97 4.0 v6 poor idle
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From: Duluth MN
97 4.0 v6 poor idle
I'm an amateur so I cant tell if this motor spouds good or not. Any advice? sounds to me like its "ticking". Water drips out the tailpipe in the morning along with some rather white smoke. that could point to head gasket I guess?
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From: PSL FL
Early morning dew and smoke is normal on cool mornings. If it continues after the truck is at operating temp then you can worry. When was the last time the truck received a tune up? Plugs, wires, Fuel filter, yada, yada,yada.
Welcome to the forum
As said above, water will always drip from a tail pipe, water is a by-product of burning gasoline(H) with oxygen(O), so you get H2O(water)
When you shut off the engine some of that water vapor stays in the exhaust system, and changes back to liquid water
When you restart the now cold engine and exhaust it warms up and changes that water into white vapor, not steam but like steam in color, but then it goes away once the liquid water is all gone
In colder winter months you will SEE the water vapor coming out the tail time any time engine is running, warm or cold
In warmer months if you see continued white "smoke" then yes, could be a bad head gasket
You have a 4.0l OHV engine in a 1997 Ranger
It "eats" spark plugs, wears them out pretty fast, Motorcraft or Autolite will last the longest, NGK are also not bad
Clean the MAF sensor, not hard to do
4.0l OHVs are known to stumble if MAF gets dirty
Ford fuel injectors are quite noisy, and its a "tick" noise
Loose spark plug wires also make a "tick" noise from spark jumping a gap
And of course the standard Hydraulic Lifter "ticks", these can come and go, won't hurt anything just annoying
As said above, water will always drip from a tail pipe, water is a by-product of burning gasoline(H) with oxygen(O), so you get H2O(water)
When you shut off the engine some of that water vapor stays in the exhaust system, and changes back to liquid water
When you restart the now cold engine and exhaust it warms up and changes that water into white vapor, not steam but like steam in color, but then it goes away once the liquid water is all gone
In colder winter months you will SEE the water vapor coming out the tail time any time engine is running, warm or cold
In warmer months if you see continued white "smoke" then yes, could be a bad head gasket
You have a 4.0l OHV engine in a 1997 Ranger
It "eats" spark plugs, wears them out pretty fast, Motorcraft or Autolite will last the longest, NGK are also not bad
Clean the MAF sensor, not hard to do
4.0l OHVs are known to stumble if MAF gets dirty
Ford fuel injectors are quite noisy, and its a "tick" noise
Loose spark plug wires also make a "tick" noise from spark jumping a gap
And of course the standard Hydraulic Lifter "ticks", these can come and go, won't hurt anything just annoying
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Joined: Aug 2023
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From: Duluth MN
I just replaced plugs and wires the other day. There was a notable improvement in performance. ill check the fuel filter today!
Thread Starter
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Member
Joined: Aug 2023
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From: Duluth MN
Welcome to the forum
As said above, water will always drip from a tail pipe, water is a by-product of burning gasoline(H) with oxygen(O), so you get H2O(water)
When you shut off the engine some of that water vapor stays in the exhaust system, and changes back to liquid water
When you restart the now cold engine and exhaust it warms up and changes that water into white vapor, not steam but like steam in color, but then it goes away once the liquid water is all gone
In colder winter months you will SEE the water vapor coming out the tail time any time engine is running, warm or cold
In warmer months if you see continued white "smoke" then yes, could be a bad head gasket
You have a 4.0l OHV engine in a 1997 Ranger
It "eats" spark plugs, wears them out pretty fast, Motorcraft or Autolite will last the longest, NGK are also not bad
Clean the MAF sensor, not hard to do
4.0l OHVs are known to stumble if MAF gets dirty
Ford fuel injectors are quite noisy, and its a "tick" noise
Loose spark plug wires also make a "tick" noise from spark jumping a gap
And of course the standard Hydraulic Lifter "ticks", these can come and go, won't hurt anything just annoying
As said above, water will always drip from a tail pipe, water is a by-product of burning gasoline(H) with oxygen(O), so you get H2O(water)
When you shut off the engine some of that water vapor stays in the exhaust system, and changes back to liquid water
When you restart the now cold engine and exhaust it warms up and changes that water into white vapor, not steam but like steam in color, but then it goes away once the liquid water is all gone
In colder winter months you will SEE the water vapor coming out the tail time any time engine is running, warm or cold
In warmer months if you see continued white "smoke" then yes, could be a bad head gasket
You have a 4.0l OHV engine in a 1997 Ranger
It "eats" spark plugs, wears them out pretty fast, Motorcraft or Autolite will last the longest, NGK are also not bad
Clean the MAF sensor, not hard to do
4.0l OHVs are known to stumble if MAF gets dirty
Ford fuel injectors are quite noisy, and its a "tick" noise
Loose spark plug wires also make a "tick" noise from spark jumping a gap
And of course the standard Hydraulic Lifter "ticks", these can come and go, won't hurt anything just annoying
thank you for the lesson I'll clean my MAF today. cat might also be clogged as it ran with a misfire with previous owner.
You can use a Vacuum gauge to test for restricted exhaust, good tool to have when diagnosing any gasoline engine
18" to 21" of vacuum expected at sea level to 2,000ft elevation at idle
Raise RPMs to 2,500 or so, hold RPMs steady for at least 1 min
Watch the vacuum level
If it stays steady at the higher RPMs then no restriction in exhaust
If its slowly dropping then there is an exhaust restriction
If its slowly going UP then you have a intake/air filter restriction
18" to 21" of vacuum expected at sea level to 2,000ft elevation at idle
Raise RPMs to 2,500 or so, hold RPMs steady for at least 1 min
Watch the vacuum level
If it stays steady at the higher RPMs then no restriction in exhaust
If its slowly dropping then there is an exhaust restriction
If its slowly going UP then you have a intake/air filter restriction
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