So what can cause this? - Page 2

joldtown · #16 05-24-2010, 07:45 PM

2003 Ranger vacuum leak

Start here. I'll continue to try and find the pic for you.

Chris · #17 05-24-2010, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joldtown

Can't find the link, so I'll try my best to explain.
Standing at the front of the engine bay in between the TB and the intake manifold there is a vac. line that runs in front of the intake around to the L side of the intake to the backside of the engine. Sorry I can't name the part. Now where this vac line makes its RH turn to run to the back of the engine there is a 90* rubber elbow that is notorious for splitting along its seam lines. Check this rubber elbow.

""As for the TB yes I did clean it, with Motorcraft PM3 Carb cleaner, and I ran seafoam through my brake booster vacuum line. It helped for a bit, but the problem came back.""

Seafoam is not to be used in the manner that your using it. According to the quote, you're still adding Seafoam, right? Seafoam removes the carbon build up and dumps it back into the oil. By doing this you're killing the viscosity of the oil. It sounds like you're using it like a "gas treatment" almost, and that is not it's intended use.

Negative on the seafoam. I used it one time and that was when I was having the hesitation issue. As for the Pm3 stuff, I used it prior to changing my plugs, and oil. I ran the seafoam through the VAC line on the brake booster. I dumped some STP fuel treatment on that same day into the gas tank as I thought I could of gottan bad gas.

Chris · #18 05-24-2010, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joldtown

2003 Ranger vacuum leak

Start here. I'll continue to try and find the pic for you.

The post you mentioned here, isn't the same codes. Also my vac line to my PCV is fine as far as I can tell. I will go outside in a few and pop the hood and look around real good again and make sure.

joldtown · #19 05-24-2010, 07:51 PM

I can't find the pic I'm looking for. If it can hold until tom. I'll take a pic of how I fixed mine and post it here for you. Maybe someone else will chime in know where the pic is. Like I said this elbow is COMMON problem.

Glad to hear that you're not still Seafoaming!!!

Chris · #20 05-24-2010, 08:02 PM

No no I only used seafoam once. It did work to.. Fixed the issue. I ran it through my vac line with no issue. I just checked the lines you are referring to and from as far back as I could feel I felt no leaks. I checked one that came out right near the EGR and led to some type of sensor with a plug on it, and it left my hands black and nasty looking, and then I checked the line running back to the PCV which leads out on the passenger side. I looked all over and didn't see any. If you post a pic tomorrow I'll double check the spot you had to repair, but something tells me this may not be a vac line issue.

Chris · #21 05-24-2010, 09:54 PM

Little update. Went outside after the truck had sit for a bit, and fired it up, was missing or something so bad that I could feel it in the seat. It quit after a few minutes... but still pretty annoying.

mikesturbo94 · #22 05-24-2010, 10:15 PM

Fuel filter, mass air sensor, o2 sensors bad, clogged fuel injector maybe idk lol I have. 4cyl

Chris · #23 05-25-2010, 07:34 AM

Well I took this thing down to a mechanic. He didn't have time to do anything other then hear me out, and run a check with his ODB II Reader, and he said there was 4 codes showing. First one "System Too Lean Bank 1" Second one, "System Too Lean Bank 2", Third one, "Cylinder 3 Miss Fire", and Fourth one "Miss Fire Detected".

He told me the O2 Sensors were probably bad. He didn't think that would cause Cylinder 3 to miss fire. He said my plug could be cracked, or it could have a bad wire. He also didn't think it was a vacuum leak.

Chris · #24 05-25-2010, 07:53 AM

So I looked into something else. Is this any count? I heard that autozone, and advanced auto do not recognize the difference in spark plugs between the SOHC and the OHV engines, and they list the wrong part numbers for them. Can you explain if this is true or not. Supposedly this is all on the net about how they are shorter then the ones that belong in the 4.0 V6

Chris · #25 05-26-2010, 01:23 PM

Kind of went away so far..

Chris · #26 05-26-2010, 10:51 PM

Nope back again. Today it was awful I fired it up, went to back out of my drive way to take it down to a shop to get it looked at, and boom it stalled even going backwards. I was matting the throttle in, I got on the highway and couldn't even get up to 45. The engine with it floored wouldn't even move to higher RPM's at all, at first. Then it started to jump up but it was real rough like it was missing, and it still wasn't enough for the transmission to shift because I wasn't gaining no speed, truck was making a lot of noise no speed. I drove it to the shop, and the mechanic did get to hear it idling and missing bad. He told me my CAT may be clogged, again he went over the lousy hoses that were dry rotted, but they didn't appear to be leaking, or are the culprit. He mentioned some throttle position sensor causing it possibly, and the codes being to lean he told me it wasn't my oxygen censors that 9 times out of 10 those weren't the cause. He got in it, and it ran fine. I was pissed. It refused to act up, in fact tonight it didn't do shit...

