P0301Trouble code for a 96 XLT Ranger

[cruzin 55]

A girl friend just got a 96 XLT w/ a 6 in it. the thing misfires real bad. acceleration is real choppy, etc. she had a friend of hers check it out and told her that the code that lit the check engine light, was a P0301. i checked the owners manual concerning misfires and it said that the truck needed to be run to operating temp 3 times. upon cranking it over on the 4th time, the light will go out & things will work fine. the light is still on & it still runs badly. i unhooked the battery for ~ 5 minutes to try to clear the code but that didn't work either. any suggestions??
thanks in advance, i know she will be stoked to get her truck running right

 

[rwenzing]

i checked the owners manual concerning misfires and it said that the truck needed to be run to operating temp 3 times. upon cranking it over on the 4th time, the light will go out & things will work fine.

The CEL will go out after three consecutive trips only if the problem causing it does not occur during those three trips. Unfortunately, engine problems don't magically fix themselves.

P0301 means that there is significant misfire associated with cylinder #1 (passenger side front cylinder). It is possible that it is caused by a mixture problem but more likely ignition. If it hasn't had new plugs and wires in a long while, it could be time now.