1996 Ranger 2.3L

[ArmyAviator]

Son's truck; idles fine but missing when initially accelerating. Changed plugs, wires, and fuel pump. Now, missing actually seems worse.

As I said, it idles fine; but when you accelerate and put a load on like going slightly uphill, it misses terribly.

Thoughts??

Best regards,

--Bryant

 

[EvanNumberSeven]

Misfiring?

 

[ArmyAviator]

More...

Not so much misfiring.....it idles just fine; but when you start acceleration, it misses....sorta sputtering....to a degree that can hear a valve clatter. It may even die, but you can start her right back up.

Thanks for the reply.

--Bryant

 

[EvanNumberSeven]

Can you feel the spudder in the peddle and it becomes a jingle noise?

 

[ArmyAviator]

Not so much.

Not so much in the pedal, really. Here's a typical scenario: starts fine; idles like a sewing machine. My driveway slopes down then up at road; so it starts fine, but when you hafta accelerate to go up hill, or you just accelerate to start out on road, it sputters....like it's not getting enough fuel. Could it be vacuum lines? MAF sensor? It's 4:20 central here in Alabama. If you wanna talk direct, my cell is 334.790.4165. Many thanks for the help.

--Bryant

 

[EvanNumberSeven]

Well then I'll leave you with this. I have the same truck and I had the same problem. If you did the cables and plugs yourself, you want to recheck your work and make sure everythings ready to go. I did them myself and did everything right, but I had a faulty plug. So you may want to consider what quality products you are using. Then the next thing to consider is the Distributor Caps. Make sure they are good still. another problem can be dirty or bad fuel injectors. You can run some Lucas or Sea Foam through it and that may help, or you may need to go have them chemically cleaned at a tire shop. They can do that for around 100 bucks. Lastly you mention vacuum lines. That may also be a contributing factor. Good Luck with your son's truck.

 

[ArmyAviator]

Thanks

The plugs were OEM motorcraft. I'll check the coil packs and I'll see about the injectors. Many thanks again.

 

[ArmyAviator]

This morning

Again, idles swell; even when revved up @ idle, it's smooth as butter.

But, apply brake or put it in gear (auto trans), it starts cutting out....sputtering.

??

 

[Dave R]

I'm guessing that the check engine light is not on. But, there area couple of things that could be causing your issue most of them should have turned the light on.

Does the truck continue to run even though it misses? i.e. can you drive it any distance?

I'd suggest pulling, or having pulled, any codes from the computer.