I have an 04 Mazda B3000, but of course most people know the engines are the same. I it a V6 3.0L. Anyway, when the temperature gets hot outside, it seems that my truck a little rougher than normal. It idles at at about 800 RPM, but it just shakes and somewhat sputters. It also seems to have lost a little bit of power after I shift (compared to last year).

I have tried injector cleaners. Fairly new plugs and wires, new filters and 2 year old catalytic converter When I go the CC they told me that my O2 was a little sluggish, but I have noticed any loss in gas mileage.

Just a month ago, after a 2 hour drive, after I parked it in the sun for 5 or so hours, When I started it was sputtering and missing and could smell rich gas from the exhaused. This was the only time it has ever done that.

Any thoughts? I'm not a mechanic by any means, but I really think it has something to do with my exhaust system. .

 

Possibly mass air flow sensor. I've had luck with taking it out and cleaning it with a cotton swab and rubbing alcohol, carefully and made my rough idle stop. Sometimes it'll fix it for good sometimes it'll do it again, just a suggestion for a possible easy fix/trouble shoot. Good luck

 

What have you done in the way of cleaning the sensors n stuff?

 

I haven't cleaned any sensors. I know what the mass air flow is, but there is another line about half up the hose leading to the engine. I was going to clean the throttle plate and things of that nature, but there is a sticker that says do not clean due some coating. What sensors should I clean? Should I clean my throttle body? I can do it myself, I just do not know what to do.

 

I was looking at the sensor. It seemed pretty clean and I'm not sure how you would clean this one.

 

They make a spray cleaner just for these things. First the maf. sensor. I would suggest spray only, since it's delicate and expensive. You tube should have a quick video, it's very easy, just be very careful. It's very straightforward. Next is the iac. also easy, actually maybe easier. Not delicate, use spray and q-tip. Wouldn't hurt to clean throttle body and fuel injectors. But that is a little more involved. You need to know this stuff, if you're not made out of money. A lot of periodic maintenance is pretty easy. Do it yourself and save money. The trick is not to have to do it all at once. Speaking of which, how long has it been since the last spark plug change?

 

I replaced them just shy of 2 years. They were still factory. I guess I will just try get some spray cleaner at first and see if that helps. I actually just looked at my throttle plate, its black as black gets.

 

Sounds like as good a place as any to get started. What about a check engine light? If it's running that bad there should be a light on. And just to be clear, you'll probably have to do most all of this stuff, more to eliminate them as a possibility, than anything else. It sounds like it needs to be done anyway. But the idea here is to do all the inexpensive stuff first. You might get lucky. As far as the plugs go, it's probably not the problem, but I'd pull a couple, just to see. Also check for fire in all cylinders, and just look around for any thing unplugged or out of place. As far as the problem being exhaust related, it doesn't seem likely, unless the o2 sensor has gone bad. But then the engine light would be on. There's a lot of things it could be, and in my experience it's usually not one of the easy things. But once again they will help, need to be done, and eliminate them as a possibility.

 

Not sure of this applies here or not.

On my ’88 STX with ’93 5.0L, I had to clean the connector on the rear of the intake.
Not sure what the connector is called but if there are any connectors see if the connections are clean and tight.

Also, output of the ignition coil, hot and cold and when you get the problem.

Check your plugs, new or not, they sometimes fail.

 

Just going by the symptoms, my gut feeling is a fuel injector. But it depends on if he's got trouble codes. He hasn't mentioned any, so that's why I'm leaning that way. But you gotta try all the cheap fixes first. Probly needs doin anyway.

 

I haven't had any trouble codes. I will give a lot these a shot, I'll let you guys know. Thanks for the help

 

Yep if that doesn't work, gotta take it up a notch. You should be able to find instructions in the how to section on this or other ranger forums. Maybe YouTube, it's usually model specific to a certain degree. Good luck, let us know how it goes.

 

Funny story. I cleaned my MAF, IAC and throttle body and threw some sea foam. The truck ran the same, may have had a little more power when I took for a spin. When I came back, I had trouble codes. Went and got the readings.

P2198, 02 not switching LF stuck rich
Possible, Failed O2, leaking fuel injector, EGR valve stuck open, Vacuum leak

P12196, 02 not switching RF stuck rich
Same as above

P0301. Cyl. 1 miss fire
Lean air fuel ratio
weak ignition
Vaccumm system affecting one cylinder

They occurred at the same time. I was trying to listen for a leak, I thought I heard one. I also thing I may be hearing some injector ticking. Hell, I think I hear everything.

Thoughts Comments?

I did find out accidentally that I have a leak in my exhaust today from the sea foam combustion.

 

Pm sent