My trusty old '00 4.0 4x4 is missing, really badly. All 6 spark plugs are new, wires within the last 50k miles. What potentially could cause this? Seems to be missing on 2 cylinders. Distributer? I went to NAPA to try to price a cap out but it seems that only a Ford part is available from the dealer.

Any advise would be a great help as this is my DD.

 

A cap? What kind of cap? There is no distributer cap on your engine. I suspect that you have 2 plug wires crossed.

 

Welcome to FTE.

bazzman is right if you still have the OEM engine, as Rangers don't have a distributor anymore & haven't had one for some time now.

Do you have a CEL lit, or blinking, if so it's telling us that you have a misfire going on & if you do it needs immediate attention as it's dumping raw fuel into the cat converter & it'll overheat & be damaged if this is allowed to continue.

So seeing as how the plugs & wires have been messed with, raise the hood & with the engine OFF, make sure ALL the plugs are in tight & ALL the wires are routed as the factory had them, using all the factory wire looms & they are tighly fastened to the proper plug & coil pack position.

If all that checks out, then raise the hood & start the engine after it gets dark & see if you can spot any arcing & sparking from the coil pack all the way to the plugs.

If you still can't spot the problem & have a CEL lit, or blinking, consider running this puppy by your favorite autoparts store for a no cost computer trouble code scan, then post ALL the KOEO & KOER trouble code numbers found, BEFORE you replace any parts!!!!

Just some more troubleshooting thoughts for pondering. Let us know what you find.

 

Just replaced spark plugs, wires, fuel pump, fuel filter, flushed fuel lines to...... fond my cat clogged!!!!

 

Problem solved guys. I took pawpaw's recommendation and went to NAPA and had the pull my CEL code. Misfire on cylinder #5 (which had missed in the past.) Bought a new set of wires, plugged em up and is driving better than it has for the last year.

 

Thanks for the positive close on this thread. It would be nice if other posters did the same. There would be more information available to all if they did.

 

Nice tip on the free trouble code reading - I didn't know they would do that for people!
(But then, I suppose whatever sells parts is a good thing)

 

Good find, fix, feedback & to hear your "on the road again"!!!!

 

DEAD CENTER!

When people let us know what finally worked - we ALL learn from it. That's important, especially if something odd and/or unexpected comes up.