I'm new here and I have VERY basic mechanical knowledge. I'm hoping someone may be able to diagnose and help me solve my engine issue. I have a 2002 Ranger XLT 3.0L with a little over 100k miles. For the most part the truck was running fine until a few days ago. I started noticing some bogging down but it wasn't too bad at first and I saw no excessive fuel consumption. I smelled radiator fluid when I parked but the temperature never got high. I had the thermostat changed a little over a year ago so I'm pretty confident the engine wasn't overheating. I noticed one of the water lines was loose(not busted) so I pushed back in place and that issue was solved. I assume it had worked loose from the engine shaking. Radiatior is full and no more fluid leaks. Over the last couple of days the loss of acceleration got worse and worse. I'm having trouble starting the engine now and lose almost all acceleration now. Air filter is only a few months old and clean. Again, I'm seeing no loss in fuel mileage so I feel like it's not a fuel system issue and I'm convinced it's an air system issue. Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Please keep in mind I have basic knowledge and tools. Thanks in advance!

 

Welcome to the forum

Change fuel filter, every 5 years or so

Clean MAF sensor, every year or two

You may be looking at a failing fuel pump
You can hear the fuel pump run for 2 seconds each time you turn on the key
Listen for the HUMMMM from the gas tank when you turn on the key, repeat key off and on as much as you need to hear it, it only runs for 2 seconds
The key on and off also helps to build lost pressure if the check valve in the gas tank has gone bad
2002 Ranger should run 55psi fuel pressure, and should hold 40psi pressure at the engine when key is off, if check valve is leaking then pressure at the engine drops to 0psi so hard to start engine without cycling key on and off a few times to build up pressure again.
Once engine starts(above 400rpm) fuel pump comes on full time.


Long shot is partially blocked exhaust, an engine is basically an air pump, if "old air" can't get out, then new air can't come in, so loss of power and hard starts
You can test for this with a Vacuum gauge

 

Thanks for the welcome and for your opinion. Here's an update...The engine is hard but not too bad to start up. When started it sputters pretty bad and I have to press on the accelerator to keep it going. I put it in gear after a couple minutes and it runs pretty sluggish. Living in south Louisiana I don't have any hills so it stays the same until the motor warms up enough for it to show on the temperature gauge on the dash. It doesn't seem to get much worse but my typical commute is less than 10mins. Once I've turned the engine off for a couple minutes or so and start it back up it's nearly impossible to drive. Basically won't move but I can keep the engine running for the most part. If I let the engine cool down all the way, the process will repeat.

I don't have any sort of pressure gauges so the only thing I can do is place my hand near the tail pipe. It does seem to be blowing out the same as always. I'm pretty sure that's not an accurate diagnosis but it's the best I can do. I don't smell any sort of exhaust or fuel when I pop the hood. As far as the MAF, I did clean it yesterday and it didn't seem to change anything.

Also, is it safe to assume to listen for the fuel pump you're saying to simply turn the key on and not start the engine, correct?

 

Yes, turn key on and listen for pump, don't start engine, repeat the on and off to be sure you can hear the pump run each time

You can use hand on the tail pipe but...........you need some one to REV the engine while you do that, you can tell if flow doesn't match what you hear as engine REVs up, flow will hit a spot where it doesn't increase as much as it should
Obviously a vacuum test would be better, lol.
But its a long shot in any case

But you mentioned "air flow" and exhaust is air flow, lol

 

Thanks again buddy! OK, so, I can hear the fuel pump kick on when I turn the key into the on position. It doesn't sound funky to my ear but that doesn't mean it's not working properly. Again, I smell no gas either under the hood, the interior of the truck or anywhere else. Is it safe to assume there's no leak? If so, would my next obvious step be to somehow troubleshoot the fuel filter? If the issue gets worse as the engine heats up, in your opinion, that could be a fuel system problem?

