and charge pipes. One clamp on the cold side was loose enough to allow air to escape. The noise of lost boost was very noticeable, it sounded like a nasty windstorm in the cab anytime i went over 3k rpm. It happened on the highway as I was on an on ramp when I floored it. Luckily we just had a short drive left before going home.

Once I got back home had the wife Rev it a bit and felt where it was escaping was a quick fix.

 

[5thranger]

All this talk about rigid pipe possibly solving the problem, what if you would put some Blue Chew in there. Those women on TV says it makes a difference.

 

[Big Blue]

Thousands of Rangers are fine without rigid pipes. There is obviously a restriction in the hose somewhere. Did you leave a cap on, rag stuffed in there somewhere?

I tend to agree. Those "pipes" hoses regularly run under 8 to 9 psi of vacuum while idling. And since both the hot and cold side are collapsed, it points to something with the turbo or the inlet to it.

 

[XionUAV]

Problem solved.

Was looking over the intake system in the shop manual and as I kind of started suspecting, there's nothing in the intake normally that would prohibit airflow as much as was being observed. Rp930 suggested a rag was left in the intake somewhere. Me doing that would be highly unlikely. I'm pretty thorough when working on stuff. But then I started adding things up and realized I hadn't seen a rag in the opening off the air cleaner when those parts were being reassembled.

Then it hit me. Those idiots at the body shop had likely started the vehicle to move it around and the rag I had in the intake hose probably got sucked down into the piping.

Not long after the Ranger was dropped off, they wanted me to "bring the radiator down" so they could drive the vehicle instead of pushing it. That made no sense. I told them the whole intercooler was missing and all the openings had been plugged so it was not to be started for any reason.

If it's put in park then power has to be connected to get it out of park. The tow company driver put it in park after unloading it so they had to connect power to put it in neutral. I also told them to leave it in neutral because of that and even put a sign on the shifter to leave it in neutral. But there's no doubt they ignored my instructions and started it anyway.

Removed the intake hose, dug out my borescope, stuck it down the plastic junction toward the turbo and presto, red shop rag. Used a flexible grabber with the 4 teeth and managed to extract the rag. Runs better obviously. Still won't rev very high probably due to that disconnected MAP sensor on the intercooler. But there you go.

I'll still likely install the larger aluminum piping at some point because the choked-down plastic piping on the hot side doesn't impress me. But one thing at a time.

 

[Chris M]

As you go along, do you call the garage owner and share with him these things his guys have done or do you just take a really deep breath and keep moving forward?

 

[TJC]

Old school logic dictates that there is a restriction upstream from the collapsed hoses. Turbo (or the engine) is pulling in air, acting like a vacuum cleaner. I'd look closely at the intake track upstream for blockages. I'd be curious to know what the boost readings are. Wastegate open or closed?

The MAP sensor typically affects the A/F mixture and timing tables.... but only God and the Ford engineers know what they do with the sensor readings... or what other circuits are running though that cable (shades of the fan clutch cable come to mind).

 

[Big Blue]

Count

Problem solved.

Was looking over the intake system in the shop manual and as I kind of started suspecting, there's nothing in the intake normally that would prohibit airflow as much as was being observed. Rp930 suggested a rag was left in the intake somewhere. Me doing that would be highly unlikely. I'm pretty thorough when working on stuff. But then I started adding things up and realized I hadn't seen a rag in the opening off the air cleaner when those parts were being reassembled.

Then it hit me. Those idiots at the body shop had likely started the vehicle to move it around and the rag I had in the intake hose probably got sucked down into the piping.

Not long after the Ranger was dropped off, they wanted me to "bring the radiator down" so they could drive the vehicle instead of pushing it. That made no sense. I told them the whole intercooler was missing and all the openings had been plugged so it was not to be started for any reason.

If it's put in park then power has to be connected to get it out of park. The tow company driver put it in park after unloading it so they had to connect power to put it in neutral. I also told them to leave it in neutral because of that and even put a sign on the shifter to leave it in neutral. But there's no doubt they ignored my instructions and started it anyway.

Removed the intake hose, dug out my borescope, stuck it down the plastic junction toward the turbo and presto, red shop rag. Used a flexible grabber with the 4 teeth and managed to extract the rag. Runs better obviously. Still won't rev very high probably due to that disconnected MAP sensor on the intercooler. But there you go.

I'll still likely install the larger aluminum piping at some point because the choked-down plastic piping on the hot side doesn't impress me. But one thing at a time.

Count yourself lucky it didn't make it all the way into the turbo! Orp you would be looking for one of those.

 

[XionUAV]

As you go along, do you call the garage owner and share with him these things his guys have done or do you just take a really deep breath and keep moving forward?

In a thread I started last year, all the drama was detailed. It wasn't just the body shop I was having issues with. Parts suppliers were causing me grief as well. Started off with an aftermarket radiator support that showed up with rust in the welds. It went back. The Ford Parts sourced support didn't have rust, but it was banged up pretty good.

