Hi guys and gals,

I have a 2002 Ford Ranger 4 cylinder and only know enough to do minor maintenance so please bear with me. I have 90K on the truck and this past year it started to run rough on acceleration and sometime I hear what might be a misfire - muffled, not loud. It idles fine.

I changed the wires and plugs and noticed the third spark plug electrode had lots of oil on it. After changing the plugs it ran great for a while but is now doing the same thing, maybe worse.

If I rev the motor while letting out the clutch, I can easily move from a dead stop but it's rough on normal pedal. It's like I lose power and it sputters with no rpm's and then it just all of a sudden goes.

The only maintenance I've done is the typical oil changes, etc. I don't know what the compression is like. I'm guessing it is an internal oil leak. No smoke and I'm not losing oil. I do have to add water once in a while but it's been over 100 degrees here in Texas for months, so I don't know.

I'd like to keep the truck but don't want spend thousands repairing it. Any ideas or info would be appreciated. On a side note, should I go with a Ford dealer or independent shop for repair?

Thanks for sharing.

 

is it a 3.0 V6?

 

I'm guessing a 4 cylinder since he posted it in the:

"4-Cylinder Tech. If you drive a Ranger with any 4-banger engine, this is your forum!"

section. Sorry I have no helpfull info, but I am interested.

 

I did not see that. I was looking at the latest threads and clicked on it and read it.
Reason why I asked if it was a 3.0 because it sounded like a problem that I have heard happen with several 3.0's and sounds a little like mine.

 

Yes, it's a 4 cylinder. Thanks.

 

I had an 03 4 banger that did this
do you have a check engine light, if so get it checked

check coil packs

check grounds and vacumn lines

check o2 sensors (what mine ended up being)

as for the oil on the plugs, i had a couple honda's that had this problem and it was the valve cover gasket leaking. It drenched the plugs and they woulnd't fire.

I have had 3 4 banger rangers and have replaced almost everything on these engines

 

No engine light. I'm thinking it's the oil on the plug causing the issue since the symptoms went away for a while after changing plugs. I'll probably have to take it to a mechanic since these newer motors have all the crap all over them. I'm guessing a simple valve cover gasket change isn't as easy as it used to be back in the day. :)

Well, that is not inspiring. I was under the impression these trucks lasted a long time.

The only trouble I had before this was the thermostat went out. It was a big surprise to find out it wasn't a simple $6 thermostat replacement, but a $120 thermostat housing unit replacement. When I got it out, the plastic L brackets holding the metal thermostat in place were gone - never did find them.

 

get it fixed?

the valve cover gasket should not be that hard. remove the intake hose and the throttle body and most of it should be accessible. maybe a couple other small items to remove. beauty of a 4 cylinder

 

I think I have a cracked head gasket by what I have been reading. I now have a hole in my coolant tank near the top and coolant is gushing out when it is full after I shut the motor down. Not running hot. I'm going to take it into the shop this week. I can't complain. 102K with only oil and filter changes.