NEED HELP. 2000 Ford Ranger 3.0L V6 RWD Stalling problem

[Mikeshepard505]

Make

Ford

Model

Ranger

Year

2000

Miles

147k

Engine

3.0L V6

Hey guys, another thread about my ranger sucking, lol. This ones an ongoing problem BUT, only in the summer. I live here in New Mexico so it’s about 90degrees+ every single summer. Whelp I bought the truck back in August last year and it was still high 80’s. Everytime I’d run my a/c and drive the highway, I’d get off an exit and my truck would stop giving gas and gauges would start flipping out and the truck would completely stall, couldn’t even turn the steering wheel. As far as I was concerned the problem stopped in the winter, winter was below freezing everyday for months and my truck had no problems. Whelp it’s summer time again and here we are again, driving I-40 at 80mph, a/c running, and exiting off ramps and STALLING. My main concern is this will start before I get off the highway and my truck will stop giving gas but not completely stall going 75mph+ but it will slow down on its own and it gradually gets worse the more I’m driving my truck with the a/c and driving often in this heat. Any help here would be greatly appreciated, I can list everything I’ve replace in almost the last year and the problems I know of right now. truck has 147k miles.

 

[Mikeshepard505]

Work done on the ranger since August-
•New heater hoses (old ones blew on me on the highways)
•New brake pads/rotors on the front
•New bearings and seals front and rear
•New Rear abs sensor (abs light and emergency brake lights constantly on, have not figured out the problem on either)

Current problems are-
•Abs light/emergency brake light constantly on
•Rear drums a worn incorrectly/pads also in thin condition
•have a master cylinder that leaks below the reservoir and brake fluid leaks past the fire wall onto the brake pedal inside the cab
•upper and lower ball joint are pretty bad and cause a vibrating at 60-70mph
•alignment is off and slightly pulls to the left

All of these problems don’t seem like they could make my truck stall as far as I know, and I don’t have any other ongoing problems that are of huge concern.

 

[grcauto]

Clean the throttle body and make sure to get the IAC valve good as well.

 

[Mikeshepard505]

Clean the throttle body and make sure to get the IAC valve good as well.

I’m actually way ahead of you on that, mass air flow sensor has been cleaned, throttle body, and iac valve was thoroughly cleaned and air filter replaced. Gonna try replacing the fuel filter because I’m not sure what else can make it stall like it does

 

[Mobile Dan]

Tell us what happens after the stall. The rest of the story. Restarts immediately, then no more problem? Hard to restart? Tow truck?

 

[billr]

Rather than throwing a fuel filter at it, spend the money on a fuel pressure gauge and see if there is really a problem. If fuel pressure is dropping off as it dies, then you have to consider the pump and its wiring, as well as the filter. Tracing an intermittent bad fuel pressure can be real tedious, and may require some cleverness tapping the gauge into various points of the fuel system; but it will cost less than just blindly replacing things.

I also urge you to use live-data, look for what changes suddenly as the engine dies. Look for unrealistic values for ECT, IAT, MAP, rpm, MAF, baro, and TP

 

[Mikeshepard505]

Tell us what happens after the stall. The rest of the story. Restarts immediately, then no more problem? Hard to restart? Tow truck?

I usually stop it completely off the side of the road, and have to flip it into park, then kick it back over and it starts up just fine. It’s always the same pattern though, highway drive with the a/c on in high heat and the truck will bog and won’t let me give it gas and it will completely stall. Just before it stalls all the gauges flip out. When it’s not the summer, if I drive the truck for about 3-4 hours straight when I come to a complete stop the oil gauge flips alll over the place strangely and my friend at Napa said their ranger does the same thing before it’s put in park at a complete stop.

 

[Mikeshepard505]

Rather than throwing a fuel filter at it, spend the money on a fuel pressure gauge and see if there is really a problem. If fuel pressure is dropping off as it dies, then you have to consider the pump and its wiring, as well as the filter. Tracing an intermittent bad fuel pressure can be real tedious, and may require some cleverness tapping the gauge into various points of the fuel system; but it will cost less than just blindly replacing things.

I also urge you to use live-data, look for what changes suddenly as the engine dies. Look for unrealistic values for ECT, IAT, MAP, rpm, MAF, baro, and TP

Honestly it’s just a matter of hit and miss with the rangers all the time, i could get the fuel pressure gauge as well when I get the fuel filter, might as well anyways since the fuel filter is cheap BUT everything on this ranger is original and it’s as old as me. So I’m always replacing things since it never got tlc.

 

[NickD]

"Just before it stalls all the gauges flip out."

Sounds more like an electrical problem, gauges are electrical.