I have a 2000 ranger with the 3.0. I started having bad constant pinging and loss of power problems while I towed my little aluminum boat. I tried just about everything(new plugs, pcv valve, higher octane gas, induction carbon cleaning, clean MAF, new MAF to just name a few) but nothing helped. Finally, with good advice from rockledge, I again changed my plugs with the AGSF12PP plugs that are designed for the 3.0. Then just to be safe, I changed my fuel filter even though i only had about 20k miles on it and dropped in a new air filter. Well this past weekend i decided i would try to pull my boat again and to my suprise it towed great! Absolutely no pinging and most of the power was back. Sorry that the fuel filter and plugs didnt fix your problem..dont worry though. The people here are great and they will help you solve it!

 

Thanks for the replys guys,

I did nothing but a physical check on the wires they are probably original with 85,000 miles.

Tonight I did play witht he cam timing a little - I dont have a timing light or the special tool so I was being very careful. I did find a sweet spot by advancing the timing a little - plugs seemed to stop fouling - and the engine smoothed out. However I lost the spot when I went a little farther. I changed it in small increments many times. I also monitored vacuum during this - Didn't see much of a change.

I will try and nail down the proper timing on Saturday - by either buying a light or the tool. Meanwhile I will look at the wires and maybe get new. Also - I still want to clean the injectors. Oh yeah - I did do a running volt check on the cam sensor - it looked as if it was working fine(very small voltage jumps synchronous with engine rpm). I haven't looked at my crank sensor yet. I need to inspect the teeth to make sure everything there looks ok also. Thanks for the help - Any other ideas???

cscottyr

 

Since I have some very wet plugs and believe a large part of my problem is fouling of those plugs I have been forced to look at timing and the wires and the coil pack. Since I am fouling in all of the cylinders - it leans more towards timing and/or the coil. My question this morning concerns the coil. I know that I have 3 coils for 6 sparks. 2 of the sparks are fired by the same coil at the same time in a closed loop. Each of these coils fire cylinders that are 360 degrees out of phase - Probably a cost savings - to use 3 coils instead of 6. Now my question is this - Since I have many wet plugs - is it possible that the primary voltage supplying the plugs is not hot enough and causing a week spark resulting in an incomplete burn, or is it more likely that the coil pack will fail as a unit? (When I did a physical examination of the coil - the bottom base was rusted - could this have allowed it to overheat and start to fail as a unit?). I will try and backprobe the primary voltage to the coil pack and see what it is. Anybody have any experience at this? I also will be finished today playing with the timing. If need be, I will change out wires and the coil pack. I may still have the injectors cleaned. After that - if I still haven't fixed it - Does anyone know of a goood mechanic in upstate new york near albany? Or would anyone be interested in buying a nice 1999 ford ranger - with a lot of new parts???
cscottyr

 

Well the Saga continues,

I put a new coil and wires on her tonight - She ran pretty well for about 12 minutes. No misses and normal. Well I'm out on the highway doing 75 - and at a point in time it starts to miss again. Something changed and the bottom fell out again. This coincides with the last long highway trip. At around 12 to 15 minutes - it just starts missing. Here is a list of parts I have changed.
1. IAC
2. 3 -O2's
3. MAF
4. Alternator
5. Plugs
6. Wires
7. Coil
8. PCV
9. Fuel Filter
I have checked the following
1. Coolant temp sensor - correct ohms at 2 temps
2. Air Manifold temp sensor - correct ohms at 1 temp
3. DPFE - 1.1vdc at idle - lots of movemnet whenEGR opens
4. EGR - Clean and tight
5. Cam Position Sensor - little DC pulses timed with engine speed
6. Fuel Pressure Regulator Pressure - 57 pounds - doesn't change with load.
7. Vacuum - 16 to 18" with idle.

I have used propane to check for leaks
I have mostly ignored the evap system
I have not cleaned the fuel injectors yet - but are they gonna fail at 12 minutes?
What am I missing - Should I just go get it a new brain?? Any ideas.

 

Well - I think I've had enough - I will try out another Ford dealer Thursday and see if they are any better then the first. - Somone recommended gas and a match to a guy in this forum having some problems with hubs - I was wandering if I could borrow some of that gas?
cscottyr

 

I'm out of ideas my friend, sorry.

Be sure to let us know what happens...

