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1996 Ford Ranger 4.0 V6 have codes P0306 and P0174 need some advice please

Tiny
PCMENTOR29
  • MEMBER
  • 1996 FORD RANGER
  • 180,000 MILES
P0306 Cylinder 6 Misfire Detected and P0174 System too Lean (Bank 2)

I think I should check next the intake gasket but I need some help with the type of test. Using starting fluid or propane I just can't seem to hear engine changes. Is there some trick to doing vacuum leak checks this way?

Should I try spraying water? Hard to see under the plenum. Should I try to make a smoke machine from a Party smoke machine $29? Would a smoke machine show an intake manfold gasket leak?

Cylider six is in Bank two on the engine.

Compression of Cyl6 is 180, good. Plug wire measures correct ohms. New spark plug. Injector connector passed noid test. I am wanting to try the intake troubleshoot before I replace injector 6. Also the spark plug #6 looked wet after the motor ran a little. There is no vacuum in the crankcase when running so no internal leak.

Any advice you can give would be great. Thanks.
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Sunday, June 24th, 2012 AT 6:45 AM

76 Replies

Tiny
SATURNTECH9
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You can use a party smoke machine but you need a fish pump to pressurize the smoke. You would have to get a 5 gallon plastic bucket with lid. Remove the filter from the fish pump place the pump into the bottom of the bucket. Cut a hole for the plug then seal around the plug. Then cut a hole for the nozzle of the smoke machine nozzel to feed smoke into the bucket. Then seal the bucket where the nozzel goes in. Put the lid on and start the pump and smoke machine up. You can find all kinds of things with smoke oil leaks blow by vacuum leaks even a leaking intake gasket.
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Sunday, June 24th, 2012 AT 6:55 AM
Tiny
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Thanks for the smoke device guide, I think I will try it.
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Sunday, June 24th, 2012 AT 8:59 AM
Tiny
PCMENTOR29
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Can you tell me do I take the output of the fish pump through the bucket wall and connect to the plenum on the car? So the smoke is pumped by the fish pump? Should I get the Fog machine for $39 or $69?
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Sunday, June 24th, 2012 AT 9:45 AM
Tiny
SATURNTECH9
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Yes you put the outtlet of the fish pump thru the bucket forgot to mention that.I would probablly get a 700 watt machine pump the smoke into the brake booster hose without the check valve on it.
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Sunday, June 24th, 2012 AT 9:59 AM
Tiny
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It's between fog machines Chauvet h1100, h900, or h700. I would pick the h700 but the specs say it's only 450 watts. By 700 wats did you mean the h700 would be adequate? Thanks
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Sunday, June 24th, 2012 AT 10:24 AM
Tiny
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Which fish pump sounds good to you? Tetra 77854 Whisper Air Pump, 60-Gallon, or the 40 gallon, or the 10 gal, or even the 100 gal?
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Sunday, June 24th, 2012 AT 10:27 AM
Tiny
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The three models watts are h1100=700 watts, h900 and h700 both are 400watts. Please let me know. Thanks
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Sunday, June 24th, 2012 AT 10:35 AM
Tiny
PCMENTOR29
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The output of them is: h700 Output: 1,500cfm, h900 4500 cfm, h1100 is 8000cfm. Thanks for helping me with this.
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Sunday, June 24th, 2012 AT 10:40 AM
Tiny
SATURNTECH9
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The higher output of each one get the better it will work it all depends on how much you want to spend on your machine.I would atleast go middle of the road on each one.
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Sunday, June 24th, 2012 AT 3:58 PM
Tiny
PCMENTOR29
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I ordered middle of the road fog and pump. I saw the Smoke Pro and the can is a lot smaller than a 5 gallon bucket. Could I use a smaller bucket? I have a two gal metal bucket that seals tight. I was thinking of making a wooden rack to put this assembly into. Maybe on wheels.
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Tuesday, June 26th, 2012 AT 9:05 AM
Tiny
SATURNTECH9
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The smoke machine goes on the outside of the bucket and feeds smoke into bucket thru a pvc pipe. The fish pump goes inside the bucket to feed presurized smoke out of the bucket. The larger the bucket the more smoke that can be stored to be released.
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Tuesday, June 26th, 2012 AT 1:45 PM
Tiny
PCMENTOR29
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This problem still exists (misfire on #6), unable to drive. What kind of intake vacuum should I get and what reading would indicate a bad intake manifold gasket? I don't want to replace the injector if it's not the problem. I have the parts for the smoke machine but haven't assembled them yet.

Also the upgrade question is missing at the top of this question. You might let the webmaster know this.

Pete
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Wednesday, December 12th, 2012 AT 1:37 PM
Tiny
SATURNTECH9
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You cant use a vacuum gauge to see a manifold or another vacuum leak or even that you may have one. The smoke is the best way to find leaks works really well.I was using the one like you were going to build. Now I built a different one with a old metal paint sprayer glow plug fish pump and some mineral oil. Works even better so you only have a cyl6 missfire code now?
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Wednesday, December 12th, 2012 AT 4:39 PM
Tiny
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I will build it, should be by next month. Thanks Saturn tech especially as a sounding board for my Toyota Avalon EGR VSV problem. Pete
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Wednesday, December 12th, 2012 AT 5:19 PM
Tiny
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Your welcome oh yeah I remember the Toyota who could forget that one lol. Also wanted to mentioned that a ohms test isnt a totally valid test for spark plug wires. In some cases yes but I have ohm tested plenty of wires as good and turned out to be bad. Something to think about.
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Wednesday, December 12th, 2012 AT 5:36 PM
Tiny
PCMENTOR29
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Thanks for the info. I also tested the spark with it plugged in and againt a ground. Strong Spark. Also I got a really strong spark using one of those spark checkers where you unscrew the bolt and the spark jumps the distance. I have not driven it for 6 months but the P0174 did not surface each time the P0306 did but I thinks the P0174 code may be significant to the problem. One reason I am not rushing to change the #6 injector and wanting to smoke test it. I was looking at some used paint sprayers with the bottom cup. They go for around $20 on Ebay. I was thinking I could mount a glow plug 12V in it and put a hose on the other opening. I had a painter cup I gave away that had a screw top I think that would be better than the clamp tops. Thanks, Pete
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Wednesday, December 12th, 2012 AT 6:22 PM
Tiny
SATURNTECH9
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Yeah I have the screw top one and put two nipple at the top of the can one for the fish pump and one for the smoke outlet. Also put the glow plug on the bottom center of the can.I will get you the ac delco part number of the glow plug I used its self limting. Also a spark plug wire will break down from the load of the engine and heat where it might not show on a spark test.A spark test is just basically to tell if the engine has spark.
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Wednesday, December 12th, 2012 AT 6:43 PM
Tiny
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Could it be the spark plug wire? That would be fantastic! I may have gotten the lifetime ones on this truck a while back. I can exchange them for new if I did. I will call now. Thanks
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Wednesday, December 12th, 2012 AT 6:48 PM
Tiny
SATURNTECH9
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The glow plug part number is 60g yes the wire could be bad causing the P0306. If you have the duralast wires they dont seem to hold up to long. Let me know what you find.
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Wednesday, December 12th, 2012 AT 7:15 PM
Tiny
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I had a whole paragraph written here but lost it when I tried to add images. I will post a little later. Thanks, Pete
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Thursday, December 13th, 2012 AT 4:31 AM

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