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  #1  
Old 12-13-2013, 05:36 PM
99_4.0_ranger 99_4.0_ranger is offline
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Question Misfire when started, NO IDLE...

Hi all...back again,

Our 99 4.0 Ranger is complaining again. We've replaced everything we could think of, coil pack, injectors, plugs, wires, crank sensor, and we've already checked for a cracked head.

My first thought was the MAF Sensor, I've seen on here a few times that if it's bad, and you unplug it, it will straighten out and run smooth. We tried this, and it ran much much worse, it chugged like it was running on three cylinders...

The first problem is that the truck is difficult to start, I've had to pump the throttle while turning it over to get it running, otherwise it only struggles, but never turns over more than three or four cylinders under its own power. It runs a little rough when first started for one or two minutes, I have to rev it at around 2,000 rpm for a while and slowly run it down to idle, or it dies. After idling for a minute or two at about 900 rpm, it starts to run smooth, in small spirts at first, they progressively get longer untill it's running smooth. When I drove it, it ran excelent! Good, smooth power, smooth shifts, didn't complain at all... untill I went to the store. I came out of the store and it took alot to get started, I had to pump the throttle while it kicked a twenty or so times before it came to life, it was kind of like starting a freshly built 347 with a nasty cam... Once it was running it wouldn't idle on it's own. It would die like it was shut off when let off the throttle, not even a kick, or a miss, just dead. I had to drive with two feet so it would stay running, it did this to the other store, and all the way home. This was about 20 or 30 minutes, the truck was up to tempurature before I left the house, and both stores. It stalled three times in the driveway, so I called for my Pap to come out, and it made me look like a liar, it idled smoother than it did before. We're both completely lost, and we're getting really tired of the trial and error, every search we do comes up with the cracked head. I'd just like to be able to drive it to school and work this winter without getting stuck.

Please Help!!

Tyler
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1999 Ford Ranger XLT 4.0 OHV
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  #2  
Old 12-13-2013, 05:54 PM
black 06 ranger black 06 ranger is offline
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Default Re: Misfire when started, NO IDLE...

Have you cleaned throttle body and iac yet?
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  #3  
Old 12-13-2013, 09:52 PM
svtwin73 svtwin73 is offline
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Default Re: Misfire when started, NO IDLE...

Have you checked fuel pressure?
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1998 Ranger Supercab 4.0L, Medium Metallic XLT, auto, painted valve covers (10 HP), 30x9.5/15.

2008 Mustang GT, stroked 5.0 3v, RGR cams, R2300 S/C, suspension, Kooks LTs w/HF cats GT500 TB, Flowmaster cat-back exhaust, GT500 fuel pump setup.
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  #4  
Old 12-14-2013, 02:09 PM
99_4.0_ranger 99_4.0_ranger is offline
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Default Re: Misfire when started, NO IDLE...

Fuel Pressure is good, Throttle Body is clean, I found online that the IAC gets stuck from carbon buildup, so we cleaned it, it idles great, and starts good too, we also found that the cruise control cable was holding the throttle partially open. The truck still misses when it's first started, warm or cold. It quivers for about 2 or 3 minutes. It hasn't stalled yet though.
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1999 Ford Ranger XLT 4.0 OHV
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All stock...for now
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  #5  
Old 12-15-2013, 05:59 AM
svtwin73 svtwin73 is offline
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Default Re: Misfire when started, NO IDLE...

You might a small vacuum leak
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1998 Ranger Supercab 4.0L, Medium Metallic XLT, auto, painted valve covers (10 HP), 30x9.5/15.

2008 Mustang GT, stroked 5.0 3v, RGR cams, R2300 S/C, suspension, Kooks LTs w/HF cats GT500 TB, Flowmaster cat-back exhaust, GT500 fuel pump setup.
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  #6  
Old 12-16-2013, 02:13 PM
99_4.0_ranger 99_4.0_ranger is offline
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Default Re: Misfire when started, NO IDLE...

Checked for leaks, nothing came up. We put it on my buddy's analyzer, and it said about the temperature sensor having a fault, I looked online and found that this can cause the problem that we're having. We're gonna put a new one in it and see how it goes.
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All stock...for now
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  #7  
Old 12-16-2013, 09:42 PM
Macdesigns55 Macdesigns55 is offline
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Default Re: Misfire when started, NO IDLE...

