2001 edge 3.0 5 speed 2wd. reg cab reg bed

On a hot engine whats normal idle? The needle says like 900 which seems way high for a v6. 950 is what my 4 banger s10 is at and 800 is what my chevette book says it should be both are manual. I was thinking 600 was normal for V6 idle speed... starts right up and runs good going down the road but always felt the idle was too high for a manual trans v6 vehicle.

Also I know mixed fuel economy is supposed to be like 17-18. But whats normal for fuel range? I got 240 miles to a tank with needle between E and 1/4. Is that normal? Im used to my s10 where 300 was half a tank. Best i got was 517 miles to a full tank in that truck and could have hit 550. GM and their wisdom put a 20 gal tank with a 4 banger 5 speed lol.

Also i plan to go junkyarding sat - whats a good electric fan besides tarus or mustang? I know the darn heavy clutch fans suck alot of engine power away. in s10 world people loved the tarus fan but draws a crapload of amperage. Ive had plenty of electric fans and used those insert a probe between radiator fins controllers that work OK but eventually break and or dont kick in the wintertime when they should.

 

Yes, 900 seems a bit high for V6 after 10 minutes or so.
Unplug the IAC valve, while warm and idling, to may sure computer is setting that 900RPM and it isn't a vacuum leak.
With IAC Valve unplugged, closed, RPMs should drop to 500 or so, or engine may die, either is good, no vacuum leaks.

High idle could be to pass emissions testing, idling is a big polluter, engine MUST run rich at idle or it will over heat, so it may be set high to reduce emissions for 2001 model year compliance.

If you don't have to pass emissions testing in your area, you maybe able to get a PCM tune to lower it.

Can't help you with tank range, never had 3.0l Ranger long enough to look at that.

Yes, just under 20mpg would be about right in 2001 manual trans


Good article here on 3.0l E-fan: Electric Fan For Your 3.0L Ford Ranger : The Ranger Station

Upper rad hose bung is best way to get coolant temp, make sure to mount it sideways so it is always covered in coolant

Yes, e-fan conversion is one of the ONLY things that increases mpg AND horsepower, ain't much but ain't 0 either

 

Thank you! Yea i was going to try that unplug the iac trick. The IAC i just replaced a week ago and helped smooth the idle out. I have no inspections of any kind here, i was considering removing the EGR as every car ive owned it eventually craps out and causes some funky issues.

Yea efan is a great thing - not only does it increase mpg and free up some HP it also allows the engine to warm up quicker which is a great thing in the winter as I warm up quicker haha.

 

Alright so i finally got some time to look more into this. I drove 20 min on the highway and got stuck at a few lights so engine was nice n warm. Sitting at its usual 900 rpm, unplugged IAC and immediately dropped but not stalled. Checked rpm gauge again - about 600. I dont doubt Ive got micro leaks as im sure the vacuum lines are original to 2001 so I'm going to replace all the rubber lines and test again. Just curious but what does the big fat vacuum line do that goes between a nipple on the lower side of the intake, down towards the steering shaft, T's with one leg of the T capped off, and other fat hose goes to a black round thing stuck to the side of the ABS block do?

Any other known vacuum leak prone areas i should pay special attention to? If replacing the hoses does nothing next step is go around with carb cleaner and spray every gasket and joint to see what happens.

Looks like i need to find a 2008/9 town n country minivan fan. Should be easy. I see they posted up a 175/185 temp sensor kit for it. Is that the correct one? Or would the 185-200* one be better?

I did score some good junkyard stuff: blower resistor block (free), 3rd brake light with cargo lights, cupholder inserts, and instrument bezel ($13). Need to find some tan 60/40 seats yet!

 

600rpm with IAC valve unplugged should be fine for 3.0l, it is a high RPM engine, makes best torque at 3,500rpms, which is why it is nick named 3.slow, lol, people are used to best torque at 2,500rpm so don't drive them at the correct RPMs, above 3,000 if you want any power.