You said I mentioned air flow but what I meant was the air system. Like there may be an issue with one of the stupid sensors lol. Either way, I'm pretty much clueless and just going off common sense. It seems to me the motor is choking, like it can't catch its breath. I don't believe I mentioned it, but there's no indication of water in the oil, which if I'm not mistaken is an indication of a bad gasket or cracked block or whatever. Reason I mention it is based on wishful thinking there's nothing SERIOUSLY wrong with the motor.

 

Yes, the engine is a self-powered air pump, and you can "choke" any pump by blocking the incoming OR outgoing flow

You can unplug the 4 wire connector on MAF sensor, and see if engine drives any better

The only sensor that is required on any fuel injected engine is the RPM sensor, in a 2002 3.0l thats the Crank sensor
Reason thats needed is because computer doesn't even know you want to start the engine until crank starts to spin, and then it can time spark and fuel injectors

All the other sensors are there for best MPG and lowest emissions, MAF, O2s, Cam, Air Temp, Coolant temp, throttle position are all sensors that can be unplugged and engine will still run

Generally speaking most of these sensors are monitored and will set Trouble codes if they are sending in data that's out of a preset range
Not all Codes will turn on the CEL(check engine light) so good to check if there are codes in memory when there is a running issue

Which reminds me, does the CEL come on when you turn on the key?
It should, and then go off after engine starts
If it doesn't then previous owner may have disabled it, to sell it

 

Hello Dariot71 and welcome to the community. This may be a long shot but carefully inspect the heater core hoses on top left of engine (passenger side) at the plastic tees. Those plastic pieces are junk and degrade over time with constant heat exposure. I recently had to replace them on my current ‘03 3.0l when she would start cold without issue but wouldn’t restart after coming to temp. Although I didn’t get a CEL or see the gauge rise above normal operating temp it was obviously hot. After removing the old tee’s, yes do both, and digging old plastic out of the lines, then blew out with compressed air, I used inexpensive copper tee’s from Home Depot irrigation stock and some hose clamps. Going by memory which honestly may be somewhat impaired, lol, I believe the tee’s were 1/2”X3/8”X1/2” and designed to fit inside a hose and be clamped. Far cheaper method than replacing the hoses since they don’t sell just the tee, and IMO far more reliable and sturdier. So once that was done I had to ask myself why my gauge didn’t register the increased operating temp? I may be a woman but always watch my gauges while driving! So I replaced the temperature sensor and temperature sending units. Both were kinda inexpensive and easy to replace. So after all that was completed I drove her around the neighborhood to get her hot and shut her off. Again she didn’t want to start until she cooled down. In frustration I said “the heck with it”, disconnected the negative battery cable and closed her up. The next day I reconnected the battery cable and started her again. WOW what a difference! She idled much smoother and has started every time since regardless of temperature. Problem solved. Hopefully this will solve your issue.

If it doesn’t or the tee’s aren’t leaking (the current ‘03 tee had cracked and was barely dripping so can be difficult to see without a significant pooling of coolant), I still recommend you do replace them as a preventative because trust me when I tell you they will fail. It’s just a question of when. My first ‘03 had
one fail while traveling a desolate stretch of canyon road in Colorado in late fall. My angels were looking out for me and before she could even cool down a man came down off mountain with a truck full of fresh cut firewood. Amazingly he had two gallons of coolant and the copper tee behind his seat and I had the clamps in my toolbox.

 

The CEL does come on. It'll both blink and stay on. So, your vehicle knowledge far outweighs mine which made me think of something this morning. After my 10min commute I was able to let the truck (VERY ROUGHLY) idle for a bit and decided to go around the truck and see if I could smell exhaust from anywhere. I walked around to the passengers side, look underneath and low and behold the catalytic converter was RED HOT! After seeing that I Googled what that may be symptoms of and of course a plugged converte/exhaust but the one that kinda shocked me was if the fuel is too rich it could cause the excess to burn in the converter.

