gorgeman
New Member
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2007
- Messages
- 3
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 0
- Vehicle Year
- 1999
- Make / Model
- Mazda
- Transmission
- Manual
I have a 1999 Mazda B3000 (Vulcan 3.0) with 149k on it and have been fighting with a drop in performance, fuel economy and pinging all summer. The engine idles smoothly at 1000rpm (is this high?) and seems to have no real problems until you are going up hill.
Between 2-3k rpm the engine knocks like crazy, especially on a hot day after the engine has warmed up. Additionally it backfires when it's hot if I rev to 4000rpm and then let the gas off quickly. It will also backfire when engine braking at 3500 to 4500 rpm.
The fuel economy is terrible. At one time I used to get 23mpg in this vehicle (65mph in Colorado high country) and now I live a sea level and get 17mpg on the highway and 15mpg in town! Pretty crippling with todays gas prices.
I have taken it to a number of mechanics and have replaced the DPFE sensor, mass air sensor, coil pack, and plug wires. The two O2 sensors upstream of the cat have only 30k on them and the plugs have 20k. The Ford dealer wanted me to spend $1600 on a new ECM, a fuel system revamp, and a disassembly of the engine for decarbonizing. It sure seemed excessive when a used engine isn't much more expensive.
Has anybody else ever seen this kind of thing in 3.0L Ranger before? Do I really need a new engine/total engine overhaul at only 150k? Got any ideas of what I could replace next (haha)?
Thanks for your help,
Seth
Between 2-3k rpm the engine knocks like crazy, especially on a hot day after the engine has warmed up. Additionally it backfires when it's hot if I rev to 4000rpm and then let the gas off quickly. It will also backfire when engine braking at 3500 to 4500 rpm.
The fuel economy is terrible. At one time I used to get 23mpg in this vehicle (65mph in Colorado high country) and now I live a sea level and get 17mpg on the highway and 15mpg in town! Pretty crippling with todays gas prices.
I have taken it to a number of mechanics and have replaced the DPFE sensor, mass air sensor, coil pack, and plug wires. The two O2 sensors upstream of the cat have only 30k on them and the plugs have 20k. The Ford dealer wanted me to spend $1600 on a new ECM, a fuel system revamp, and a disassembly of the engine for decarbonizing. It sure seemed excessive when a used engine isn't much more expensive.
Has anybody else ever seen this kind of thing in 3.0L Ranger before? Do I really need a new engine/total engine overhaul at only 150k? Got any ideas of what I could replace next (haha)?
Thanks for your help,
Seth