Hello and hopefully I can get some help because I’m ready to lose my mind on this truck. I bought it for my daughter and drove it a few hundred miles with no problems and no leaks. Pulled into my driveway and saw oil leaking from looks like rear crank seal. The next day I went to investigate and now it smells like fuel really bad and dies after it starts. I’ve replaced the mass air flow sensor and idle control valve. Today I removed manifold and replaced the PCV and no change. Replaced ignition coil and plugs and wires. I noticed the oil smells like fuel and plugs are black. I checked fuel pressure it’s at 50 psi and holds solid. I know I have a rich condition but I have no idea what’s next that would cause this. Any recommendations or help would be appreciated

 

Welcome to the forum

Check for leaking injector or Pulse damper with a simple test
Clear Flooded Engine Mode, test
Turn key on
Press gas pedal down to the floor and HOLD IT DOWN all the way<<< this turns OFF fuel injectors
(key on + 0 RPMs + WOT = Clear flooded engine mode), all fuel injection computers have this
Turn key to START
Engine should just crank and NOT START, because it has spark but no fuel, if so then no leaking injectors

If it starts then you need to check some things
FIRST thing to check is if you have WOT(wide open throttle), open hood, engine off, press gas pedal down to the floor and hold it down with a stick against the seat
Go to the engine and see if you can open the throttle more, if so then throttle cable has stretched, easy fix, Google: Ranger throttle cable mod
No WOT and injectors stay on

If you had WOT for the test then:
At the end of the fuel rail is the Pulse Damper, has a vacuum hose attached, check that hose for gasoline, shouldn't be any of course, if gasoline is in there then replace pulse damper

Injector test
Disable spark, unplug the 4 wire connector on coil pack
Cycle key on and off 4 times
Do the clear flooded engine test again, it for sure won't start this time, lol, no spark
You can crank it 2 or 3 times with gas pedal to the floor

Pull out 1 spark plug at a time and look at the TIP, should be dry as a bone
WET tip means that injector is leaking



If possible get the EXACT codes if CEL(check engine light) is on
You can get Bluetooth OBD code readers for under $20, like an ELM327, APPS are free or $5 for more advanced APPs, free ones are fine to start with
These work on ANY VEHICLE, 1996 and newer, not a Ford thing, ANY VEHICLE, its the LAW
Good tool to have if you plan on owning cars/trucks, lol

And you can then watch LIVE DATA, with engine running, you get to see what Computer sees from each sensor

 

^This. I had a leaking pulse damper on my 2002 Ranger 3.0 and had similar symptoms. Follow Ron's advice because it is exactly how I diagnosed my own truck.

 

Alright cool I did get it running it seems it was in flooded mode apparently. I’m now getting lean condition on both banks and checked fuel trims going into the negative. I triple checked intake and don’t see anything out of the ordinary. I’m concerned my trims go into the negative and seeking some information if this is normal.

 

If fuel trims are going negative, that means it's subtracting fuel, which actually means it's getting too much fuel (rich condition). It depends on how far the fuel trims dip into the negative. You really don't want more than -10 LTFT or +10 LTFT on each bank. What codes are coming up on the scanner? I assume this is where you are getting "lean condition" from. Can you post your LTFT readings?

 

Hopefully this works I attached video from scan tool

 

Here is the codes

 

Its just an audio file, no video

Yes, -10% to +10% STFT are normal

Look at LTFT(long tern fuel trim), if it is showing +15 or higher then the - STFT would be correct, and will lower the LTFT as you drive

LTFT is an average of STFT and its updated each time you derive the vehicle, LTFT makes it easier for computer to do its calculations as an engine ages

Computer calculates STFT on the fly, the ADDS LTFT to it, so 0 STFT is what computer calculates, if LTFT was +15 then 0 STFT would really be +15
If a problem was fixed and engine no longer needed +15, then 0 STFT would be incorrect so computer would change to say -5 STFT and LTFT would slowly drop to +10
Then +5 and then 0 LTFT , and STFT would also be 0 again, instead of -5
But its rarely 0 STFT, lol
Usually +2 to +9 or so from small vacuum leaks, dirty MAF sensor and slightly lower fuel pressure as pump ages or filter gets dirty

 

Wouldn't expect Lean codes with 50psi fuel pressure, its possible, should be 60psi, so I would skip over that

Lean codes mean STFT is in the + numbers, and over +19% usually, so give them a look

Check what LTFT is at

 

 

I could see at idle LTDT at 15 but didn’t drive it and take readings, I’m wondering if it’s injectors. I can hear intermittent fuel knock that makes me wonder if they are getting weak.

