Hey guys,

Like I just said, im sure this subject has been brought up a million times but im going to tell you all my problem and maybe you guys could give me some insight to the situation.

So I have a 2.3L 2003 Ranger with around 92K miles.

about 5 months ago, I noticed that the truck started misfiring and bucking at highway speeds when shifting from 4 to 3, when I would give it some acceleration.

Long story short, replaced the valve cover gasket because I found oil in the spark plugs. This really helped the problem. Changed wires, plugs, PCV valve, intake manifold gaskets, fuel filter and changed the oil since then.

The problem has gotten better and there is no check engine light, however, when the truck is cold, the symptoms come back, rough idle, engine bucks when put into gear, and occasionally mis-fires when going from 4 to 3.

Anyways, Im just banging my head here. The replacement of the manifold gaskets help fix my vacuum leak, but the vacuum leak and this bucking problem was not related.


Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

Have you had any codes checked? Most auto parts places can do it.

 

I have a code reader and the only code I was getting was from the bad intake gaskets. P0171, system too lean bank 1. I replaced the gaskets and erased the code and so far it hasn't come back on but the cold engine misfire is still a problem. Thats why im thinking that these are not related.