I would run a bleed down test. This sounds like a cracked head between the exhaust and intake valve. When the head warms up it seals up better, the miss goes away, and it runs pretty smooth. Been down this road with my 98 it had two head cracks in 1&4 cyl.
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  #8  
Old 12-17-2013, 04:52 AM
cowboybilly9mile cowboybilly9mile is offline
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Default Re: Misfire when started, NO IDLE...

Post #5 and #7 have merit. You say it's missing when cold, you should pull any DTC(s) and post it/them. It also wouldn't hurt to pull the spark plugs and see what they look like as spark plugs tell a story about engine health. When you do this, keep them in order so you know which one came from what cyl, otherwise it will all be a waste of time. Draw the conclusions by looking at them, and/or post good pics of them here. Good means I/we can see them and note odd marks, coloring, etc and not just a pic of a plug from two feet away which would be useless. BTW, stop reving the snot out of your engine when cold, that's abuse, if not you will be curing this problem via motor replacement.

*It is not entirely rare for later 90's OHV 4.0's to develop a small leak(s) in the intake that acts up when cold and as it warms up and things expand, it goes away. Along with a vac leak when cold, sometimes they consume a very small but steady amount of coolant.
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  #9  
Old 12-19-2013, 09:11 PM
99_4.0_ranger 99_4.0_ranger is offline
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Default Re: Misfire when started, NO IDLE...

The truck misses whether it's cold or warm, just when started. The idle started acting up again, so it's most likely due to the idle controler. We checked all of the plugs, and they looked brand new, we gapped them to spec and put them back in. We checked for cracks, scorch marks, ect. The one was cracked when we got the head back, but we replaced it and it was still acting up. The plugs only have about 100 miles on them. Me and my pap have worked on vehicles for years, so we're not totally clueless, its just the computerized sensor stuff that has us stumped. The motor only has 47,000 on it. The only code that came up was for the temp sensor. The one that tells the computer the coolant temperature, the gauge still functions as it should. If i would have thought about it, i would have wrote the code down, but I didn't, which was kinda stupid on my part. We haven't started the truck since it started acting up again. We were told that a bad IAC valve is a common problem. I also noticed that after the truck is shut off, there is a vacuum noise for a second or two, I'm not sure where it's comming from, or if it's normal, but I've never noticed it before.

----------

Quote:
Originally Posted by Macdesigns55 View Post
I would run a bleed down test. This sounds like a cracked head between the exhaust and intake valve. When the head warms up it seals up better, the miss goes away, and it runs pretty smooth. Been down this road with my 98 it had two head cracks in 1&4 cyl.
We thought the same thing, but after 100 bucks to have the head checked and milled (which it didn't need) the heads were fine. We were told by the machinist that most of the time you can see the crack, which is right on the dome between the two valves, like you said. I posted that in a different thread on here, i can post the link if you'd like.
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1999 Ford Ranger XLT 4.0 OHV
Motorcraft Reman at 100,000, along with two driveshafts, and a transmission...long story...lol
All stock...for now
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  #10  
Old 12-19-2013, 09:55 PM
99_4.0_ranger 99_4.0_ranger is offline
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Default

Highway speed jerking/bucking

Very unusual, but the truck was doing this before we had these idle issues, and the miss, we are also running a k&n filter and we've had snow here when we've been driving/running it
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1999 Ford Ranger XLT 4.0 OHV
Motorcraft Reman at 100,000, along with two driveshafts, and a transmission...long story...lol
All stock...for now
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  #11  
Old 01-30-2014, 06:19 PM
99_4.0_ranger 99_4.0_ranger is offline
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Default Re: Misfire when started, NO IDLE...

Hi all,



The Ranger is back together again. The problem on number five moved to number one. We found that the head was warped four thousandths, and had pits where the water jacket met at the end of the head. There was also dents in the head gasket. We have her all back up and running again. Smooth idle and all. There is still a stalling issue, but we've figured out its a failing fuel pump. It stops pumping sporadically, sometimes it stalls the truck out, and other time it just won't allow it to start. But hopefully this is the last part for a long time to come.
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1999 Ford Ranger XLT 4.0 OHV
Motorcraft Reman at 100,000, along with two driveshafts, and a transmission...long story...lol
All stock...for now
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