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<HR style="COLOR: #53617c" SIZE=1><!-- / icon and title --><!-- message -->Hello all, great place lots of good info and help. I have a serious problem with my 02 Ranger Edge 3.0 V-6 U engine 2WD Auto. About 2 weeks ago she started to ping and loose power when I try to accelerate on to the Highway, and It just keeps getting worse the first time it happened the CEL started to flash and then stayed on, took it to Advance Auto and they said that the drivers side bank was indicating a missfire on 3 cylinders, I reset the computer and the code has not returned. I have installed new Autolite Double Plat plugs, Motorcraft Wires, Pvc and Pvc Elbow (was collapsed) new Coil, New Fuel Filter, Seafoamed it twice, (minimal smoke & cleaned plugs after) tapped on Cats to check for rattles, cleaned MAF and Throttle Body, reset computer after all service. now the idle is rough, it pings badly, has no power after 40 MPH, I am stumped and I am limited on funds, anything I missed or any other suggestions?
thanks in advance.
Tim

 

I am baffled by the lack of responce, as all the other forums that I have posted on I have received replies and suggestions, but after 40 views of my problems, nobody has any suggestions. (please no smartass comments)

 

Ok problem solved, my 2 foward Cats were clogged, it runs good now and the mileage is back to normal about 20 miles per gallon, but I have an issue with a hard miss especially when the Heater or AC is on and when it has set overnight it has a slight stumble and miss that smooths out a little after I take off. Other than that it has a lot of power, just annoying, and I want to make sure that there is not any major problems going on that may damage my new Cats (5) very expensive! Clogged Injectors?

 

it has a slight stumble and miss that smooths out a little after I take off
Generally, I'd be looking at a dirty MAF.

Did you check with the warranty people for the CAT failure? I thought that all emissions equipment was warrantied for 8y/80k by the latest Fed standards.

I don't come to this part of the forum often as I don't have a 6 truck, but am surprised you got no responses.
tom

 

Thanks for the response, the truck has 118,000 miles on it and I bought it used, the Finance Company helped me pay for the new cats, and my cost was $500.00, I have cleaned the MAF twice, but not after I got my truck back about 2 Weeks ago. No I did not contact the Warranty people, as I assumed that the Milage was in excess of the warranty period. I would like to figure out what is going with the hard miss just to make sure that the previos problems were not masked by something and the root of the cat failure was not corrected.

 

I have heard recently about people getting valve wear into the seat, where the valve recedes further into the head when closed. Dunno the cause, probably running hard and maybe defective valve rotators, pinging, marginal cooling.... take your pick.
Check the compression, or do a cheapo test like pulling the individual spark plugs one at a time to determine which is not contributing. One or the other should show up. If compression, compare it to the others, if just not firing, check plug, injector, etc.
Don't forget to check the valve train. I have also heard of some getting cam lobes worn too flat, thus no valve motion. All cheap and effective information sources.
tom

 

Anybody else have any suggestions? I need to get rid of this miss. Are my injectors leaking, and if so how do I find out which one? will the condition of my plugs help? Thanks in advance.

 

Hey my problem is now getting more frequent, hard miss and stumble especially when I first start it and when the AC or Heater is on, anyone else with this or similar problem?

 

Did you do the tests? i.e. compression and / or pulling plug wires one at a time? If you do have a hard miss, I think you will slag you catalytic converter. It does not like to have extra fuel and air mix to burn - no good place to get rid of the heat.
If your injector(s) is/are leaking, then the fuel pressure will drop after the engine is turned off. Beg, buy or borrow a pressure gauge ~$30 to buy. Check the pressure with the key on, engine off; key on, engine on; key on, engine running, and pull the vacuum line from the regulator. Note the pressure when you shut it off. Note the pressure after a few minutes and after a longer time period if it has not dropped.
If it drops immediately, you have a few possibilities. 1)leaky injector. 2)leaky check valve in the fuel pump, and 3) leaky return check valve. [given you have a flow through system.. they went returnless in later models]
A/C and heater use two things: electricity for fan and A/C clutch, and power from the engine in A/C or any position save floor heat or panel heat. Is it an electric power draw problem or a power demand from the engine problem? I can't tell. You can disconnect the clutch power, put it in A/C and see if that has an effect, ditto the power to the fan, disconnect the dropping resistor pack in the plenum located under the hood.
You could also check the ACT and ECT sensors. (Air charge and coolant temp) They can fool the computer by telling it the engine is warmed up, and doesn't need any extra fuel. If this were a 4.0, I'd tell you to look at the upper and lower intake gaskets, as the originals were temp sensitive after they'd gotten older.
If you have a solid miss, then pull the plug wires one at a time to see which cylinder is causing the problem. Then put the wire back on, after checking that it is getting spark, and pull the injector connector. You can use a 'noid' light to see if the injector is getting the ground from the computer that it uses to fire. You could also use your fingers and feel the injector for the buzz as it opens the pintle valve.

FWIW, there is a LOT more traffic in the Ranger section... Lots more ?'s on the Vulcan,
etc.

tom

 

Hi tvz,
I'm following your thread with great interest. I too have the dreaded "3.0 Miss".
I've read at least a dozen threads here and on other boards and there seems to be no clear cut resolution to this problem.
Mine was intermittent at first then it became a hard miss.

Items replaced: DPFE;Plugs;Wires;Coil Pack;Fuel Filter.

Items cleaned: Air filter (K&N);MAFl IAC; EGR;Throttle Body.

In addition;put the timing light on each wire and the miss seems to "jump around? occasionally worse on #4. Pulled wires individually and each plug has fire though not always consistent?

And OF COURSE IT's NOT THROWING ANY CODES!!!!!
I can't believe this engine can run this bad and not light the CEL

So, if you find your problem or anyone else can help I'd appreciate it if you post your results. Of course I'll do the same if I can solve it.
(maybe head gasket?)

Who knows. Driving me nuts though.

Thanks and good luck

Beefy

 

Thanks Beefy, It is a pain not knowing what is going on with my truck, as I am sure you feel the same. There are so many things that can go wrong that may cause these problems and it seems that everyone has a different fix that may or may not be our solution, not to mention the costs involved. Not sure what to do as I have tryed many of the suggestions, all to no avail. Good luck to you as well.

 

So, I finally got a code - O2 sensor behind the cat.

Replaced it - NO FIX!!!!

Also did the Cam Position sensor to no avail.

So I guess I'm doing the worst thing possible by just throwing parts at it (going bankrupt at the same time), but I drive 100 miles a day and I need to get this straightened out Now!

Just thought I'd update you on what else DIDN'T WORK!

Regards,
Beefy

 

Hey man I hear ya, I spent several hundred dollars before anyone was able to find out that my Cats were clogged, but this hard miss problem is about to drive me crazy, and I cannot afford to throw money at mine either. There are a lot of good suggestions that are expressed on this site, and I guess we can hope that someone has experienced the exact same problem and can chime it with a possible sollution (I Hope!). Take care.

 

Did either of you do a compression test? The Vulcan will run with crappy valves, way beyond what you would expect. Don't know the vintage of either truck. Didn't hear back on the AC/heater miss. Did you pull the plug wires one at a time? ... .. crickets ...
tom

 

Thanks, Tomw, no I have not done the compression test as yet, do not have the cash assuming it will cost some $, sounds lame but man I'm strapped at this time, and I guess I'm afraid of what I'll find because of the costs involved, but I know that is crucial that it be done to at least rule out bad valves, etc. and I have not as yet pulled the plug wires out individually. Thanks for your input, as I DO NOT KNOW WHAT WE WOULD DO WITHOUT THIS FORUM AND OTHERS.