loss of power on 3.0 flex fuel

[MH24]

hey everyone i have a 2000 ranger 3.0 flex fuel and i cant seem to find whats wrong. the truck is really sluggish and its hard to get it over 60mph.
i have checked the compression to see if it could be a head gasket but all cylinders check out. i checked fuel pressure, changed sparkplugs and wires
throttle cable, maf sensor. i scanned the computer and no codes come up
had the cat checked and its not plugged.has no ruff idle. engine runs smooth but has no power. check the trans and its good.

any ideas on what to go for next i need help!
thanks.

 

[graff104]

i would check for a vacume leak. you have done alot of the basics already. maybe its got alot of carbon buildup? maybe its time for some seafoam.

 

[MH24]

thanks for the suggestion i will try that and get back to you

 

[fourwheelford]

Do you maybe have a break grabbing? Next time you drive check the tires and wheels with your hand and see if one of the is unusually hot. I also have a 2000 flex 3.0 and when I did my brakes the passanger caliper was siezed on one side making the brakes wear funny. There is a small shaft on either side that is packed with grease and protected by a small boot, if that boot slips off or tears water gets in there and rusts it up keeping it from releasing. You can also jack it up and see if the tires spin easily by hand.

 

[triumphrider-1]

I would run a tank of E85 instead of the seafoam.

+1 on the vacuum lines.

 

[fourwheelford]

Does E85 clean the valves if they have carbon build up on them. I haven't tried it yet but I was thinking of doing it on the next fill up.

 

[MH24]

thanks for all the advise. i went with seafoam but i didnt get to drive it because i got busy but i will update tomorro as for vacuum leaks i couldnt find any. i will check out the brakes tomorro

thanks

 

[MH24]

i drove it today and the seafoam didnt help it still acting up i checked the brakes but there are fine no grabing.what else can it be? can it be that the computer might need to be reprogramed has anyone had this problem before?

 

[fourwheelford]

Take it to auto zone or schucks and have them run a code check on it, it could be a code thats not tripping a check engine light, does your check engine light light up when you turn on the ignition(before you start it)? Oh this just came to me, is there black crap on or above your exhaust pipe at the end of it or on the side of your truck? What is your gas mileage like? Does your exhaust smell like fuel? Were your plugs kinda wet or powdery when you changed them? If so one or two or maybe all three of your o2 sensors may have shit the bed. How many miles are on the truck? Im pretty sure the code tester will turn up a crapped out o2 sensor.

Sorry I reread your original post and I noticed you already checked for codes, my bad I need to read more

 

[MH24]

you know i felt like the scanner i had wasnt gana do it so i took it to one of my friends who owns a shop and ask him if i could use his scanner. it turns out the truck had some codes after all. it had an IAC code which i had caused when i disconnected and it, bank 1 and bank 2 rich codes and a p1000
which is drive cycle so i cleard them to see which ones if any will come up after i go through the drive cycle.(want to my sure i dont cause any of the codes to come up)

 

[fourwheelford]

I figured a problem like this would be caused by something that would throw a code, I also thought it was odd that it didn't May I ask what brand of code tester you were using in the first place? Im not totally sure but if both banks are running rich than I would investigate the o2 sensors, I could be wrong and probably am but those crapping out causes rich running conditions. What is the description for a p1000?

 

[MH24]

p1000 is drive cycle on vehicle not complete. ok so i cleard the codes that showed up because i want ed to make sure i didnt cause them and sure enough NO CODES have came back and i have driven it for over 100 miles and it still runs sluggish i talk to a mechanic i know and he said it could be that the trans is in overdrive in every gear? could this be happening and is that why its so sluggish? oh the scanner i used first was one from autozone the 100 doller one

 

[triumphrider-1]

When you checked the fuel pressure, was it at different RPMs or just idle? I'm wondering if the fuel filter might be getting packed; lets enough through at idle, but has a hard time keeping up at higer RPM.

Does E85 clean the valves if they have carbon build up on them. I haven't tried it yet but I was thinking of doing it on the next fill up.

It may, not sure. I was more thinking for cleaning the tank, lines, rails, and injectors.

 

[MH24]

pressure stays around sixty even while driving

 

[Runnin'OnEmpty]

MH24, you mentioned checking the MAS, but how about
cleaning it? The sensor wires are heated, and will build up
a coating over time that will reduce power. The coating
is hardly noticable during a visual inspection, and a dirty MAS
won't set a code.

Might be worth the cost of a can of MAS cleaner and some time
just to rule that out......