I cant remember you might want (KOEO) key on engine off when you try this ,,, maybe this will help,,,I also asked Pawpaw to have a look at your post in a message,,, if he gets the message maybe he can give you some more help... he is good at these old ranger troubles

 

How do you know which cylinder is misfiring? Or is it possibly all of them, at different times? Have you tried disconnecting one spark plug wire at a time to see if the cylinders are 'contributing'?
I would check fuel pressure and delivery volume, check for air leaks as excess air can affect idle quality. How bad is the miss? Is it constant or inconsistent? If it is a 'dead miss' on every fire, you can expect the miss to be more mechanical related, as in valves and rings, or leaking intake. Intermittent are 'quality' misses, as in quality of spark, fuel, fuel:air mix which will change rather than be constant. Things sort of 'at the limit' of being good to go, where they may or may not.
tom

 

Ok, good trouble shooting with the scan for trouble codes, & posting that you have a #1 cyl misfire & doing a compression check & listening to the injectors to determine that #1 injector Doesn't sound different & pulling the #1 spark plug to see if it was wet with fuel & it wasn't.

You have replaced the plugs, wires & coil packs with no joy, so were the old plugs, wires & coil packs testing bad, or was it time for new plugs & wires, or were you just tossing parts at the problem & hoping for joy?

You said in post 13 that you've had the problem Long before the new plugs & wires, so did the problem come about suddenly, after some event, or slowly over time? As tomw has asked, how bad is the miss?

Hook up your vacuum gauge, scroll down & have a look here How to Use and Interpret a Vacuum Gauge at the various scenarios & let us know what you find.

You know the computer says the problem is in #1 cyl, so you likely have a spark, fuel, or compression problem. Seeing as you have new plugs, wires, coil packs, have tested compression, pulled the #1 plug to find it's dry, so not suspecting a leaking fuel injector, right now it seems it sorta leaves you looking at dirty fuel injector with a corrupt spray pattern, or maybe a intermittent sticking valve, or maybe CCDI = Combustion Chamber Deposit Interference, deposits that break loose & cause a valve not to seat completely, intermittently, or cause intermittent spark plug misfire mischief, belong on your suspect list.

So, to simultaneously monitor three things, hook up your vacuum gauge, inductive timing light to #1 spark plug so you can see if spark is randomly going missing in time with the miss, while using your stethoscope to have a listen around #1 cyl for any unusual valve or fuel injector noises that come & go in time with the miss that's also being indicated on the timing light & vacuum gauge & let us know what you find.

 

Pawpaw I was wondering if CCDI could be solved by running a engine with the plug out for say 30 seconds or would that cause more problems ???? Could this be something like a bent push rod or colapsed valve spring ???,,, bad lifter or bad lobe on the cam ???? just spitballing here ,,, and mouse chewed wire that feeds the #1 injector fire hot or ground ????

 

Right now it could be any number of things & maybe with some additional look/see's, the op can see or hear & post up some more clues to help narrow the suspect list.

Might be helpful op, to post up All trouble code Numbers.

 

Double post.

 

Thats the only code that comes up.injector i just installed yesterday so i eliminated that possibility. Also it was WAY over due for plugs when i changed them.think they were factory haha.ill have to look into this vaccuum thing.thanks

 

If I understand, you have a P0301, misfire in cylinder #1. And #1 happens to have lower compression. Ima gonna bet onna valve problem.
If it were rings, then #4 would be more subject to overheating, which is why they lose their tension as I understand it, being further from the coolest coolant.
If it was a head gasket, between cylinders, two would have compression issues.
If it was a head gasket to the water jacket, you'd have coolant scrubbing the cylinder or combustion gas & pressure in the cooling system.
So far, from description, none of the above.
You have done all ignition components, and swapped in a new injector.
Last chance I'd see would be to get a propane torch, remove the tip as needed, and attach a length of tubing. Run the engine at idle, and pass the end of the tubing around, especially near the intake manifold, to see if adding propane(enrichment) will make the idle better. You may have to keep the fan from turning to get the 'gas' close to where you want, or deflect with cardboard(?), block somehow...
If you cannot find an 'improved' idle with extra fuel, add some through the PCV, to see if a weak injector or fuel pump is depriving the engine of a good mix.
If again no happy, buy a HF 'borescope & camera" thingy and stuff it down the plug hole for #1, and inspect the valves. I have heard of valve seat recession on the Limas of later years.{I think limited to later, similar to the Vulcan, but may be mistaken}
I would think that if this has been going on for a long time, there is a definite problem, and from afar, think you have covered all else. Could also block the EGR in case it is leaky, allowing #1 to misfire as it may be the 'weakest'. Weakest as in there's a problem with its compression, but not bad enough to cause full dead misfire. Add in some 'other' problem and it exacerbates the situation. {makes it worse...}
Eh, pull the cylinder head and take a look at all the valves.
tom

 

The propane test that tomw mentioned reminded me of something.

These 2.3 Duratec's (I think 2001 was the first year for the Duratecs) are known for Intake Manifold Runner Control (IMRC) problems. It uses flaps in the intake runners actuated by the ECU to control "swirl" (aka swirl control). Any way, these flaps have a long shaft running through them the entire length of the intake manifold. At the ends of this shaft are solid rubber plugs. These plugs can dry up and pop out causing a large vacuum leak. However, getting to them is nigh impossible. The front runner plug sits a few mm behind the power steering bracket. This front rubber plug is attached to the #1 runner. The only way to see it is to either remove the intake or remove the power steering bracket. The back plug (#4 runner) could be seen with a small inspection mirror since it is back by the firewall.

Another issue is that the vacuum hoses for the IMRC solenoid become dry rotted and split again causing vacuum issues. You'll want to check the two or three vacuum hoses attached to it to make sure there are still good. But, I don't think that would cause a specific misfire on #1.

Oh, and something else I tell everyone; If you have a laptop, download the free Forscan software from Forscan.org and purchase a USB-to-OBD2 cable (about $15-$30). This free software is incredibly helpful on these engines. It will monitor engine vitals in real time (any sensor, sender, solenoid) and pull down codes that other code/monitoring apps/programs don't. Forscan also has phone/tablet apps but I have not played around with those yet. If you are going to keep this truck for any length of time then I believe it's a worthwhile investment.

 

Thank you all for the help.i will look into most of these probably starting tomorrow. ..some of it sounds a little involved.but i do want to mention after changing the #1 injector there is a noticeable difference in idle,not perfect but it did help some.

 

was just wondering if you ever or do you know when the fuel filter was last changed ????only ask because of ruff idle and #1 dry plug

 

Well i bought a vacuum tester gauge,theres hardly any lines on this motor.where the hell do you hook this thing haha?

 

The best place I found was right there on the left side of the intake manifold just after the throttlebody. It's a larger hose. It gives the most accurate reading.

 

I also did this..multi meter read nada. Key on engine off.

 

Well the only place i see there tee's off coolant lines that pass into the firewall/heater? Pulled the hose and coolant comes out the tee.do i cap the tee and test off the line that goes into it?