Hi I'm new here. Just bought my first one. Really like it. 2001 XLT V6 Flareside that is such a nice driver at 189K its almost worth the gas she is sucking down! Seller said it was misfiring and he had run out ideas to fix it. Turns out he had spark wires 1/6 backwards AND and 3/4! The error codes strangely said misfires on 6, 5 and 2.... Not even gonna try to figure that out. Seems like with 3 and 4 switched it would return a misfire there but anyway. Also have an error code P0401 "exhaust gas recirculation flow insufficient" swhich I'm tracking down but it may be related to the misfires letting unexploded fuel into the chamber.

It's running alot better now. I regapped the plugs - they dont look that bad but I'm gonna throw in some new ones when I get a gauge set that goes to .044! Mine stops at 40. I found a drill but that was .045 and got them all pretty close. It's running better but MPG was 12.8 around town which was with some stomping on it a bit to check things out.

I gave the colling system a good flush and it was dirty but not scary. I bought a little DC powered suction pump and am going to try that on the rear Diff - which I checked and is black and dirty smelling. I think I can get it warm and just pump that out/refill. I'd like to pump out the tranny with it too. It's an automatic - seems like people suggest changing the filter but at 189k I'd like to let sleeping dogs lie as much as I can - you think suction pump down the dipstick is ok?

She starts not hard - but takes her a few turns in the morning. That and the MPG has got me thinking about the O2 but I don't know which one to change. It has a new EGR valve. I took the throttle and IAC (idle control) off and cleaned up good. The throttle was dirty but completely functional. I figure I'll see how baked in the O2 sensors look and replace if they look original. The upper dash panel is missing and the heater/ac selector dial blows AC on all settings except one that blows hot- which saved me during coolant flush. I notice when driving I hear a rushing liquid through the pipes sound that seems kinds unusual. My upper rad hose was collapsed when I first drove it home- cleaned radiator cap in some kerosene with a toothbrush and the hose is ok now. Gotta find a junk yard for that dash panel.

The suicide door latch cables are both disconnected - gotta fish them back into position soon.

Advance Auto charged me 5.99 per spark for soime autolite double platinums - I'm taking those back. Gonna get another price on sparks. and need that new gapping gauge - darn this "new" truck is becoming a part time job!

I love the way it drives - its hard to believe it's got almost 200K! A bit rough and a tad slow to start- I can tune that out of her soon enough.

Anyway thanks for listening and look forward to talking shop !

Caleb

 

Welcome to the forum

2001 3.0l
Manual or automatic?

Manual would be M5OD-R1, its uses ATF not gear oil
Automatic will be 5R44E
Assuming 2WD not 4x4

When there are misfires it's always good to do compression test first
Remove all spark plugs
Then test each cylinder and write down results

Gasoline engines burn exhaust valves, which causes misfire from lower compression, so best to take this mechanical issue off the table FIRST, before spending money on non-fixes, if you do find cylinders with lower compression numbers

Cleaning and regapping spark plugs, or new plugs can get lower compression cylinders working again, but just temporary


Pull off either heater hose at the firewall and then top up radiator, this will let out any trapped air in the engine side of thermostat and heater hoses/heater core, to get rid of that air noise in heater system on start up
You should also Reverse heater hoses at the firewall every 2 years, it "back flushes" the core while you drive, it helps heater core to last longer


AC is always on except with selector in OFF or Vent, its to dry the air in the cab to prevent musty smells

TEMP control **** controls an electric door in the cab, called the Blend Door, this electric motor is a common failure point in Fords
The door passes all air from the fan thru heater core(HOT) or no air thru heater core(COLD) or any where in between
This is the only TEMP control

AC on or off wouldn't matter to temp, as the coolant runs at 180+degF(heater core temp) and AC is only 35degF, so heater would warm up any air temp the AC could provide, lol

 

Hi Ron, Thanks for the info. It's automatic trans. I'll do compression test tomorrow if I can get a kit at Autozone, prob also do a fuel press test. I've got to digest more of your post, lot to chew on there.
Re this a5R44E tranny. Truck shifts perfectly, hits all the points smoothly. The tran oil is pink and smells sweet and right at level- big plus there.

