2002 B3000 Lurching/Cutting out at higer rpm.

[moldyoak]

Hello, I have a 2002 mazda B3000 manual transmission 4x4 3.0 with 73k miles that I recently purchased literally 2 weeks ago. It has been running perfectly until the other night when driving back up into the mountains from Denver I was running it in the higher rpms (nothing too high around 5000 range) while going uphill and it started violently lurching or cutting out of power completely and would come back to normal when I let off the gas and ran it low rpms. It has since this point been lurching like this any time I accelerate above 3000 rpm or so in the middle gears. I first put some heet in, which did nothing. I then today took it to autozone to have it hooked up to a code reader, no code: pass. which makes sense since i have seen no check engine light at all.

It has been raining quite a bit the past few days, and I did drive through some large puddles here and there, this has me thinking maybe I have water in my distributor cap? But I wanted to get some insight from people who know a lot more about this sort of thing than I do. I am also really broke from buying this truck and cannot afford to take my car to a shop for a few weeks till I get caught up on some financial issues.

So here is my summary, again.
2002 b3000 manual xmission 3.0 4x4 73k

Driving uphill higher rpm, truck started lurching or cutting out. Been cutting out in mid-high rpms ever since.

No codes, check engine light has not come on.



thank you for your time in this, I really appreciate any advice you can lend.


-moldyoak

 

[Tbars4]

...You shouldn't have a distributor cap..
Edit: It shows that the 3.0 may have a distributor...:scratch:

...This sounds like a fuel pressure problem which could include:

1) Dirty Fuel Filter
2) Fuel Pump going bad
3) Fuel pressure Regulator

...This is taking into account that your truck has newer and properly gapped plugs, newer wires, and is in good mechanical order...

 

[moldyoak]

thank you for the reply, I will look into these suggestions and post my results.


I will go ahead and check the distrib cap anyways, can't hurt I suppose.

 

[Tbars4]

...Do me a big favor please...

...Take a pic under your hood so I can see the location of the distributor...Everything I read shows it could have both/either a coil pack or distributor...

...Is your engine a Flex Fuel motor???

 

[medicbro2000]

I was going to ask the same question- Flex Fuel Motor?? I have a 2000 3.0 XLT FLEX FUEL...

If the flex fuel sensor or otherwise id'd as "Fuel Compensation Sensor" is "malfunctioning" then you have yourself a nice pain in the A** problem like I do.

Flex Fuel Sensor's are $600 through a dealership only... there are SOME alternatives, but not much. I hope you don't have flex fuel. Makes things a bit easier....

Lets say you DO have flex Fuel, and your sensor is going, it SHOULD throw a
P0176 code, but chances are since you don't have anything coming on you are okay as far as that goes...

Symptoms you described sound a lot like mine...

GOOOD LUCK!

 

[moldyoak]

NO flex fuel.

I will work on the distro cap picture. I can tell you roughly it is in the middle/back lefthand side of the engine compartment. Not all the way back but you get the idea.

I am pretty sure it is a distributor cap, I mean I am far from a mechanic but it sure looks like a distributor cap. I am not sure it is a water issue though at this point. I would have dried by now you think and the truck is still doing it.

I have narrowed it down to about 3500 RPM it starts to lurch, but it is odd it seems like it will do it in every gear but first, which I can rev well past 3500... The other gears it will lurch and cut out every time above 3500, no exception. And you cannot work through it, you either shift up to lower RPM or it just keeps on cutting out and lurching.. This really sucks but I will figure it out in time I hope.

 

[Tbars4]

...I would definitely get your codes read even though the CEL is not on,,,You will at least have stored codes that can be read and brought back here...

 

[yellowford]

We used to have a 98 with the 3.0L and it was distributorless so I'm assuming yours would be as whell since Ford changed over in 95. Which would rule out water in your distributor, and if that is what you had it would dry out anyways.