cstarbard
Member
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2017
- Messages
- 225
- Reaction score
- 4
- Points
- 18
- Age
- 30
- Location
- Oakham, MA
- Vehicle Year
- 1996
- Make / Model
- Ford
- Engine Size
- 2.3
- Transmission
- Manual
- My credo
- It do like it be
Hey guys,
Hope everyone is well. Having a problem with my 1996 2.3 4x4. Here's what happens:
Drives normally for the most part. Idles good. Under moderate to hard acceleration, or when trying to maintain highway speeds, the engine seems to miss. The truck jerks/bucks pretty bad during this. If you ease up on throttle, problem lessens. I'm also experiencing very poor mpg compared to what I've gotten from this truck historically, and in general, the truck just lacks power that it used to have. No CEL, no pending or trouble codes.
Here's everything I've done or checked.
-No apparent loss of coolant
-Spark plugs are OEM spec, I believe motorcraft. They have like 40k miles on them. Did them last tune up. I haven't pulled them to look at (it's on the to do list) but they are all still tight, I just checked.
-Replaced both coil packs (their plastic covering was breaking down, they were actually sparking through the cracks. Yikes.)
-Replaced the plug wires. It was time anyway.
-Replaced the pcv, it was time.
-Key off, cycled a few times, Fuel pump has good pressure (around 40-45 PSI). It does NOT fall rapidly with key off. Very slow. Like 20 sec to drop 2 psi.
-All injectors have 14.5-14.7 ohm resistance
-All injector harness plugs have 12v with key on
-Air filter not plugged, properly seated, no obvious vaccuum leaks
-Truck stalls if you disconnect IACV while idling. Feeling skeptical that there is a vacuum leak. Did intake gaskets recently, changed a bunch of vacuum hoses that were old and crappy.
-Tested voltage output of TPS while moving throttle plate by hand. It checked out perfectly.
-Did an extensive test of the MAF with multimeter. It tested perfectly.
-Replaced fuel filter
-Confirmed that purge solenoid is not stuck open
-Both 02 sensors were replaced a few years ago. As I recall I tested them this spring and they were fine.
What I plan to try still:
-Removing and inspecting each spark plug
-Unplugging 1 injector at a time while idling and see whether it changes the idle. Wondering if one might be clogged?
-Test vacuum with a gauge. What value should I be looking for?
-What else should I do to look for a vacuum leak?
-Should I test the fuel pressure regulator?
-Is it possible my timing belt skipped? I replaced it 2 years ago.
-I plan on having my wife drive it while I watch live data on the scanner and see if I notice anything weird about fuel trims, especially while its bucking
Any help is appreciated. Feeling a bit lost.
Hope everyone is well. Having a problem with my 1996 2.3 4x4. Here's what happens:
Drives normally for the most part. Idles good. Under moderate to hard acceleration, or when trying to maintain highway speeds, the engine seems to miss. The truck jerks/bucks pretty bad during this. If you ease up on throttle, problem lessens. I'm also experiencing very poor mpg compared to what I've gotten from this truck historically, and in general, the truck just lacks power that it used to have. No CEL, no pending or trouble codes.
Here's everything I've done or checked.
-No apparent loss of coolant
-Spark plugs are OEM spec, I believe motorcraft. They have like 40k miles on them. Did them last tune up. I haven't pulled them to look at (it's on the to do list) but they are all still tight, I just checked.
-Replaced both coil packs (their plastic covering was breaking down, they were actually sparking through the cracks. Yikes.)
-Replaced the plug wires. It was time anyway.
-Replaced the pcv, it was time.
-Key off, cycled a few times, Fuel pump has good pressure (around 40-45 PSI). It does NOT fall rapidly with key off. Very slow. Like 20 sec to drop 2 psi.
-All injectors have 14.5-14.7 ohm resistance
-All injector harness plugs have 12v with key on
-Air filter not plugged, properly seated, no obvious vaccuum leaks
-Truck stalls if you disconnect IACV while idling. Feeling skeptical that there is a vacuum leak. Did intake gaskets recently, changed a bunch of vacuum hoses that were old and crappy.
-Tested voltage output of TPS while moving throttle plate by hand. It checked out perfectly.
-Did an extensive test of the MAF with multimeter. It tested perfectly.
-Replaced fuel filter
-Confirmed that purge solenoid is not stuck open
-Both 02 sensors were replaced a few years ago. As I recall I tested them this spring and they were fine.
What I plan to try still:
-Removing and inspecting each spark plug
-Unplugging 1 injector at a time while idling and see whether it changes the idle. Wondering if one might be clogged?
-Test vacuum with a gauge. What value should I be looking for?
-What else should I do to look for a vacuum leak?
-Should I test the fuel pressure regulator?
-Is it possible my timing belt skipped? I replaced it 2 years ago.
-I plan on having my wife drive it while I watch live data on the scanner and see if I notice anything weird about fuel trims, especially while its bucking
Any help is appreciated. Feeling a bit lost.