 

Thanks - Rock - for all the help - I'll let you know!

cscottyr

 

Cscottyr did you ever try releasing the gas cap, to equalise tank pressure, retighten it, restart & drive, to see if it makes any difference????

If so, suspect the gas cap, if it does not vent properly, a vacuum will occur as fuel is used, over which the fuel pump will have difficulty pumping fuel against. This can result in retarded fuel delivery & a lean mixture.

This will usually take about 15-20 minutes of driving to occur.

The time factor you reported before it acted up, is about right & the lean codes you first reported getting sort of fit too.

Just some observations from the peanut gallery.

 

Thanks for the post pawpaw!
- I did try that in the begining - though at that time it had no affect. I've monitored fuel pressure over significant periods of time - and I've not seen any change - a flatlined 57 pounds. Also - after this happens - if I let the truck set until the next day - it doesn't fix itself. It continues to run rough -

This is the senerio
- When I first start the truck (after I've reset the computer memory)it will run very rough. Normally it will remain idleing - but barely - Eventually I will be get some throttle responce and will rev the engine. It then starts working better and will seem somewhat normal.
- Then I will take it for a drive. During the drive it will act up several times - Gives me a max speed of about 1mph with a lot of sputtering - and some backfires up through the manifold - but then it will clear and take off. I believe it is fouling the plugs during these times. This will occur often and intermittenly.
- After a couple more of these test drives - it will start to run a little smoother - the sputtering wont happen as often and not as badly. However it will eventually throw an 1131 and 1151 error. I think this is the o2's complaining that things are too rich.
- After several of these drives it will finally begin to drive somewhat normally. No more sputtering events. However during this time - I really have too much pinging (I know some is normal) and my power is less than I believe it should be.
- However - the last 2 times that I got to "almost running well" - I hit the brick wall and things reverted back to undriveable with one difference from before. This time the miss seems to be constant. Even if I let the truck sit over night - the next day it will run the same. It will start as bad as ever and will always miss - and occassionally very badly.
- The second of those last two times it actually through a lean code error while it was running well - before the wall. After that - it goes back to 1131's and 1151's.
- Currently I think the 15 minute error is a long term trim change by the pcm. I think the pcm is getting 2 - conflicting sensor readings about where this trucks fuel curve should be and is going back and fourth alot.
- Anyhow - thats what I think is happening. What do you think?

cscottyr

 

Well the saga may soon be over. The guys at Metro Ford think they need to replace the PCM. They also want to give it some new plugs. At this rate this truck will need new plugs pretty much every time I get gas. Anyhow I will let you know it turns out. I wont be able to pick up the truck until Monday. Thanks for all the help out there. I really have learned a lot, and am glad for it.

cscottyr

 

A new PCM mat not be a bad call Scotty, seeing as how jut about everything else has been tried without positive results.

Will be interesting to hear the outcome of this one, so be shure to remember to post them.

 

Yeah - I was close to replacing myself - so I'm hoping!

 

Well - I thought I'd report the latest. Unfotunately the PCM was not the issue. The tech told me that he believes it has an internal vacuum leak. While the truck was idleing he slowly lowered the idle air screw (neat way to check for a vacuum leak). The truck did not stall. Since the butterfly valve is in good shape - the truck needs to be getting air from a different source - He suspects that an internal manifold gasket is failing or that there is a crack on one of the heads. He indicated that on some of the 4.0l engines he had seen this. Evidently there was a recall for o-rings that were on the internal manifold gasket. They would fail when cold but would heat up and swell then seal as the engine warmed up. He hasn't seen this on the 3.0l - but he is pretty certain that this is the problem. I will let you know.
cscottyr

 

Here is the latest! - The tech discovered that my vehicle had the duratech fuel injectors - not the flex fuel type. If the injectors are supposed to see around 30 pounds and they actually see around 60 pounds It really has an effect on how things run. Imagine that. I'll have to wait and see how the new fuel injectors work. I don't know if simply putting in the correct injectors will work. I'm not sure of the what else might be different. Or maybe I should convert the truck to a duratech instead at this point.

 

Sounds like somebody tried to do a few mods without really understanding how the modern OBD-II 3.0L engine functions.

Swapping different-sized injectors in without re-calibrating the PCM and the MAF is just plain foolishness, so you better tell your mechanic to make sure you have the stock MAF for that engine, and that and there is no chip installed.