2003 Ford Ranger Repair Question
Mileage: No information provided.
2003 Ford Ranger Engine sqeals during acceleration and chec
Problem started will driving a round trip 1000 mile vacation. After about 700 miles of highway driving I noticed a sqealing noise will driving. Then the check engine light flashed, and I pulled over. After letting the car sit for a while, I started the engine up again and the check engine light came on and stayed on. The squeal gets higher in pitch the more the gas pedal is pressed down and eventually disappears. However if hard acceleration is needed to get up a hill, the check engine light begins to flash. I took the truck to Autozone where the diagnostic test resulted in PO304, PO305, and PO306. Ive gotten new spark plugs and I am waiting for the engine to cool down before changing them out. Anyone know what the problem could be? I would appreciate it a lot.
Asked by VtoutdoorddAnswer
The squealer could be a loose drive belt and for the misfire codes
Misfires can be caused by worn or fouled spark plugs, a weak spark (weak coil, bad spark plug wire), loss of compression, vacuum leaks, anything that causes an unusually lean fuel mixture (lean misfire), an EGR valve that is stuck open, dirty fuel injectors, low fuel pressure, or even bad fuel.
I changed the spark plugs. Almost all of them had the gapping wrong (not my doing). Anyways the truck seems to drive smoother with the new plugs, and on the highway I couldnt get it to misfire. The check engine light is still on and the squeal is still there. Got home and had my roommate rev the engine while I tried to find where the noise was coing from. It seems to be coming from the back part of the engine and on the driver's side. The same side that cylinders 4, 5, and 6, which the diagnostic test said were having problems, are on. I dont think that the squeal is coming form the belt in the front of the engine. When in the driveway with the car in neutral I coult get the rpms above 3000. Went back on the highway and got the rpms up to 4100, but the engine didnt like it when the transmission shifted gears around 3500. Any Ideas? Are the things listed very difficult to fix on my own.
Check the engine's compression and injectors on those cylinders.
is that hard to do and do you need special equipment to do it?
Here's the list that can cause your problem not only the compression and injectors see below-My advice is to bring it in-
Misfires can be caused by worn or fouled spark plugs, a weak spark (weak coil, bad spark plug wire), loss of compression, vacuum leaks, anything that causes an unusually lean fuel mixture (lean misfire), an EGR valve that is stuck open, dirty fuel injectors, low fuel pressure, or even bad fuel.
Thank you for your help, just trying to fix it myself.
yes, you will need a compression gauge to perform the test. You can get one from any auto part store. The job is not that difficult, remove one spark plug at a time and record the readings.
I have the same truck. Had a very similar squeal about a year ago, 60000 miles. The squeal was from the exhaust manifold on the drivers side. The manifold from the factory was made from three pieces pressed together, and the leak formed between two of the layers. As far as the mis-fire codes, do you have any lack of power on acceleration? If so, you may have a plugged catalytic converter. Had that problem just recently. The plugged catalyitic converters caused back pressure and missfires in 4, 5, and 6. Just some ideas for similar problems I had.