Hello all! I'm new to the forums here, got a question for all you gear-heads that are more knowlegable than I:

I have a '99 Ranger, 4.0 L, 5 spd, 2WD with about 57,000 miles on it. Starting last week, I started getting a rough start if it was sitting for less than 2 hours after parking it. Engine runs for about a second, sounds like its going to stall, then continues with no problems, aside from a SLIGHT rough idle. It is beginning to have this problem every once in a while when disengaging the clutch.

A friend told me to buy Fuel injector cleaner, which I did. My question, though, is do you think it's bad enough where I should bring it to the mechanic to clean out, or what is the best brand of fuel injector cleaner to use? The kind I bought was Gumout, and I filled my tank with 93 octane.

I read somewhere on the net that the rough hot start is indicative of a LEAKY injector. How do I know? Thanks! :)

Take it to autozone and have them run the codes.

Pete

Take it to autozone and have them run the codes.

Pete

Brought it to mechanic instead: first, one guy tells me nothing's wrong with it (no errors on computer or no check engine light), then when I bring it back because of course it's still having the same problem (see first post), he says it's normal and not to worry about it.

Is this guy trying to screw me? He says it could be the idle control, because after giving it gas or starting it, it sounds like it's going to stall a couple times, then it evens itself out. Furthermore, they charged me $140 to tell me this, so now am I going to have to have this $200 part replaced in 3 months, further costing me more, when they could've just changed the damn thing today?

I'm really uneasy about this, anyone have an opinion? It just doesn't seem right...

If you need more info don't hesitate to ask.

I have a 97 similar problem on hot start but no turn over when I crank it. Battery and ignition are good so I'm going to spray cleaner down throttle body. I'm thinking bad thermister on hot start or could be just dirty enough to send wrong mixture.