Been driving a 2005 Ranger XLT (2.3L automatic) for six months or so, runs fine and all, but just noticed today that as I get above 3000 RPM (in neutral) the engine stutters and stammers as if there's a governor on it. Is that the case? Don't care particularly, as it never causes me any problems in normal driving, but just wondering if that's normal or something wrong with my specific vehicle.

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LarryP

Yes there is a rev limiter because revving the engine in neutral over 3000 RPMs is not wise

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Yup as STL said, that's the rev limiter, nothing is wrong with your truck.

Your not the first person to think that either, I've ran into a few people who thought the truck was running horribly and would then "prove it" by bouncing off the rev limiter and assuming that it was a sign of something wrong.

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Okay, thanks; pleased to hear it's normal. As a matter of technical curiosity, though, why only in neutral? I get it above 3000 sometimes in various gears (rarely) and that doesn't happen.

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LarryP

It is only happening in neutral to save your engine. Revving your engine without a load on it causes premature wear. Your engine is designed to be under load. IE transmission in gear and moving down the road. So all the bearings, the crank and the varying rotating pieces last much better when you don't rev it up, the governor is designed to prevent that from happening by people that don't know.

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i never thought of that. lol so i guess thats for people like me. i was racing a civic the other day and got beat cause my governor wont let me go over 95 MPH. i kicked his ass off the line tho