2002 Ford Ranger 3.0 (Not Flex Fuel) 91k miles. Ran fine today. all of a sudden started missing really bad. Took each plug wire off to make sure I was getting spark to all 6 cylinders. Tested ok. Replaced plugs anyway. No help. Took to local parts house and had codes extracted. They were: P0301 (#1 Cyl misfire), P0302 (#2 Cyl misfire), P0113 (IAT Circuit), and P0122 (Tp sensor). Not sure where to start. Did it jump time? Not backfiring. Just DEAD miss.

 

Is the spark as hot on #1 & #2 as the other wires? Did you use a spark tester or just hold the wire and watch the spark?

 

Just held the wires off (near the plug) and got a spark. Did not check it with a spark tester.

 

Not sure what sensors you are talking about.

 

I guess he is talking about the IAT and TP sensors you mentioned that showed up in the failure codes.

 

I had a similar problem on my 01 just a couple weeks ago - mine just showed up one unannounced too.

My code was just a misfire on cylinder 2. The issue was a bad coil pack. The coil pack would have a very small arc between the connecting "cup" thing on the coil pack itself for cylinder 2 and the wiring harness plastic covering piece. Freaking hard to describe without a picture... but anyway. It was the coil pack for me.

Check the usual stuff: plugs, plug wires, make sure all your sensors are connected properly (mine shook loose a few miles down the road), especially the one on the back of the coil pack.

after that you gotta move on to the o2 sensors & injectors i would say.

 

Okay. here is an update. I took off each valve pan. All rockers are working. When listening to the engine, there is a noise like a valve rattling. VERY loud when in the truck or behind it. Not so bad when you are in front of the truck or under the hood. I also noticed that the catalyc converter for the 4,5,6 side is cherry red after it idles for about 10 minutes. Do I have bad tiniing chain/belt?

Also just to let you know, I cleared the codes by disconnecting the battery and turning on the headlight switch. After driving the truck for about 15 minutes, no check engine light. Cannot get a check engine light now.

 

Wires are right. Did the plugs one at a time. It's not an injector noise. This is way too loud for that. It's either the timing chain hitting the cover, bad lifter, out of time to the point that the valves are knocking, or maybe even deeper in the engine than that.

Could timing chain get so loose that it slaps the cover? Would this cause all the problems? Like I said, the engine has a DEAD miss. And after I clered the check engine codes, I dont have a check engine light any longer. Not sure what to do next. Not sure if it's timing or not.

Would I be better off to take the truck to a local dealer and have some kind of diags ran to tell me exactly what the problem is?

 

I had the exact problem you did with the cherry red cat. Did you check the coil pack?

 

Is there a way to check it? Only way I know of would be to buy a non-returnable replacement.

 

Drayke, Did you have the loud noise also ? (noise like a valve rattling. VERY loud when in the truck or behind it.)

 

Are you sure you don't have a valve stuck open just enough to cause the miss and the clacking. Does any of the rockers seem to have excess clearance. It could be a bad lifter not pumping up all the way.

I think you better find a good shop to take it to and you may want to have it towed.

 

Tried a new coil pack. Same result. Did not help.
Also I checked the compression on the cylinders. They were about 170 PSI

 

Okay guys. Going in deep tomorrow. Going to pull the intake and the valve pans again. Gonna check the lifters. If they all look good, then going on to the timing chain. I will keep you posted.

 

i had a rattle... but it wasnt terribly loud.

 

Heres the scoop. After looking CAREFULLY, the valve spring on #2 Intake was broke. Compression was still good when I checked it. Ordered replacement valve spring, puch rod, and new lifter. Parts are in. Will reassemble today. Will keep you posted.

 

All done. Replaced exhaust valve spring for #2 cylinder, pushrod and lifter. Problem resolved. One thing I did notice also. When the spring was broke, I could put my hand over the exhaust and could cause the engine to stop. May help someone in the future. Thanks for all the help!