But the 900rpm idle and 600rpm with IAC Valve unplugged does mean the PCM(computer) is programmed to set warm idle at 900rpm
There may be a software update for lowering that, call Ford shop with VIN number and ask them to look it up, software updates run $100-$150 but ask price if there is an update available

175/185 temp sensor would install on lower radiator hose, 185/200 on upper rad hose

 

Hmm alright. It seems to have an odd hiccup stumble when idling. I dont believe the O2 sensors have ever been replaced (204K miles) - would that cause an idle stumble? Seems to drive OK and has power (for a 3.0) and just cruises down the highway. Its usually after you've been crusing for awhile then come to a red light. Sitting in neutral idling it feels like a rough idle and occasional stumble. No backfires or true misfire. Ill have to hook my scantool up and get fuel trims and O2 behaviors to diagnose more. Ive only had the truck a month and bought it with 203K from a friend but not alot of back history. No lights or anything obvious (besides a minor coolant dribble from water pump gasket but thats negligible and not the issue)

 

O2 sensors do need to be changed at 150k miles, your MPG will improve.
But no on the idle issue, O2 sensors are not used when engine is idling, or at WOT(wide open throttle)
Idle requires Rich mix or engine will overheat, so PCM ignores O2s
WOT is all about power, not economy, so O2s are ignored

Best guess would be either MAF sensor or coil pack causing the stumbling after steady high RPM/speed driving
If you haven't run injector cleaner in the gas tank then I would add a can, that might help idle

 

I have cleaned using the special cleaner the MAF - did have a fine layer of grey dust like stuff all over it. Squeaky clean now.. I have ran marvel mystery oil in the gas but could benefit of running a higher concentration of seafoam/b12.


theres a video of my truck idling hot and running thru current data on scantool - anything odd? O2's voltage are fluctuating around alot. Idle say sits 850. TPS indicates it returns to the same value letting off the gas every time and with engine off and slowly pressing the pedal it smoothly climbs up.

I did have to replace the cam synchronizer. I did not use the tool, i just marked it like the ol distributor method - marked where it was fully seated, marked where it was when it came out. Marked new one the same and reinserted. It was not the factory cam sync so who knows if it got put back right. Is there a way to view or know for sure? No check engine lights and starts within a sec of cranking.

 

Cam sensor is timed by PCM if it is close enough, you would get an error code if it was not close enough.
Cam sensor is mainly used to time fuel injectors, so PCM opens injector just as intake valve opens, so less fuel is wasted on the sides of the intake manifold, like with a carb

So PCM varies the Cam timing signal, it receives, to get optimum performance, you wouldn't notice it, and it sets that as baseline Cam timing.
It also compares it to Crank sensor timing

I don't see anything odd in the readings
O2 sensors voltage for B1S1, and B2S1 should jump around between .2 and .7 quickly, even .1 to .9 some times
The PCM has to squirt extra fuel in, .6 and up, every few seconds to keep Cat converters HOT, and it has to adjust injector open time a few times a second to get best MPG.
STFT(short term fuel trim) is a reflection of O2 voltage, but its open time for injectors, so it also jumps around, but should stay between -5 and +5 normally, it should jump up to +10 when accelerating
PCM calculates STFT 0 based on RPMs, throttle position, MAF data, and air temp
-1% STFT means O2 voltage showed Rich so PCM opened injector for 1% LESS time than calculated to balance O2 voltage
+1% would be PCM seeing Lean O2 and opening injectors 1% longer than calculated

If STFT gets to -15% or +15% for any length of time PCM will set a code Rich(-15%) or Lean(+15%), engine is never running Rich or Lean, PCM is taking away or adding fuel as needed, the codes mean the PCMs calculations of 0 STFT are off so owner should check why its off that much
Rich is often leaking injector, Lean is vacuum leak

O2 sensor B1S2 is behind the Cats, so should have stabler voltage, .7-.8 is normal