2001 Ford Ranger Clanking and hesitation while going up hil

STAGPIT

MEMBER
2001 FORD RANGER
6 CYL
2WD
MANUAL
150,000 MILES

Greetings,

I have a few suspicions about the root cause of my issue and wanted to toss it around some pros for opinions.

Here goes: The truck runs just fine going up hills of about 3 % incline, but anything other than that causes a moderate to awful clattering noise while I am accelerating - Note: My RPM is within normal range. I also notice a smell like burning matches in the cab when it does this. The truck maintains the current speed during all of this but is VERY hesitant to accelerate until it is on level ground again. All of this usually occurs around 50mph.
Also, if I ride a gear (1st, 2nd and 3rd) until about 3.75k to 4k the car actually jerks until I shift.

I think the clattering noise could be due to the engine not getting the correct gas/air ratio or perhaps a clog that can only be observed when more power is required. The jerking when in low ger with higher RPM could be ____?

I am going to clean the MAF sensor and change the fuel filter for the power issue. I have no idea what to check for the gearing issue. Heck, they may be related.

Any suggestions?

2 Replies

MASTERTECHTIM

MECHANIC
4,749 POSTS

Yoou seem like your on the right track. Also try unplugging maf and see if you can achieve higher rpms on test drive. Also check cat converter for restriction. Try removing o2 sensor and road test, this will eliminate back pressure and let you know if its the converter.