99 Ranger 3.0 misfire after head gasket job. - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

okracefan · 06-01-2009, 20:07

It has 152,000 on it. Daughter got ir very warm but not hot due to head gaskey starting to leak. Change head gasket, thermostat, water pump, and the flushed radiator. Whe we got the motor back together I have a rough misfire.

I pulled the plugs to check for coolant in the cyclinders which looked dry. there was no sign of coolant burn on the plugs My mechanic said that it feels more like a ignition misfire than a coolant misfire.

I am not loosing any coolant at this time and the tempature is staying steady at halfway in the normal range.

My mechanic (brother) is lost on this issue. He thinks it maybe a partially plug injector.

Thank You

**360ci** · 06-02-2009, 18:12

If there aren't any engine codes, you can (cheap attempt here) is to replace the coil. I've never known anyone to know how a 'coolant misfire' feels like. Interesting. I've replaced a few heads/plenums/intakes over the last decade and have noticed that you have to drive the vehicle 5-50 miles for everything to 'seat' properly and run smoothly. Otherwise the only thing I can think of is some crap fell into one of the cylinders while installing the head.

okracefan · 06-02-2009, 18:53

I did replace the Cam sensor (loks like distributor shaft) a coupel of years ago an d i did not get it lined up properly and it is setting a code for that.

there was no mis before I put in the new headset now it has a mis.

**jwko** · 06-02-2009, 22:14

If you have a compression gauge, I would run a compression test and see what going on there.

okracefan · 06-05-2009, 19:54

Compression test was done, the #4 cyclinder was a little weak.
When we took the heads off We did not cover the piston cyclinders. I live in Oklahoma which can get very humid sometimes. We had a couple of days were it got so humid that 20+ year old concrete was sweating inside the garage, the humidity in the air was very thick. We noticed that there was some small rust build up in the cyclinders which we did not clean off assuming that the oil would take of it.

Well when my brother did the compression test it showed weak but he put some oil in the cyclinder and the compression was good.

Do I need to take the engine apart again and hon the cyclinders walls and put new rings in this thing?

Thank you

**jwko** · 06-05-2009, 20:31

How did cylinder 4 compare to the others pressure wise? Did you happen to write down the readings, if so please post them. What was the pressure reading in #4 after squirting then oil in the cylinder.

I live right around Ft.Smith and heck yes, it's getting hot.

okracefan · 06-06-2009, 11:05

He only tested the ciylinder that had the rust in it. The pressure without teh oil put in the plug hole was at 60psi, after puting some oil in the hole it went up to 90psi.

Sound like tear down is going to have to be done to clean up the cyclinders, new rings, another new gasket set (no miles on this set) and head bolts. Will check the bearings to see if they need replaced.

**360ci** · 06-07-2009, 07:06

Damn thats not good! Rebuilds aren't the best to do. I think if I had to do a rebuild, I'd get a block that's already to go. you pay a bit more for it of course, but it's nearly ready to drop in. Jasper Engines has some available with a 3yr warranty, unless of course you have the time and patience to do the build yourself :)