im new to emissions issues. i replaced all lines from the canister to the intake as well as parts. canister is still original. from canister to gas cap is what i am working on now. gas cap is new. i can take the line off of the canister that eventually runs to the gas tank, and blow breath down the line.... there is a bit of resistance at first, but i can keep a constant "blow" on the line. i believe that i should not be able to blow at all down this line. is this true? is this evidence that there is a leak from canister to gas tank?

a little back story.... i went to 3 different smog shops and none of them could smog my ranger. they said that the idle would jump from 15 to 25 mph and would not be consistent. therefore, the test would abort. they said it could be a vacuum leak or MAF (mass airflow sensor). im starting at vacuum lines cause im pretty broke and thats within my abilities. i hope. any help would be great...

ranger 2.3 97' 187,000 miles

 

Sorry JoeBob, I can't help ya. Assume you cleaned your MAF.

 

is the truck manual or automatic. also, when you say the idle jumps from 15 to 25mph, i dont quite understand. are you saying the vehicle has a surge while under power, such as the tester is trying to maintain a certain speed and the vehicle speeds up all by itself.. also, where are you located?

 

Thank you both for your reply. There is still Hope! i did not clean the MAF, but i will check into that.
the truck is a manual, im not quite sure also on "the truck jumps from 15 to 25 MPH," that is what the guy at the smog shop said. however, i have noticed since then that when im at a complete stop (engine warm) and in neutral, the idle becomes irregular. i dont have a working AC also. What you are saying MURDOMINO sounds accurate, (the vehicle has a surge while under power, such as the tester is trying to maintain a certain speed and the vehicle speeds up all by itself.. ) I am located in San Diego.

 

Ok this is starting to make sense. the actual test is an approximate 2:30 second test at 15mph and 90seconds at 25mph. the as tested mph can vary +/- 1mph so anything between 14-16 and 24-26 mph. during that time, the program is very sensitive and an out of range wont be accepted. any issues you have cuasing the surge must be repaired. So there is no MIL(check engine light) on? I find it hard for an OBD II equipped vehicle to not throw a code with such a strong surge.

 

Your description of the test sounds accurate, this time i watched the screen. The wavy line was going above and below the two lines (range). Thats four places that aborted... no one can tell me the issue unless i get it diagnosed. i will do that today at a smog and repair station with a dyno. And yeah... there is no code being thrown, no check engine light. so, wish me luck and thank you for the sharing of your knowledge. i will post again to let you know what the issue is/was, to add to your know how. i still may do the repair myself.

 

pass! here was the problem.... technician. This last place i took it to, the guy decided to try to smog it before he ran a diagnosis on it, after two aborts, the third time he was able to pass it. basically, the prior technicians did not have enough experience and skill to keep the peddle where it needed to be. hurray!

thank you for your help in trying to solve this issue.

 

Hurray! Thx for the follow up.