3.0L 99' Ranger sputters during accelleration
#1
04-20-2019, 08:23 AM
Join Date: Apr 2019
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3.0L 99' Ranger sputters during accelleration
Hi all,
I'm new to the Ranger life, I picked up a Ranger for a work vehicle with 4wd that wasn't as big as my half ton truck.
This one has given me a few minor problems as I get to know it and the most recent one is sputtering during acceleration. The truck idles just fine, and starts up without a problem. I replaced the fuel filter and dumped a can of sea foam in the tank just as a quick thing to try. I was on the highway when this first started happening. I was bucking a 30 mph head wind and then suddenly started losing power. When you baby it, there is no sputter or misfire, but when you lug the engine it seems to be missing fuel. I saw that cleaning the EGR valve might help me out, but I was hoping someone may have had a similar issue before and could give me some advice.
Thanks,
Craig
I'm new to the Ranger life, I picked up a Ranger for a work vehicle with 4wd that wasn't as big as my half ton truck.
This one has given me a few minor problems as I get to know it and the most recent one is sputtering during acceleration. The truck idles just fine, and starts up without a problem. I replaced the fuel filter and dumped a can of sea foam in the tank just as a quick thing to try. I was on the highway when this first started happening. I was bucking a 30 mph head wind and then suddenly started losing power. When you baby it, there is no sputter or misfire, but when you lug the engine it seems to be missing fuel. I saw that cleaning the EGR valve might help me out, but I was hoping someone may have had a similar issue before and could give me some advice.
Thanks,
Craig
#2
04-21-2019, 09:55 AM
Welcome to FTE.
I see you don't have any replies yet so I'll see if I can get things started. Good idea to have outlined how the problem began, what you've done in the interim & that you've recently come by the vehicle so it's new to you & I assume its past maintenance & repair history are unknown?
Seeing as how this is a 99 it's OBD-2 diagnostics & you seem to like turning your own wrenches & trouble shooting, use, borrow, or come by the ELM scan tool & running diagnostic freeware FORScan on the viewing device of your choice as described here, https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-scantool.html & have it scan for trouble code clues & post All code Numbers, as they can help focus a trouble shoot.
Sputtering under load could be caused by a number of things, so the ELM / FORScan combo can do many things, like query All of the vehicle computer / controllers, as well as monitor sensor feeds to & from the computers & controllers, so can provide a detailed look into whats going on & can help focus a trouble shoot.
If you don't have or can't quickly come by the ELM, while you wait, you might consider having a look at the basics, like spark plug gap & condition of its insulators & plug wires & coil pack. Too large a plug gap can make for a wimpy spark that'll blow out under load, or when we go at throttle-up, same for electrical leakage from internal or external cracked or dirty plug ceramics, plug wire breakdown, cracked coil pack case for example. So, after dark you could begin with looking for a under hood arcs & sparks light show from the high voltage ignition components, maybe at warm idle give them a individual "wet down" test with a spray bottle of water, while looking for that light show, or a change in idle speed or quality. The coil pack is known to crack out of sight underneath & cause problems, so if no on top clues, raise the coil pack & spritz it on the bottom side & see how it goes.
On the fuel delivery side, with your fuel pressure gauge have a look at fuel pressure & delivery rate over time. PSI should be 64 +/- 8psi & delivery rate should be like 1/2 pt per 15 seconds pump run time. You can wire the pump to run at the in cabin inertia switch electrical connector, so you can get a flow rate measurement with your fuel pressure bleed down hose into a catch container.
If no joy with the above tests, the ELM can give insight into things like what the MAF & TPS sensors are telling the ECM when you go at throttle-up.
If you have a Vacuum gauge, you might consider hooking it up & view the test scenarios here Vacuum Gauge is an Invaluable Tool when Diagnosing Engine Problems, scroll down & enable Adobe Flash Player to view the vacuum gauge test scenarios meter movement to see if it can help focus your trouble shoot until you come by the ELM.
A bunch of beginning thoughts for consideration, let us know what you find.
I see you don't have any replies yet so I'll see if I can get things started. Good idea to have outlined how the problem began, what you've done in the interim & that you've recently come by the vehicle so it's new to you & I assume its past maintenance & repair history are unknown?
