Ok to start here are the specs- 99 ford ranger133,000 miles- 2wd-coil front end- 3.0l on a two month old tranny.


i just went to the desert this weekend, and half way through the trip the truck started acting funny(when the truck is in drive and I press the gas the truck, instead of proceding forward, begins to spudder and hardly move, and it smells like gas). Seemd like the torque converter isnt working, So right as I noticed it i started looking at the truck and noticed that under the truck there was a wire hanging.I found out it was the wires coming off the secondO2 sensor, so i was thinkin ok there my problem, replaced the O2 sensor and wire, only to find out that it did nothing. So i put a code scanner in my truck to find out that i have like 10-15 different codes, so i cleared them to find out that only one still pops up. It a code for the torque converter clutch electrical. so i brought it to a tranny shop and they said they couldnt diagnos it because the truck doesnt run right beacuase the catalytic converters went bad when i drove it home(due to the low end spit and spudder and subsequint gas overload?). not to sure what to do. Bc i dont want to get new catalytic converters, just to have my truck run like **** again and have the cats go bad again.

Sorry this is so long, but the truck is nearly undriveably, and I need some assistance. Thanks in advance for anyone who reads this whole thing.
Sincerely Garrett.

 

morning bump- this truck needs some help

 

Well, excess fuel will cause the converters to burn hot and melt them down. This will cause the exhaust not to exit the engine resulting it running like crap. As far as the excess fuel, it's possible that the diaphram in your fuel regulator went south. Thgis will cause the engine to run like crap. Pull the vacuum line off of the fuel regulator and check for fuel in the line. If there is, then the diaphram is failed and yue need a new fuel regulator for starters. Then you'll need to perform a vacuum test to see if the cats are actually trashed before proceeding.

 

ok sounds good, the help is much appreciated. I will let you know.

 

Also, how old are the plugs and wires? If old w/LOTS'O miles, might want to replace those also.

 

ok but the thing is, is that it cleans out after about 25 mph. So it makes me wonder about the torque converter.

 

it was a fuse. Thanks for the help though.

 

Garrett2323- Just an FYI, if you expereince a bucking, hesitation over 3000rpm on the 3.0, it can be a sign that the syncro is failing. Ford does not register diagnostic on the syncro over 2500rpm. The TSB in general says to check knock sensor pluses for high count. I had this issue and chased it for weeks.