What a turd..

[Ape]

Hey Fellas having problems with my ranger. She starts up fine but for the first couple of seconds it stutters(sp?) then idles good then when I get going it runs like shit doesn't want to speed up because its stuttering so bad. It'll do this for about 10 minutes then runs great all day then the next its the same thing.. thinking its a fuel pump but would like some advice before I start spending my dough.

Little info, 2000 Ranger XLT 4.0 v6 Automatic 230,000 miles.

Also I checked the ignition and the coil has great spark and the plugs look purty!

Thanks for any help fellas!

 

[Big Jim M]

First place to think about would be the temp sendor that sends the temp to the computer. If it is hung in the HOT position the computer will think the cold engine is hot and it won't run worth a shit till the engine actually does heat up.
There should be two sendors in the thermostat area. One is for the gauge and the other one is a temperture "switch" for the computer.
Big JIm

 

[Ape]

I bet your right.. I checked it out though and I've got the two. The one up top has 1 red wire and the second one is off to the right and has 2 wires black and white it looks like? I assume its the second one? Autozone says its 16 bucks so thats cool Thanks

 

[Bob Ayers]

First place to think about would be the temp sendor that sends the temp to the computer. If it is hung in the HOT position the computer will think the cold engine is hot and it won't run worth a shit till the engine actually does heat up.
There should be two sendors in the thermostat area. One is for the gauge and the other one is a temperture "switch" for the computer.
Big JIm

The coolant temperature sensor for the PCM is not a "switch", it is a variable resistor. The resistance drops as the temperature increases. And this sensor does have a 2 wire connector on it.

 

[Ape]

Ok so the temp sensor didn't work. I'm starting to think its a transmission problem. When in park I can rev it without a stutter but then again with it under load.. damn

Any more ideas? How bout a trans additive? My folks and trans problems on their 2001 Towncar dealership gave them some red crap to put it there and no problems since maybe I'll try that but keep the ideas coming!

 

[Ape]

Tried the red crap and it helped a little. Runs ok now but letting off the gas or at shifts it "clunks" likes its missing a gear or something. Still might be a engine control problem? Not sure worked on classics and diesels my whole life

 

[p38fln]

The clunking could be the splines in the drive shaft binding - it is a known issue on some of the newer Rangers. Ford came out with a new type of grease for this section of the drive shaft, you have to take the drive shaft off, take it apart, and clean out all of the old style grease, then apply the new style grease with a paint brush.

Mine clunks when I accelerate because of this, especially if its under a load and I switch from reverse to drive. I personally don't care enough about it to fix it, beyond finding out what the solution was.

 

[Ape]

A grease matters on a driveshaft spline? Never heard of that before. If that could be the problem its not on my truck rebuilt the rearend 6 months ago pulled the shaft replaced seals etc..

 

[p38fln]

It is listed as a known issue for the 2003 model year anyway, there's a TSB out on it. Thats where i got the info on mine - something about the splines binding together because Ford used crappy grease. They changed the grease formula for the newer models.

I have no idea why there is grease in there in the first place either, I never thought of it as a moving part.

 

[Ape]

Thats the weirdest thing I've ever heard of I've always put grease on there but never thought it served a real purpose other than furture ease of removal.

But on a good note got her "fixed" got the dealership to run diagnostics on her and came up all clear so figured I'd try some cheap things, got injector cleaner and some higher octane gas then drained a little trans fluid replaced with Sea Foam. Sat in park with the rpms at 3000 for a bit then went driving and ran her hard. Now life is good little rough shifts in the higher gears but useable! Hopefully she'll last threw building my house and thats all I care about.

Thanks for the ideas fellas

 

[bronco_lou]

I have no idea why there is grease in there in the first place either, I never thought of it as a moving part.

every bump you hit while driving the truck causes the driveshaft to move back and forth on the spline.

 

[Ape]

True but how does the back and forth movement mixed with wrong grease cause stutters? Has to be something with the rotation? But if the teeth match up on the spline then how does grease matter? Maybe I'm still confused on the whole idea.. Guess it could bind up/ doesn't slide back in and when it does it acts like a "stutter"?

 

[bronco_lou]

Well if the grease when it gets hot runs out then you have no grease and then the parts start to wear more rapidly. The grease was a possible fix for the clunking, pulling the codes from the computer is a good way to find out what could be causing the studders. Now maybe I am confused when this thread started there was a problem the engine running, correct?

Louis

 

[Ape]

Yea this thread went off the road. Ran my truck on the diagnostics machine and came up clear but got her running good enough to do her duty still trying to figure out exactly what the problem was though so I don't have to worry about this happening later down the road.

But on a good note got her "fixed" got the dealership to run diagnostics on her and came up all clear so figured I'd try some cheap things, got injector cleaner and some higher octane gas then drained a little trans fluid replaced with Sea Foam. Sat in park with the rpms at 3000 for a bit then went driving and ran her hard. Now life is good little rough shifts in the higher gears but useable! Hopefully she'll last threw building my house and thats all I care about.

 

[p38fln]

Just a thought here - if it has 230,000 miles has it *EVER* had a transmission service? I mean just the standard drain and replace of the fluid and filter - I had mine serviced at 60,000 miles and it made a major difference in shift smoothness. I would be in shock if it made it to 230,000 without ever having a filter/fluid change, but stranger things have happened.