Also, about halfway home I had to come to a slow creep to allow a vehicle to pass so I could take a left hand turn onto another road. After I made the turn the truck nearly died, never revved back up then finally sputtered out. Ended up having to tow it the rest of the way. Reason I mention it is I was wondering if that may be another indication of a fuel system issue.

I don't have a computer to do the checks so all my attempts to diagnose are going to be caveman style lol. Does any of the symptoms I've describe tell you it MAY be the plugs? Obviously that's the easiest and pretty much least expensive thing for me to change so I'm just wishful thinking out loud again.

 

Oh that is pretty serious. I recommend that the truck sits until you get it fixed. Do your research here and ask the guys how to take apart exhaust system to check for blockages. As for the plugs....ALWAYS gap your plugs before installing. Even though they say the plug is gapped correctly at factory they go through rough shipping and handling before you buy them. I have seen them off as much as 12 points. Don’t spend extra for platinum or whatever else they try to sell you. Stick with oem specs because it affects the temperatures. Your computer is setup to balance everything within certain parameters. Yes there are mechanics who know far more than you or I who can use different parts however they also know the effect of each adjustment upon other related parts and what additional changes must be made.

As for computer diagnostics, just about every parts store out there will read codes for free. Don’t drive it down there! Let it set while you figure it out before more serious damage is done. Uber to work if needed before you burn it up. It’s probably cheaper to Uber than buy a new computer or block or exhaust system.
Ask for a printout of the reading and any suggestions the store computer has for probable cause.
Keep them in a folder and start recording issues as well as observations you have.
Research.
Research.
Research.
Then refer to your folder and make more notes about research and add them to folder. Now you have an easy reference when someone you have asked for advice starts asking for more information and trying to narrow the possibilities of probable cause. Easier for you as well.
So don’t get discouraged. Understand that you are simply working with an unfamiliar puzzle. Apply the same basic breakdown and simplify your process one piece at a time. Soon the pieces will form a picture which leads to a solution.

 

Thanks a ton, those are all valid and helpful points. Believe me, I'm only using the truck right now out of necessity and travel no more than 6 or 7 miles at a time. I know that doesn't eliminate the possibility of causing further damage, but my situation right now isn't my high point in life. Basically I gotta do what I gotta do. I have been doing research believe me. I'm not the type to just "wing it" and jump into something I can't get out of. I hadn't considered taking notes but that's a great idea. Earlier today was the first time it dawned on me that most auto parts places have the diagnostic equipment and they'd probably do it free of charge, but I appreciate you mentioning that. Thanks again for taking the time to reply and for sharing your knowledge and advice!!

 

If engine was running rough, i.e. misfiring, then yes Cat would get red hot because a misfire means the gasoline wasn't burned, so it goes into Cat to be burned, and to make matters worse, the Oxygen wasn't burned either, so the O2 sensor sends computer Lean readings, too much Oxygen in exhaust, so computer adds even more gasoline, lol.

Any way there us a simple test if you think you might have a leaking injector
All fuel injection computers have this, its called Clear Flooded Engine mode

Turn key on, don't start engine
Press gas pedal down to the floor all the way and hold it down
Now try to start engine
Engine should NOT start, engine should not fire at all, all fuel injectors should be shut off

If engine fires then you do have a leaking injector

If engine doesn't fire release gas pedal and injectors will start working again, even while still cranking engine

I use this every morning to start my high mile 4.0l engine, get oil pumped up through the engine BEFORE I let it start up by releasing gas pedal


Pulling out spark plugs to check their tips is never a bad idea, you may find a "lead" to the problem, then clean and re-gap them
Look here: https://www.freeasestudyguides.com/g...park-plugs.png

 

As always RonD, you give me hope. The ole CFE trick, the oldest trick in the book lol. Never knew that existed but I'll be giving it a shot! Depending on the outcome I'll be able to eliminate the injectors as a possible cause. I'll also check the plugs for build up and gaps.

If, by chance, I'm able to eliminate both of those as the cause...What would you suggest I troubleshoot next and is there a way to do said troubleshooting without all those fancy big city high dollar tools?