Engine Assistance Options

[MrShoehorn]

I have a 2002 Ford Ranger, manual transmission, and when i'm driving around 45-50 mph the truck will do almost like a lunge. When I use the gas it feels like the fuel injector is missing injecting fuel. Sorry, this is hard to explain. I've cleaned the Mass Air Flow sensor and another sensor (not sure the name of it) (on top of the final air stage before it goes into the engine. I also changed the air filter and spark plugs and plug wires. The problem has subsided majorly and only occurs every so often about an 1/8 of the amount it use to. And it does it more when towing a load and when using more gas.

Thanks for any suggestions to the problem.


~Shoe

[ubernewb]

CEL? ... wondering if it could be your o2 sensor.. a bad reading will alter your fuel maps..

[CJLee89]

does it only feel like its missing when you hit the gas? if not, it could be the clutch slipping or anything in the drive train for that matter.

This post has been edited by CJLee89: Apr 9 2007, 12:11 AM

[MrShoehorn]

does it only feel like its missing when you hit the gas? if not, it could be the clutch slipping or anything in the drive train for that matter.

No shifting feels great. It's in any gear, usually 4 and 5. It's like there is a burst of gas missing from a constant flow of gas. Like a water hose flowing and then air gets in the line and it starts jumping around.

Could it also be a cracked distributor? Mine looks slightly cracked but it also looks like manufacturing lines. Not 100% sure.


~Shoe

This post has been edited by MrShoehorn: Apr 9 2007, 01:12 AM

[Rylinkus]

As far as a diagnostic, without actually pulling codes, it's probably relatively hard to give a definitive answer. IMO, the odds on your engine not supplying proper fuel is pretty minimal. I'd be more likely to think the spark end of things. Maybe distributer. If you had a fuel pressure gauge you could check and make sure you're getting proper fuel.

If you think it's fuel injectors you could try running some injector cleaner. I have friends who swear by seafoam. Seems like that shit fixes pretty much everything.

[MrShoehorn]

As far as a diagnostic, without actually pulling codes, it's probably relatively hard to give a definitive answer. IMO, the odds on your engine not supplying proper fuel is pretty minimal. I'd be more likely to think the spark end of things. Maybe distributer. If you had a fuel pressure gauge you could check and make sure you're getting proper fuel.

If you think it's fuel injectors you could try running some injector cleaner. I have friends who swear by seafoam. Seems like that shit fixes pretty much everything.

Seafoam, i'll give it go. I also ran two bottles of fuel injector cleaner through the system (not at the same time of course).

[CJLee89]

i agree, seafoam is a great product.

[StrictPuppet]

An '02 Ranger with a distributor? They only come with 3 engine options that year: 2.3l, 3.0l, and 4.0l, all of which are distributorless ignition. Are you referring to the coil pack?
It could be a number of issues, of course any comment on here is pure speculation, but the way you describe it does seem to be ignition related.
If it is a 4.0l engine, they very commonly have a problem with heads cracking. Quite often its not bad enough to cause a noticeable coolant loss (although it may), but what it often does is causes minor deposits on the sparkplugs which cause them to misfire. If replacing the plugs cures the problem for a few days, such is likely the problem.
If you have access to a scan tool, Fords are quite good at setting codes for misfires, which may lead you to the problem cylinder(s). Cylinder misfire codes are In the P03XX range. P0301-cyl#1 misfire, P0302-cyl#2 misfire, etc... with P0300-meaning multiple/random cylinder misfire.
Of course this website is all about messing with stuff yourself, but you could save yourself a lot of time and money by getting it professionally diagnosed. A good resource for finding a qualified professional in your area is to check on http://www.iatn.net/ There are many on here that will continue to give suggestions though if you decide to keep slugging away on your own...

[MrShoehorn]

Yes, a coil pack. It's the 2.3l