 

3.0l does tend to ping/knock on regular gas(87 octane), runs 9.3:1 compression ratio, 87 octane is usually OK up to abut 9.4:1

Your STFT look OK but you need to see some "on the road" numbers just cruising along not accelerating
But STFT includes LTFT so 0 STFT is really +15%
And STFT is not going to far into - %(-1.3%) so you may have a vacuum leak or sensor issue

Look at MAF sensor at warm idle, used g/s(grams per second) should see 3.2 to 3.5g/s on a 3 liter engine at 750-800rpm

 

25 mph


Idle after warmed up MAF 3.7 g/s

 

Good to see the "-" STFT that should start to bring the LTFT numbers down as you drive

MAF looks OK, the general "rule of thumb" is MAF should show engine displacement in g/s at 500rpm, so 3.0l engine would show 3g/s at 500rpm
If you are idling at 700-800rpm then the 3.7g/s would be fine
MAF sensor WEIGHS the incoming air, which is why its in GRAMS per second, or Pounds/kilos

Mass is the key work in mass air flow, NOT flow
The computer already know EXACTLY how many liters if air are coming into the 3 liter engine at any RPM or throttle position, its just Math
What it doesn't know is the WEIGHT of that air

14.7 to 1 is the ratio of air to gasoline, and this is a WEIGHT ratio
14.7 pounds of air to 1 pound of gasoline
14.7 grams of air to 1 gram of gasoline

Fuel injector flow is rated in Pounds of gasoline per hour, like 14lb/hr, 14 pounds per hour

Air in Denver(5,000ft elevation) weighs much less that air in LA at sea level
Cold air is heavier than warm air, that's how "Hot Air" balloons can fly, the hotter air inside the balloon floats above the cooler air around it

So the WEIGHT of the air is very important to computers air:fuel calculations
A dirty MAF sensor would read lower grams per second, so computer sees that as "lighter" air so calculates less fuel added, and O2 would show that as Lean mix, and computer would have to add more fuel, "+" STFT and so "+" LTFT over long term

The point of having LTFT is that it does not change quickly like STFT, if you get higher(or lower) LTFT and you fix a problem then you need to drive vehicle and see if LTFT starts to come down(in this case)
LTFT can only change after engine is full warmed up and while driving, speedometer above 5mph
So go for a longer drive and see if the LTFT has changed after that, the "-" STFT should start to lower the "+" LTFT
Cruising a highway speeds is best, stop and go city driving doesn't work as well

 

So I removed the upper intake to replace the pcv valve and now I’m wondering if I maybe have a small leak from the seals. I checked everything before and it looks good I’m contemplating taking it off just to check one of the rubber seals are damaged.

 

That's fine, if they are rubber seals, they are meant to be reused if not damaged

 

Alright so I removed the upper intake to make sure I didn’t have any seal damage and everything looked good. I cleared codes and drove it around a little bit and the light came back on. Codes are the same lean bank one and two, truck only has 3 sensors in the exhaust. I’m wondering if it’s possible I have a bad catalytic converter causing my grief? I noticed it doesn’t idle as smooth as it used to and I’m having issues all of a sudden with oil leaks. Has anyone checked crankcase pressure to troubleshoot this? I’m loosing my mind with this thing….

 

 

What does it show for B1-S1 ?

 

 

B1 S2<<<< the S2 means its the Downstream O2 sensor so should be high %

S1s are what show lean or rich, i.e.
B1 S1
B2 S1

 

Well dang I’m stumped on this one but I did check at operating temp at 2000 rpm 200 degree differential across cat. I’m loosing my mind and may have to bite the bullet and take it somewhere

 

Alright I took the plunge and took it to a shop because this truck defeated me. I’m glad to hear he was also having a hard time but did figure out what was wrong. I just bought this truck a few months ago so don’t know the real history besides receipts the kid gave me. I did see it had the heads rebuilt for some valve guide seals but didn’t cause my problem. But what he found was this truck is a flex fuel and someone installed the wrong injectors(non flex fuel). I’m gonna buy the correct injectors and a 12 pack and give her hell so wish me luck!

ps thanks everyone for your very good expertise and cheers

 

Just wanted to complete the thread it was in fact the incorrect fuel injectors. I replaced them and truck runs like a champ thanks for everyone’s help