sluggish on acceleration

[broke bob]

hi everyone, 2011 2.3 ranger had a sluggish problem with bucking (no codes) mechanic scaned it with no codes , thought the tranny was going out so i took it to 2 trand shops and they couldn't find any problems but finally it trashed the transmission , (got it rebuilt) ran fine for about 500 miles and now its back, long stoy short after it runs for a few hours it boggs down on acceleration surging and bogging then once its up to speed it runs fine , no idle issues no misfires (again no codes) when i let it sit and cools it runs fine , i am at a loss , things i replaced , fuel filter , plugs,wires coil pack , where do i go next , i don't want to just replace things for the hell of it
thanks guys

 

[scotts90ranger]

Might be stupid but I might try a gas cap... you say it happens after a few hours of running, it could be building up a vacuum in the fuel tank and screwing with things...

 

[broke bob]

Might be stupid but I might try a gas cap... you say it happens after a few hours of running, it could be building up a vacuum in the fuel tank and screwing with things...

thanks , ill try that today , another guy says check the cat for clogging , but i would think that would be a regular issue , FFR

 

[scotts90ranger]

That wouldn't be inconsistent or make the engine surge

 

[19Walt93]

Why not have a qualified dealer tech diagnose it? The aftermarket test equipment can only see the generic DTCs.

 

[Orca]

The aftermarket test equipment can only see the generic DTCs.

I find that statement ambiguous at best. Depending on what you mean, I might even consider it as perpetuation of a common myth. Care to explain that a bit better? Maybe even with a specific example?

 

[scotts90ranger]

The generic readers "should" be able to see all trouble codes since P codes are standard, but not all data is conveyed from all systems... There's a lot of proprietary stuff that's put out on random stuff... something might not be out far enough to cause a code but out far enough to cause question.

That's kinda why I mentioned the gas cap, if something is going on in the evap system or if the cap isn't venting at the 2psi or whatever vacuum they're rated to it could cause an issue, or there's something in the evap system that's going wonky...

Walt had a lot of years at a dealer, and I know from my mechanic friend that there's a lot of proprietary stuff out there (especially on diesels and hybrids...) but I'm not sure how much of them made it into Rangers by 2011...

 

[19Walt93]

I find that statement ambiguous at best. Depending on what you mean, I might even consider it as perpetuation of a common myth. Care to explain that a bit better? Maybe even with a specific example?

I'll continue posting the truth, you pick out what you'd like to believe and ignore the rest. If you believe the conspiracy theory that the car companies deliberately complicate things to stop do-it-yourselfers, don't bother reading the rest. Vehicles are complicated because they had to meet the federal standards.
There are generic codes that every OBD II scanner can read, required by law. There are also proprietary codes that only Ford diag equipment can read and I'm sure the same is true for other manufacturers. When I retired in 17 it was costing the dealership $5000 a year for access to diag info, manuals, and training, plus a $500 subscription for each VCM(vehicle communication module)- not just to keep them updated, to keep them functioning. Ford has a new system now, the IDS we used was a $4000 Panasonic Toughbook, a $2500 VCM, a VMM(forget the cost), and $600 worth of cabling. I had 8 techs with 4 IDS systems. Each tech had to do hours of online training to maintain certification after completing a long list of online courses and attending classroom training, usually a week at a time. We paid them to do the training and paid them 9 hours a day to go to the classroom training, plus hotel, food, rental car, and expenses. Think any independent garage spends a fraction of that on training.

 

[Orca]

I'll continue posting the truth, you pick out what you'd like to believe and ignore the rest. If you believe the conspiracy theory that the car companies deliberately complicate things to stop do-it-yourselfers, don't bother reading the rest.

Wow! Take a deep breath, Walt. You seem to have a huge chip on your shoulder. All I wanted was for you to clarify your ambiguous statement.

I'm not going to further discuss (let alone debate) this here because it's off-topic and I have no intent of derailing the OP's thread.

I'll simply say this, for the OP's clarification, and let it stand, without further comment: You don't need a dealer or any expensive hardware or software to read any/all of the Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs) reported by your 2011 Ranger. Reading them is not hard at all, even with a very inexpensive setup (a cheap scantool and some good, cheap/free software, like FORScan). Don't let anyone convince you otherwise. This screenshot from FORScan in a recent thread is a good example, showing 5 codes, 4 of which are manufacturer-specific and 1 of which is a standardized code.

Good luck with the diagnosis! And my apologies for the distraction.

 

[19Walt93]

Wow! Take a deep breath, Walt. You seem to have a huge chip on your shoulder. All I wanted was for you to clarify your ambiguous statement.

I'm not going to further discuss (let alone debate) this here because it's off-topic and I have no intent of derailing the OP's thread.

I'll simply say this, for the OP's clarification, and let it stand, without further comment: You don't need a dealer or any expensive hardware or software to read any/all of the Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs) reported by your 2011 Ranger. Reading them is not hard at all, even with a very inexpensive setup (a cheap scantool and some good, cheap/free software, like FORScan). Don't let anyone convince you otherwise. This screenshot from FORScan in a recent thread is a good example, showing 5 codes, 4 of which are manufacturer-specific and 1 of which is a standardized code.

Good luck with the diagnosis! And my apologies for the distraction.

You accused me of posting a myth, who wouldn't be offended. If I had a nickel for every bogus claim made by an aftermarket source that I've encountered I'd need a lot bigger truck than my Ranger to get them home. Just reading the codes is useless without access to the diag path to pinpoint the problem.