Again still have yet to get this solved. Its 90 bucks to take it to the dealership, but I wanna fix it myself, and its pissing me off because not one person here seems to know what I should do, or any where for that matter.

Lets review. I've checked for vacuum leaks at all the regular places that they occur, and even in places they aren't common. I felt none, and I've seen none. There is a slight whistle going down the road, but I've heard this since I've owned the truck, and its never caused an issue.

This never happened till I ran Motorcraft Pm3 through the carb, which I read after doing so that the cats could get hot or something and they recommend doing something so they do not. I wasn't sure on this but I avoided doing so, and now the guy tells me it sounds like the catalytic converter, since it has no effect on being warm, cold or anything else. Anyone wanna comment here?

Fuel Filter is NEW, not super new, but I replaced it around 75-78 thousand miles not sure which exactly, but the truck has 90 thousand, and I can't see it getting stopped up that quick, enough to cause this much trouble. Since its again random, and seems to only happen every now and then that is probably not the culprit here.

I've put new plugs. I cannot remember what I gapped them but I believe I could of possibly over gapped them a bit, so I may need to pull one or two of them and see before I decide to take them all out.

The mechanic did seem to believe that the miss fire may be just stored from where it happened, and that it could of been anything that caused it, but it seems more like a hesitation then a miss half the time anyway, and he said the plug wire could been failing off and on or getting ready to fail and causing the issue with the miss fire, but again he didn't seem to think one cylinder mis firing would prevent the truck from moving up to speed that slowly. I had a terrible miss on one of my cylinders before in my Expedition, and it did make the motor shake upon acceleration, and idle rough, but it never prevented the Expedition from having any go power.

So any ideas would be appreciated. I thank everyone for their help thus far, but this is more of a challenge for me then it is just go pay and have it fixed. I am attempting to learn more about gas motors, but not wanting to tear into it really at the same time.

rwenzing · #27 05-27-2010, 05:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris

Nope back again. Today it was awful I fired it up, went to back out of my drive way to take it down to a shop to get it looked at, and boom it stalled even going backwards. I was matting the throttle in, I got on the highway and couldn't even get up to 45. The engine with it floored wouldn't even move to higher RPM's at all, at first. Then it started to jump up but it was real rough like it was missing, and it still wasn't enough for the transmission to shift because I wasn't gaining no speed, truck was making a lot of noise no speed. I drove it to the shop, and the mechanic did get to hear it idling and missing bad. He told me my CAT may be clogged, again he went over the lousy hoses that were dry rotted, but they didn't appear to be leaking, or are the culprit. He mentioned some throttle position sensor causing it possibly, and the codes being to lean he told me it wasn't my oxygen censors that 9 times out of 10 those weren't the cause. He got in it, and it ran fine. I was pissed. It refused to act up, in fact tonight it didn't do shit....

Problems with low power caused by damaged cats are not generally intermittent like yours. Chunks of the melted substrate from the upsteam cat(s) usually break free and clog the entrance to the downstream cat. This blockage makes the power loss permanent.

BTW, it's not a good idea to drive a vehicle equipped with cats when it is misfiring heavily. Even if your cats are not already damaged, this could destroy them. During a misfire, the exhaust is sending a highly combustible mix of unburned gasoline and air into the cat where it can make the cat temp spike high enough to melt the substrate. The worse the miss, the higher the temp goes. Anything over ~1700 dramatically shortens the effective life of the cat; anything over ~2200 may melt it.

Chris · #28 05-28-2010, 11:29 PM

Turned out to be the MAF Sensor... I put a new one in, seems to of cleared it all... no misses yet.. Truck runs great. Engine light is on but I think it will go off after the truck goes through a few cycles of not having the issue.

modelageek · #29 05-29-2010, 04:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris

Turned out to be the MAF Sensor... I put a new one in, seems to of cleared it all... no misses yet.. Truck runs great. Engine light is on but I think it will go off after the truck goes through a few cycles of not having the issue.

a friendly reminder that it is a good idea to pull the negative bat cable for a bit to let the pcm reboot with the new MAF

rwenzing · #30 05-29-2010, 04:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris

I think it will go off after the truck goes through a few cycles of not having the issue.

The CEL should go out after three drive cycles without the problem. The code will be erased after 40 drive cycles.