I just bought a 2001 ranger, 3.0l V6 truck. Just recently the heater hose blew apart so I replaced it and everything worked fine until I drove home and the check engine light started flashing. I got home and plugged in the computer to my truck and it sais cylinder 1 misfire, so I replaced all the spark plugs. That didn't fix the problem, so I switched the cylinder 1 wire with the cylinder 2 wire and it still says cylinder 1 misfire. Ive looked up a few things and I'm thinking about replacing the fuel injectors. Is there anything I should know about fuel injectors? Do I need to have them taken to a mechanic to have them checked out? Im in serious need of help if anyone has any insight on this problem, it would be very much appreciated. Thanks.

 

Welcome to the forum

So you bought the 2001 Ranger 3.0l and drove it for...........................how long before heater hose leaked?

And how hot did the engine get?
3/4 on temp gauge, full HOT??

So after it overheated is when cylinder 1 misfire started

I would test compression first, on at least 3 cylinders including #1

It is very very rare for a fuel injector to fail out right

Also reverse #1 and #5 spark plug wires on the Coil pack, they should be right next to each other
See if misfire moves to #5, if so coil pack is bad

#1 and #5 share the same coil in the coil pack, they both spark at the same time

As do 2 and 6
and 3 and 4

Thats why the firing order on the coil pack is the way it is
1 2 3
5 6 4

 

I drove it for about a month before the heater hose blew out. Ill try this out, thank you .

 

And it overheats all the way

 

You may want to check for head gasket/cracked head then

Glove test, its FREE, how-to here: https://www.ranger-forums.com/4-0l-o...sensor-157397/

If #1 blew gasket then Glove will bounce, and thats why its not firing

 

Now Im getting a P0171 code, it says the engine is too lean? I dont know where to start, alot of different sources say what to replace but I dont want to waste money not to fix the problem, also the oil gage doesnt stay where it should. I know there's oil in there but it doesnt stay where it should, i dont know if this is related but any info would really help me out. Thanks

 

So how do the Glove test go?

Did the P0301 code go away?

and what was the problem?


Lean and Rich codes do not mean the engine is actually running Lean or Rich

Codes are in computerese, with poor english translations, or good english translations if you are an autoparts store that sells sensors, lol.

Lean code means computer is opening the fuel injectors longer on the passenger side of the V6 engine(bank 1) that it thinks it should

Computer calculates open time for fuel injectors based on air flow data, air temp, and throttle position
It then opens the injectors for that length of time, say 100ms(milliseconds)
It then gets feed back from the O2 sensors on the oxygen levels in the exhaust after the air and gasoline are burned

The O2 sensor on the passenger side showed a higher oxygen level(lean burn) so computer opened injectors on that "Bank" of the engine 102ms, then 104ms, then 106ms, up to about 120ms which takes about 2 seconds, and 120ms means computer calculation was 20% off

At +20% difference the computer will set a "Lean Code" to notify driver of a problem, -20% would be Rich code
The computer keeps running the injectors at +20% so engine isn't actually running lean

So the Lean code means there is an error in the calculations, and as with all computers this phrase applies, "garbage in = garbage out"
It means Computers rarely may mistakes in calculations, which is really all they actually do, lol.
With Lean codes it usually means you have unreported air coming in to the engine, a Vacuum Leak, so computer is getting garbage air data, doesn't include ALL the air, so calculation is off because of that.


But....................if you still have a misfire on #1 then that could be the Lean code
What happens when a cylinder fires..................the gasoline and the AIR get burned up
So on a misfire...............all the AIR gets dumped into the exhaust pipe
And the O2 sensor on that bank sees all the AIR, all that Oxygen.............so Lean exhaust, even though it is not Lean, its a misfire

So did you fix the #1 misfire?