Hi, I have an engine that cylinders 5-8 are not firing. New engine should be Tuesday. Truck drives if I keep rpms low. I'd like to drive it Monday.

Could removing the spark plugs from that side of the engine help it run a bit smoother for a day?
Or am I just asking for more trouble?

 

are you sure it's not the COPS (coil over plugs)?



and why would you drive an engine that is only firing on half the cylinders?




you state you have a replacement engine arriving, do you have the issue resolved that caused the failure of the current engine?

 

Why bother with removing the plugs? That would generate some hellish noise. If it runs and you've a new one to replace it, seems to me the only fear you face is that A) you push the old engine further and it leaves u stranded B)you have to pay to have it towed home so you can swap motors.
Seriously, if you drive the thing in it's current condition your really running the risk of destroying the catalytic converters on it. If that happens your looking at about another $1K in uneeded repairs- why risk it?

 

Thanks guys. I had a feeling it was a bad idea. I'm hoping I can drive it the 10 miles to the engine shop.
I will have my CAA card and cell phone handy in case she goes completely.

I am getting the cat and exhaust manifolds from the engine donor truck as well. From what ford said, they were likely the cause of the original failure.

 

that doesn't make any sense...

 

Ya, I can be lousy at typed explanations.

My engine had 336000 kms. It was starting to tick and stutter a bit before it quit. I was told I needed to do the exhaust manifolds, I just kept putting it off.

After she died, ford told me my catalytic converter was shot.

The truck at the shop that I'm getting my engine from was a pretty sweet 08 5.4 SD with 60k miles on it.
I'm hoping to get as many decent parts as my old truck may need.
My truck is still at my house. I've driven about 30 miles since the engine blew, just very slowly. I plan to slowly drive her to the engine shop today.
A friend had told me removing spark plugs from the side with the bad cylinders may help it run smoother since the bad cylinders wouldn't be trying to fire.
CAA is Canada's version of AAA.


My truck is an 06 F250 xlt,5.4, ext cab 4x4.

 

I would not recommend removing the plugs. For cylinders 5-8, just unplug the connectors from each injector and from each COP.

 

Thanks Ta, that sounds a bit easier
Cheers

 

have they done a leak down test? or a compression check?

 

Good Thinking! I'd want numbers on both if possible. Do you have a procedure for the one's that partially running? Is it possible to chk the donor motor? I guess you could turn either over by hand if you had to. What kind of values should the comp. ck. return? Is it done dry or wet? What denotes a bad cylinder, variance from one cylinder to all others, i.e, 20% drop in pressure, or some other measure?

 

I don't believe so. They based their conclusion on the codes thrown by the PCM, and behavior of the truck.

 

What codes were present in ur trk prior to critical failure of the motor? Are you doing the swap or did you hire it out? If you wanted to share cost of replacement motor and labor for install it wouldnt hurt my feelings... I've priced new/Warrented, crate 5.4L, 3V on the East coast for around $2795 for long block, not including freight. I would do swap myself but am curious abt labor time involved. New fluids and filters would add some cost to the operation if not included. Other consideration would be exhuast, cats, etc, if old motor issues damaged them.

 

so stop being a sucker, there's a chance you're injectors aren't firing due to a wiring issue, even the COPS could stop firing due to the same thing




the possibilities are endless, and these "mechanics" are reading your sign and emptying your wallet with ease


and you're allowing it to happen

 

A 3-valve 5.4L with ticking followed by problems with cylinders 5-8 which are all on the same side of the engine. I would suspect cam phaser and VCT issues.

 

I agree with you. Mine ticks like a clock, lots of valve train noise at idle. Complicated system to contend with and expensive to throw parts at. Any sequential diagnostics you would employ to determine the culprit ? Chain may have jumped a tooth, phasers may be shot or solenoids could b bad. I really appreciate your comment and welcome ur suggestions.