Seeing as how this is a 99 it's OBD-2 diagnostics & you seem to like turning your own wrenches & trouble shooting, use, borrow, or come by the ELM scan tool & running diagnostic freeware FORScan on the viewing device of your choice as described here, https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-scantool.html & have it scan for trouble code clues & post All code Numbers, as they can help focus a trouble shoot.
Sputtering under load could be caused by a number of things, so the ELM / FORScan combo can do many things, like query All of the vehicle computer / controllers, as well as monitor sensor feeds to & from the computers & controllers, so can provide a detailed look into whats going on & can help focus a trouble shoot.
If you don't have or can't quickly come by the ELM, while you wait, you might consider having a look at the basics, like spark plug gap & condition of its insulators & plug wires & coil pack. Too large a plug gap can make for a wimpy spark that'll blow out under load, or when we go at throttle-up, same for electrical leakage from internal or external cracked or dirty plug ceramics, plug wire breakdown, cracked coil pack case for example. So, after dark you could begin with looking for a under hood arcs & sparks light show from the high voltage ignition components, maybe at warm idle give them a individual "wet down" test with a spray bottle of water, while looking for that light show, or a change in idle speed or quality. The coil pack is known to crack out of sight underneath & cause problems, so if no on top clues, raise the coil pack & spritz it on the bottom side & see how it goes.
On the fuel delivery side, with your fuel pressure gauge have a look at fuel pressure & delivery rate over time. PSI should be 64 +/- 8psi & delivery rate should be like 1/2 pt per 15 seconds pump run time. You can wire the pump to run at the in cabin inertia switch electrical connector, so you can get a flow rate measurement with your fuel pressure bleed down hose into a catch container.
If no joy with the above tests, the ELM can give insight into things like what the MAF & TPS sensors are telling the ECM when you go at throttle-up.
If you have a Vacuum gauge, you might consider hooking it up & view the test scenarios here Vacuum Gauge is an Invaluable Tool when Diagnosing Engine Problems, scroll down & enable Adobe Flash Player to view the vacuum gauge test scenarios meter movement to see if it can help focus your trouble shoot until you come by the ELM.
A bunch of beginning thoughts for consideration, let us know what you find.
#3
04-22-2019, 12:55 PM
Join Date: Apr 2019
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Welcome to FTE.
I see you don't have any replies yet so I'll see if I can get things started. Good idea to have outlined how the problem began, what you've done in the interim & that you've recently come by the vehicle so it's new to you & I assume its past maintenance & repair history are unknown?
Seeing as how this is a 99 it's OBD-2 diagnostics & you seem to like turning your own wrenches & trouble shooting, use, borrow, or come by the ELM scan tool & running diagnostic freeware FORScan on the viewing device of your choice as described here, https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-scantool.html & have it scan for trouble code clues & post All code Numbers, as they can help focus a trouble shoot.
Sputtering under load could be caused by a number of things, so the ELM / FORScan combo can do many things, like query All of the vehicle computer / controllers, as well as monitor sensor feeds to & from the computers & controllers, so can provide a detailed look into whats going on & can help focus a trouble shoot.
If you don't have or can't quickly come by the ELM, while you wait, you might consider having a look at the basics, like spark plug gap & condition of its insulators & plug wires & coil pack. Too large a plug gap can make for a wimpy spark that'll blow out under load, or when we go at throttle-up, same for electrical leakage from internal or external cracked or dirty plug ceramics, plug wire breakdown, cracked coil pack case for example. So, after dark you could begin with looking for a under hood arcs & sparks light show from the high voltage ignition components, maybe at warm idle give them a individual "wet down" test with a spray bottle of water, while looking for that light show, or a change in idle speed or quality. The coil pack is known to crack out of sight underneath & cause problems, so if no on top clues, raise the coil pack & spritz it on the bottom side & see how it goes.
On the fuel delivery side, with your fuel pressure gauge have a look at fuel pressure & delivery rate over time. PSI should be 64 +/- 8psi & delivery rate should be like 1/2 pt per 15 seconds pump run time. You can wire the pump to run at the in cabin inertia switch electrical connector, so you can get a flow rate measurement with your fuel pressure bleed down hose into a catch container.
If no joy with the above tests, the ELM can give insight into things like what the MAF & TPS sensors are telling the ECM when you go at throttle-up.
If you have a Vacuum gauge, you might consider hooking it up & view the test scenarios here Vacuum Gauge is an Invaluable Tool when Diagnosing Engine Problems, scroll down & enable Adobe Flash Player to view the vacuum gauge test scenarios meter movement to see if it can help focus your trouble shoot until you come by the ELM.
