3.0 liter rough ad not fuel efficient

[Marcus Aurelius]

I recently bought a 2003 Ranger 2WD regular cab shortbed with a 3.0L engine and it just turned 97,000 miles. I know it is a truck and therefore will ride a little rougher, but I noticed that the engine is rough when idling. It also seemd to eat gas rather quickly for the smaller of the V6s offered on it and should do a little better. I was expecting 16-17 city, but it might be doing less than that. I'll have to wait until I fill it up a few times before I can calculate the mpg accurately.

What are some things I can do to help it run smoother and increase its gas mileage to where it should be, if there is a problem? I was thinking about changing to synthetic oil, installing a K&N air filter or intake, changing the spark plugs, and changing the fuel filter. Any other recommendations?

 

[medicbro2000]

I have a 2000 3.0 4wd that was doing the same thing. For the most part these engines are gutless. The problem I was having included a rough idle- which it still has a semi studder, but mostly a richer smelling exhaust. I found that overtime I was burning more fuel than I thought was necessary. These trucks are so poor for effenciency. My problem was found to be due to a bad flex fuel sensor. Once I changed it my rich smelling exhaust cleared up and she started burning less fuel.

Unfortunately I also changed almost every stinking pulley in the engine, new plugs, high flow air intake, and BOTH head gaskets! Biggest improvement I have found was the use of a JET performance module.

Unless your truck is throwing a code making the check engine light come on I would say it would be hard to diagnose what is making your truck rough. My guess would be something inline with the fuel system- Possibly flex fuel sensor if your vehicle is a flex fuel motor. It would be hard to determine that right now- I picked up a replacement flex fuel sensor from a junkyard for $100. Easy change out too.

not a bad idea to do those mods you suggested. They are fairly inexpensive and easy to do and can benefit your motor- definitly won't hurt it any. I haven't run synthetic on my truck cause I didn't think it was worth it but I have talked to a couple of guys who think it might do it some good.

Bottom line- 3.0L are gutless and are way underpowered and you have to make em work to go! Just keep doing what you can and watch your levels. Keep an eye open for that Check Engine light! Otherwise- just run it!

Good luck Buddy!

 

[Marcus Aurelius]

Thanks for your help.

I don't believe my 3.0L is flex fuel. Ford may have stopped producing that for the 2001-2003 engines.

I also just figured out the city mpg. I ended up getting around 15 mpg, alot better than I was expecting watching that gas gauge go down rather quickly.

Another problem I noticed. The engine seems to be heating up rather quickly and staying hot for long periods of time, even after short trips. I don't know if it's not getting enough air through the radiator or the air filter? I was thinking about also changing the engine coolant.

Any other suggestions to make it run smoother and cooler?

 

[medicbro2000]

Coolan Change is always a good idea. If your vehicle has close or over 100,000 miles on it and you've never changed the coolant- this can be bad. Coolant becomes acidic and can east away head gasketts and cause some serious problems as you may know- I had this happen So definetly give it a flush.

Running a bit hot... hmm, maybe check the thermostat too and possibly check your water pump to make sure thats running good. There is a hole on the exterior of the pump that will seep fluid if its bad. My 3.0 usually runs about the middle of the gauge for temp.

Yea flex fuel vehicles suck!!! What sucks even more is that now all fuels have mainly a 10% ethanol mix. While my flex fuel truck doesn't care, the rest of the components do and were't exactly made to keep up with that mixture. I'm waiting to see what rots out next in the fuels system- but I guess that is just a theory right now.

15 MPG is not bad for a 3.0L. These engines are really really poor and should not be in a truck. They are overworked!! I don't think you will see much better than that honestly. Mine gets 16 right now, and that is with a big Intake.

As far as your rough idle though- guess its hard to really say. As long as your fluid levels are good I would say you should be alright. Maybe if you want to be ambitious- change your fuel filter. Of course, always check your gas cap to make sure you have a good seal.

That's all I can think of-Coming from someone who has a 3.0L and has had some similar problems.

Good luck!!

 

[medicbro2000]

Ps- you could always go for a cooler running thermostat... not sure how low they go. 180?

 

[Marcus Aurelius]

Thanks for all your help