The aluminum Ford Parts hood showed up with damage on the edges due to crap packaging. The Ford fender only comes in steel and doesn't come with the piece that is bonded to the front of the fender that attaches to the radiator support. That part didn't even show up in the Ford parts diagrams. Took a small army of employees and the parts manager to figure that one out. I opted for an aluminum aftermarket fender that came with the front piece attached as was OEM.

Then there were the numerous parts I purchased from various Ford part suppliers that just cancelled the orders with no explanation. It was maddening.

I would visit the body shop every month or so and talk to the shop manager. For the first three months the truck just sat on their frame rack. Eventually I got a little short with them and told them they needed to start working on it or let me take it to another shop that would. Eventually they got the frame work done and installed the radiator support.

They eventually called and said it was ready to pick up. Yeah, not even close. There were just bunches of totally stupid things like the newly-painted hood was resting directly on the fenders. The old hood was lying in the bed with the rubber bump stops still attached. They didn't even bother to transfer them. They had forgotten to weld on the pieces to the radiator support that the fenders attach to. The driver fender was completely missing the plastic separator that's supposed to be installed at the back of the fender. When I asked where the old fender was that I brought in with the plastic separator still attached that they were supposed to remove and install on the new fender, they said they had thrown the old fender away with the piece still attached. They ordered a new one but apparently Ford sent them a goofy foam separator that's garbage. Now I need to source a used palstic one and install it properly myself.

But it gets better.

The shop manager asked the employee responsible for the radiator support to come out and look at the fender supports he forgot to weld on. They were still in the bag on the seat. The guy actually suggested they just drill a hole through the supports and bolt them on. I was astounded. The shop manager said, "No we need to do it right and weld them on." The employee then asked if he should drag the welder out there and weld them on. The truck was sitting outside their shop. The radiator support had been painted, of course. The shop manager told him no that the truck had to go back in and the supports welded on properly.

At that point I was seriously pi$$ed and told the shop manager I would prefer to take the truck to a competent shop to be finished properly. Mind you this is a good 6 months after it was dropped off to them. The shop manager apologized all over the place and promised they would make it right and get the body panels attached properly and the missing parts installed properly.

I left it there and sent a letter to the owner detailing how absolutely ridiculous the work had been on my Ranger, among other things. He actually called me and agreed they had seriously dropped the ball and he promised to personally oversee getting the panels installed properly.

Fast forward a few weeks. I get a call from the shop manager asking me to come in and look things over. The fender supports were welded on but the clear coat on the hood and fender was rough with divots. I told the guy it looked like they had contamination in their air supply. They promised to respray and get it right.

Over the next few months I would get updates here and there. Apparently the owner decided their work around the battery tray was crap so he ordered a new battery tray and had that installed. I'd get a text from the shop manager that it was ready for me to inspect. I told him to have the owner inspect it first. A day later I'd get a text that there were some things that still needed fixed. That song and dance went on for a few more weeks.

Finally I was told the owner had done a final inspection and passed it off as ready. He confirmed that they did in fact have a problem with their dryers, which caused the contamination in the clear coat.. The paint itself looks good now. Not impressed with some minor fitment issues with the hood and new fender but I'll sort those after installing the proper separator and bonding it to the fender and inner fender as OEM. They didn't bond the passenger fender to the inner fender when it was reinstalled and even left the bolt out of it that secures the separator in place.

I'm starting to see rust peek through the paint in places on the radiator support at weld points. They apparantly didn't even prep and spray the welds with primer. Just astoundinly poor and unprofessional work. I'll sand and prep those spots I can find before the upper bumper cover and grill go on.

A guy in my first thread said I should 'manage expectations.' I expect "professionals" to do professional work. Period. Obviously the employees at this shop were far from professional.

I've been maintaining my own vehicles for about 45 years, mostly Audi and VW, but have worked on plenty of others - engine and clutch replacements, head gaskets, timing belts, exhaust, suspension, paint, panel repair and replacements, you name it. I've also rebuilt a fair number of motorcycles - VTX1800 and ZX636 for example. I simply don't trust most other mechanics and for good reason.

This rebuild project shouldn't have been nearly as complicated and frustrating as it was. My choice of a body shop I thought would be decent but turned out to be horrible was just bad luck. I had actually gone to a few other high-tier shops first but they would only do insurance work. No personal projects. So this shop had been my third choice.

I don't claim to be a pro, but I am thorough and exacting and will keep at this Ranger until it's the vehicle I envisioned when I first bought it.

On a parting note, after the final inspection at the body shop before the tow company was to pick up the Ranger, I was driving out as the shop manager was driving in. He stopped and we spoke briefly. He was driving an Audi Q7. He said it was a customer vehicle. I asked what they were going to be doing and he said replacing the right rear quarter panel. I cringed.

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