I'm going out to switch heater hoses like you said, change rear diff oil and flush power steering. Also do another code test and see how the errors are doing. I deleted them after making some fixes thinking
if they did not regenerate I had them fixed, But instead I just get zero error reports now. So i figure they will rethrow coges in their own good time,

I filled out all the info on my truck when I registered - thought it would generate into a sig line. I'll see about that

 

You can add a signature with your Ranger info but your "profile" info doesn't show up automatically

Yes change the O2 sensors, if over 100k miles or 12 years old they will cause lower MPG and NOT set codes

Check driver side door rear for your Rangers Build Label
It will have the 2 digit AXLE code to see what oil to use, example: 96 means open axle, R6 means Limited Slip so needs an additive
Also look at Stock Tire size, if previous owner put on larger diameter tires then Odometer(and speedometer) are not correct, larger diameter shows LESS miles travelled than actual, so if MPG was based on odometer then it would be LOW because of that

 

Tire size, Head slap never thought of that. These do seem stock but good idea to check. So change all three O2's or is there a cheaper approach? I mean is one more prone to be the culprit? Change that and go from there kind of thing?
I got the comp and fuel test kits from autozone plan to do tests in morning. I was running abt 2200 at 60 mph and right on 2500 rpm at 70.

I have a camshaft synchronizer and am abt to order the position tool for installing it right. I noticed an annoying chirping afterr i bought truck but assumed it was belt - sprinkled some comet abrasive cleanser on AC belt and its been gone since I ddi that.
So I wonder if synchro could still be causing some of my issues if its not the cause of the noise. I'm guessing it was the belt right now

 

O2 sensors are cheap compare to the gasoline you are wasting if they are not working as well as they should

At $4.60 a gallon and 14MPG thats costing you $.33 a mile
At 100 miles that $33
At 16MPG its $.28 a mile, so $28 per 100 mile
$5 saving per 100 miles, most people drive 1,000miles a month, 12k a year
That's an extra $600 a year you would have to pay using old O2s
Even if you drive half that much thats still $300/year
New O2s are cheap regardless of the price, lol

And the 3.0l Ranger should be closer to 18MPG

You can't use RPM verses speed for miles travelled or calibration
You also need gear ratio(5th or OD) and rear axle ratio used

Most highways still have mile markers, you can use those to see if odometer is off, need to do at least 5 miles
Or there are free GPS APPs for phones, need to use on straight road and fairly flat, it will give you speed and miles travelled

 

Welcome fellow 2001 owner to the herd;
lots of friendly knowledgable folk here, especially RonD.
Everybody loves pics of "new" rides!

 

Good thoughts Ron, you make it hard to argue! alright I'm going out to comprression test first (and fuel pressure just for the heck of it) I think it's in decent shape bc it has good nuts when i hit the gas but still nervous cause its old, unknown and misfiring. So I'll report back in a couple hours if she is sound. Provided she is I'll get those o2 sensors in today, Autozone has them (Bosch) pretty cheap. I figure they'll be ok. I'll call the dealership when they open to compare.

I took a photo of my rear end tag but its hard to read end the top line ends with "5868W" "

Bottom line reads 3 73 75 1E16

As for 5th gear /OD I couldn't say but I wanted to ask if bucking in the tranny is a common trait for these trucks. Mine sometimes no always feels like its lugging between 55 and 60 mph. It may be bette since I flushed coolant which makes no sense. If there is a 5th gear and OD it might be that it's shifting into OD or final drive a bit too soon.

I drive only 200/wk usually. Live in town, everything is pretty close. Short trips are hell on the engine tho.

 

Thanks Dillard here are a couple !

 

Sharp looking truck, Caleb!

 

Ok Compression test completed. How bad is this
Cyl 1= 145
cyl 2 = 85
cyl 3= 97
cyl 4 = 120
cyl 5= 99
cyl 6= 105

My middle 4 average 105- 10.5 leaves 95 with cyl 1 being the stand out - but these are pretty low numbers. I'm going out to do a wet test on a couple of the lows. But now I wonder if I bought a junker. Darn

 

Nice looking Ranger

You have a 5R44E automatic, 5th/OD is 0.75 ratio

You have a 7.5" rear axle with OPEN 3.73 ratio, "3 73 75", limited slip would be 3L73 75

You can go here to see if speed and RPM are correct: https://spicerparts.com/calculators/...rpm-calculator

You need tire diameter, I used 28" and at 2200rpm speed should be 65mph(in OD), with 29" tire 68mph, you were seeing 60mph
So its for sure reading lower miles travelled, off by 15-20%

In 1998 to 2000 Rangers speed calibration is done in GEM module, I think Forscan software can do that but not sure

 

GREAT INFO Thank you Ron! My tires are 27.37 " I'm going to run the numbers after this compression test.

My earlier post above is all wrong. Don't really know why, maybe I wasn't getting the metal shunt that threads into the socket tight enough- but also
I thought the battery might be low and getting lower as I went.

anyway I re-did all the cyclinders with 2 batts ganged together and tight test unit. better numbers!!!!!!

1 155
2 157
3 117
4 118
5 155
6 170

Dang am i breathing easier. Still concerned about 3 and 4. Going back out to re-test and wet test.
Sorry for the bad info - I have no idea what I'm doing half the time, maybe more.