A bunch of beginning thoughts for consideration, let us know what you find.
I see you don't have any replies yet so I'll see if I can get things started. Good idea to have outlined how the problem began, what you've done in the interim & that you've recently come by the vehicle so it's new to you & I assume its past maintenance & repair history are unknown?
Seeing as how this is a 99 it's OBD-2 diagnostics & you seem to like turning your own wrenches & trouble shooting, use, borrow, or come by the ELM scan tool & running diagnostic freeware FORScan on the viewing device of your choice as described here, https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-scantool.html & have it scan for trouble code clues & post All code Numbers, as they can help focus a trouble shoot.
Sputtering under load could be caused by a number of things, so the ELM / FORScan combo can do many things, like query All of the vehicle computer / controllers, as well as monitor sensor feeds to & from the computers & controllers, so can provide a detailed look into whats going on & can help focus a trouble shoot.
If you don't have or can't quickly come by the ELM, while you wait, you might consider having a look at the basics, like spark plug gap & condition of its insulators & plug wires & coil pack. Too large a plug gap can make for a wimpy spark that'll blow out under load, or when we go at throttle-up, same for electrical leakage from internal or external cracked or dirty plug ceramics, plug wire breakdown, cracked coil pack case for example. So, after dark you could begin with looking for a under hood arcs & sparks light show from the high voltage ignition components, maybe at warm idle give them a individual "wet down" test with a spray bottle of water, while looking for that light show, or a change in idle speed or quality. The coil pack is known to crack out of sight underneath & cause problems, so if no on top clues, raise the coil pack & spritz it on the bottom side & see how it goes.
On the fuel delivery side, with your fuel pressure gauge have a look at fuel pressure & delivery rate over time. PSI should be 64 +/- 8psi & delivery rate should be like 1/2 pt per 15 seconds pump run time. You can wire the pump to run at the in cabin inertia switch electrical connector, so you can get a flow rate measurement with your fuel pressure bleed down hose into a catch container.
If no joy with the above tests, the ELM can give insight into things like what the MAF & TPS sensors are telling the ECM when you go at throttle-up.
If you have a Vacuum gauge, you might consider hooking it up & view the test scenarios here Vacuum Gauge is an Invaluable Tool when Diagnosing Engine Problems, scroll down & enable Adobe Flash Player to view the vacuum gauge test scenarios meter movement to see if it can help focus your trouble shoot until you come by the ELM.
A bunch of beginning thoughts for consideration, let us know what you find.
showed wear and 1 had a hole blown through it . I was just happy to find something and actually improve how this old girl runs! I'm going to got through the rest of your list and hopefully see a bit more improvement.
Thanks Again!
#4
04-22-2019, 08:08 PM
Ok, good finds, fixes, feedback & to hear its running better. Consider getting All remaining past & present due scheduled maintenance replacement items up to date with Motorcraft as they are of good quality & designed to work with our vehicles, or parts or fluids that say in writing they meet, or exceed Fords specifications. If you don't have the Owner Manual to refer to the Scheduled Maintenance call outs, you can go here to down load a Manual at no cost.https://www.fleet.ford.com/partsands...owner-manuals/
If it has 75K or more miles on it, also consider replacing the upstream O2 sensors, as they slow down responding with age, sorta like me, & fuel trim will be slow to be corrected, so can affect power when we go at throttle-up..
If over 100K miles, the PCV valve is due, so check its rubber fittings & hoses for dry rot or cracks/splits. As its a calculated for vacuum leak & up stream of the MAF sensor, if it's not operating as designed, or any of the plumbing is leaking air, it'll corrupt fuel trim lean & that can corrupt performance.
More thoughts for consideration, let us know how it goes.
If it has 75K or more miles on it, also consider replacing the upstream O2 sensors, as they slow down responding with age, sorta like me, & fuel trim will be slow to be corrected, so can affect power when we go at throttle-up..
If over 100K miles, the PCV valve is due, so check its rubber fittings & hoses for dry rot or cracks/splits. As its a calculated for vacuum leak & up stream of the MAF sensor, if it's not operating as designed, or any of the plumbing is leaking air, it'll corrupt fuel trim lean & that can corrupt performance.
More thoughts for consideration, let us know how it goes.
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slomoe1
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