I Have 2002 ford ranger edge 3.0 with 220k miles. When I accelerate at Lowes rpms the truck just jerks and bucks and barely moves. I have to literally floor it for it pickup and even then it barely goes. When I finally get it up to about 50 mph it give it half throttle or so it bucks and jerks. Especially going up a hill it will jerk 1000 times until I'm over the hill. Have no idea what causes this. There are no codes and only thing I can find odd is my intake air box has some odd humming sound with a pop to it. Like someone is popping popcorn under it very fast. I should say I let the truck sit for about a month without starting it before this happened.

 

wires, coil or plugs any or all of them, just a good tune-up I expect

 

Check fuel pressure at the Schrader valve on the fuel rail, should be at around 60 psi.
The popping sound in the air box may be from lack of fuel, the engine sounds starved for fuel and a intermittent lean condition may not sat any codes.
Also, when was the last time the oxygen sensors were replaced ?
Or when was the last time the MAF sensor cleaned ?
and as dmp says ?
Could be simply be misfiring from old worn plugs a faulty coil(s), or even old spark plug wires _ or all of that.

 

O2 sensors replaced 15k miles ago, also maf sensor and spark plugs. Only thing I haven't replaced are coil pack.

 

And because it's been sitting for a little while, could be a blocked fuel filter.
I think you can rent the tool to measure the fuel pressure before guessing and spending money on a new coil pack, although they are not that expensive and it would take that off the table.
Another to check is your firing order, it's very easy to get that mixed up.

 

I will check the fuel pressure later today. Also I replaced my fuel filter around 8k miles ago.

 

Money is tight at the moment and can't rent the tool right now but the only other symptoms are rough idle. It idles around 600 rpm and feels like it wants to stall. But the jerk has went away for the most part. Took an hour drive and it only jerked maybe twice. Sometimes it keeps at isle its very weird

 

I don't have a huge amount of experience, but it sounds like the fuel pump.
They will run intermittently and work fine, then not.
When you get some cash together, check the fuel pressure.

 

OK I'll run the test when I get the cash. I would like to give more details that I've found. The idle seems very inconsistent. It will idle smooth for 5-10 seconds then go back to the engine shaking(you literally see hood and steering wheel shake and the whole front end feels like it rocks like a boat). I read the short term fuel trims and they are around positive 10-15. That's not normal and should point us in a good direction but don't know what it could be

 

Ran the test. Key on engine off is 55 psi. Engine running 65 psi. I noticed that with key on engine off the pressure dropped about 8 psi in about only 2 minutes. Also with engine running I revved it a few times and the pressure did not change but like half a psi more. When I steady revved it the psi did not change at all. Idk what these numbers mean so someone enlighten me.

 

For 1998 to 2011 Rangers 55 to 65psi fuel pressure is the expected pressure, so its fine

Fuel pump issue would be the best guess with your symptoms, but if fuel pressure is OK then that's not it

Anytime gasoline sits in a tank longer than a week or so the water in it will settle to the bottom, and engine will get a big gulp of water on first start up
But that should only last a minute or two

The bucking is obviously misfires, but surprised you are not getting a Flashing CEL(check engine light) while its happening

Fuel trims of +10 to +15 are not out of range if there are misfires
See what OBD2 says engine temp is, in F, after warm up, 180-190degF is expected
Also see what MAF sensor is reporting, use grams per second(g/sc), at idle, should be 3.1 to 3.5 after warm up
And check TPS, key on engine off, 16-19% with foot off the gas pedal, then press gas pedal down slowly and it should increase, no jumping or dropping then top out at 95%
TPS should never be 0% or 100%, if so something is wrong

You could inspect the coil pack for cracks, its free, they look like this: https://www.taurusclub.com/attachmen...oil-jpg.55195/
or this: https://i.redd.it/tf5e2454qzoy.jpg

 

OK so a few things seem wrong here. I was scrolling through the live data and IAT was reporting -40 degrees f the MAF sensor g/s was staying above 4.2 g/s and even went into the 5 g/s. According to your numbers that it "should" be, we have a problem with MAF sensor because if I'm not mistaken the IAT is built into the MAF sensor? Engine temp was normal at 180 degrees

 

Yes, 2002 Ranger will have the 6 wire MAF so has the IAT sensor with it

Not sure what the temp is in Florida but -40deg would be off a bit, lol, it will be a little less than outside temp because of the fast air flow but not that much below

 

Well I looked at the live data for a second time and saw my tps read -2000 when I hit the gas so I replaced the tps and maf sensor and still does same thing

 

TPS reads between 16% and 95%, there is no "2000"

And what are the new readings from the new MAF and IAT sensors?

 

The maf reading are normal now. But idk what the next step is. All I know is when I did that fuel pressure test. The psi dropped like 8 psi in like two minutes which seems like thats not right.

 

Gasoline in the lines and filter cools down pretty fast with key/pump off, so shrinks in volume and pressure goes down

As long as it stays above 25psi(1998-2011) and holds, its not a concern

 

When my ranger was at my friends house sitting for a month. He forgot to tell me that there was some oil leaking from the front of the driveshaft? Not sure if that could cause anything.

 

Have any input on this? Maybe throttle body issue? Or driveshaft or transmission issue?

 

Its just a seal at the rear of transmissions tail shaft housing, not hard to change

Get the new seal and new u-joints
BLOCK a TIRE as truck WILL ROLL AWAY when driveshaft is disconnected!!!!!!

Put a MARK on drive shaft and Axle pinion plate to realign them on re-installation
Unbolt drive shaft from rear axle, 4 bolts
Pull drive shaft out of transmission, no bolts it just pulls out

Have a pan down under end of transmission as some fluid will drip out

You need a hammer and flat blade screwdriver or chisel to get under the edge of the old seal, look at the new one
Pry it out, can take a bit of prying
If you have a "claw" and slide hammer you can hook the seal and pull it out

Install new seal

Install new u-joints

Install drive shaft noting the MARK you made, put trans in Neutral so you can line it up as needed

 

Do we have input on the jerk? I should say its like a spudder. Especially on first startup when I tap the gas it spudders. It sounds like the fuel just gets cutoff then it accelerates for less than half a second then spudder again I don't understand what next.

 

Have you replaced the coolant temperature sensor ?
It looks like the sender for the gauge on the dash, but it has TWO wires coming out of it, and it will be near the thermostat housing.

 

Pretty sure I have yes. I let the truck sit for a month before this happened. Idk what could have made it do this.

 

I had similiar symptoms as you describe. new Camshaft Synchronizer fixed it.