 

Yes, 3 and 4 would explain the misfires, they are way too low
Average for your numbers is 155.6, you don't use the 170 or 117 and 118

So 15psi is 10%, expected range is then 140 to 170, 10% +/- the average
3 and 4 are 30%+ lower, so dead cylinders

WET test will tell you if its valve or rings leaking
If they don't come up to 150psi+ then its valves that are the issue

 

You're right on, the low cylinders do all come up to 150 tested wet. So rings.

Let me ask you this- it drives well, I like it. Can I expect it to hang in there like it is for awhile if I'm easy on it - or should I walk away? I'm sure a lot of cars out there test bad on a comp test, but I've never had this info before and
really don't know what it means in a real world "what's next" kinda way. Darn !

 

My concern is if I can sorta 'kick the can' down the road for 6 months or a year with this low compression/misfire. I bought this truck bc my daily driver started dying on me a couple months ago and I've been living under the hood for way too long. I can prob figure how to pull the head and address the rings but really need a socket wrench holiday!

 

You can drive it as long as you want, won't hurt anything
It should be burning oil with bad rings so you won't be passing any emissions tests, lol

Probably got lots of "Blow-by" oil vapor as well so clean the PCV valve once a moth or so, just soak in gasoline or similar fluid, shake it and let it dry out, it has a weight inside that needs to move around easily, you will feel it it is is moving around

Haven't read about ring issues in the 3.0l, just the normal burnt exhaust valves all gas engines get

 

I got up this morning and had trouble facing reality so I pulled all the sparks back out and retested the compression. This time I idled her for a min to move a little oil over the rings.
Tightened the gas pedal cable with a ziptie and ganged 2 batteries like yesterday. Diff numbers - the whole engine is mostly low
1 150 (first cyl on passenger side facing engine)
2 95
3 120
4 130 (first cyl on drivers side)
5 90
6 80

So with a 98 PS! average my 6 is cylinder (at 80) is dead but not by alot the whole engine is weak. It starts and drives pretty darn good tho. Has fine pick up and cruises about where it should for 27" tires at 2200



I'm under spec - I'm going 70 at 2500 rpm, but heck that's only a 2-3% loss in engine power - which seems fine for 189K. Is this a fair way to look at it or am I not facing facts?

The exhaust is clean smelling, engine oil still partly gold between changes. So it's an old truck that needs a ring job - any advice on what I'm looking at to restore the engine? The body and interior are perfect so
I'm up for repairing engine this winter. I have a good milling machine and lathe but does it need remachining? Sorry I'm good with tools but am no mechanic.

Ron thanks for the vote of confidence on just forgetting all this for a few weeks. Not sure I can tho!

 

3% is within Ford speedometer specs

3.0l Vulcan shouldn't need low end rebuild until over 400k
Exhaust Valves can be burned at any mileage

I have read about issues with 3.0ls spark plug holes not sealing well with compression or leak down fittings, causing non-repeating numbers

Put a Vacuum gauge on the engine and see if any of the compression numbers make sense
At idle 18-21" is expected
And steady, fluctuations are misfires or partial misfires

 

That was my first thought when I saw all these low numbers for a pretty good driving truck. I cleaned one dirty engine socket with QTips and oil. I thought about smearing some vaseline on the threads of the tool, but didnt bother- I'll go grease the threads on one cylinder and see if that does anything

 

Nope nyet negatory nada. Same numbers, she drives good but she's got really low compression - and she's missing. I've never worked with rings but looks like I'm about to learn. I realize new rings may not be inclined to wear well against the oval worn walls of my engine. Anyone know if they make a type of ring kit for old, deformed walls? I guess what I'm really asking is can I get out of this easy!? Can I dream?

Thanks

 

Can you have a slightly damaged head gasket that is "blown" but not so bad as to tick off the obvious symptoms?

Just did the glove test and it did not inflate at all but with the engine just started up, I took the glove off and the coolant is overtopping slowly after 1 min of idling.

When I bought the truck the rad cap was slimed up with gunk which i took for mixed coolants bc the truck does not burn oil, or run warm, oil looks good, blows no smoke.

Compression test shows cylinders 5 and 6 at 80 and 90 and I'm starting to suspect head gasket not rings.

Vacuum gauge will be here tomorrow. May help Sherlock this out.

 

Also no sign of oil in the coolant and no smell of gas/exhaust in the coolant. The overflow tank was creamed up with a gunky mess down low where I didn't see it until I'd drained it. In my experience a blown head means a wandering
temp gauge - wandering towards hot!

Ron- got two O2 sensors coming tomorrow- thanks on that!