Welcome to Ford40.com (or Ford 4L or Ford 4.0, whatever you want to call it.) I've been driving a 4.0 V6 OHV equipped Ranger for 10 years now and am very surprised at how little info there is on the net for this engine/vehicle combination. So I put up this site to let others know what I've learned. In those 10 years, I've also made some mods to my Ranger that would be good for any Ranger, Explorer or SportTrac with the 4L V6 engine, and I've included them as well.
Common problems and solutions:
Modifications:
Resources:
I bought the PVC fittings here.
I bought some flex PVC pipe here.
I bought my clone golf clubs here.
I bought the headers & MAS here.
I bought my truck tires here.
What I believe & why:
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Hesitation, sputtering, & bogging - HOT!
If your Ford 4.0 is having trouble accelerating from a dead stop, or gaining speed to pass, with hesitation, sputtering, etc. the most likely culprit is a dirty or "worn out" Mass Air Sensor (MAS). See the pictures below. Ford says you can't clean them. I used to believe them, until I tried white vinegar. I have now been driving around for 1.5 years after cleaning the MAS with White Vinegar and the truck drives like it was brand new. No more sputtering or hesitation. Brakecleen and carb cleaner have never lasted this long. The truck has 90K miles on it and had a K&N filter since day one. I just saved $300!:-)
To clean your MAS, first thing to do is to identify it. See the picture below. Now disconnect the wiring harness. Next use the special "security torx bit" to remove the two screws that hold it in. I found a set at an Ace Hardware. Some automotive parts stores carry them too. Once you remove them, just pull up on the MAS and be very careful not to damage the filaments. Do not use a brush or touch the filaments in any way. Blast off the big junk with compressed air (gently) and then soak in white vinegar for several hours. Just situate the MAS over a container so that it sits on the edges and the filaments hang down into the liquid. (See picture below.) Let soak for about 8 hours. Blast with air again and let dry. Reinstall MAS. Fire up the truck and you should be good to go.
Location of the Mass Air Sensor (MAS)
The special tool you'll need to remove it.
MAS soaking in white vinegar. Just the filaments are in the liquid.
If you look at that last picture you will note little droplets of a liquid. That's white vinegar. It's my latest attempt at cleaning the MAS instead of buying a new one. Soaking in white vinegar for 8 hours has worked better than any other cleaning method I've tried, and is infinitely cheaper than buying a new one! :-)
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