Hello all, new signup to the site but have use it often.
Sorry for the lengthy story, but I believe you need to know the history to help me.
I have a 1997 E150 Econoline Club Wagon conversion van.
Was traveling from West Virginia to Florida over the weekend.
Got to Daytona beach Sunday evening. Drove around Daytona Sunday evening and everything was OK.
Monday morning left Daytona for Kissimmee.
Noticed speedometer and odometer (analog) was not working.
Got on the interstate, and no cruise.
Stopped in Orlando to have it checked out.
Noticed it start missing and quitting and shifting funky.
It ran OK out on the interstate but give me fits in town.
Took it to two transmission shops and neither could work on it.
They did say it was electrical and the miss would be associated to the speedometer and cruise not working.
Thought I would try and drive on into Kissimmee, 60 miles, to the campground we are staying at and go from there.
Got here OK, but it continued missing and quitting, etc, around town. Ran better on the interstate.
Did some online research Monday.
I got an Actron Pocket Scan Plus and pulled the codes.
P0500, P1131, P0171, P0174, P0705, P0708 and P1151.
The P0171 and P0174 I have had for a lont time, but the van ran OK.
Came up with the VSS malfunctioning.
First thought it was the sensor on the rear end and pulled it out and cleaned it up. It had some metal buildup on the magnet, but cleaned up OK. Put it back and tried it, no change.
Then came across the real culprit. The VSS on the upper tail, drivers side of the transmission.
Pulled it. The bolt was loose that held it in. Found the plastic gear that slides over the end of the shaft had teeth worn off on one side about 2/3 of the way back. Put it back in and tightened the bolt as much as I could, I think it had stripped out the aluminum in the transmission. It would snug up but not get real tight. Went to get a new sensor and noticed on the way the speedometer and cruise started working OK. But still missing and quitting, though acted different. Seems to be shifting better when I can keep it running. Ran OK on the highway, just give me fits around town.
The new VSS did not come with the plastic wheel and clip that holds it on the shaft. We searched for the part in their database, but could not find it.
Since the speedomoter is now working, I am thinking the old wheel will work for a while. Installed the new sensor at the parts store, disconnected positive post of battery for a couple minutes. Drove back to campground
still missing.
Pulled codes again and got a new one. P0136, along with P1131 and P1151.
Took yesterday off.
Starting back on it this morning.
From some research, the P0136 indicates a possible connection on one of the Oxygen sensors.
Maybe I knocked some thing loose and going to check that first thing.
Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Denver

 

If the oxygen sensors look ok, look for anything loose in the engine compartment. Either the oxygen sensor is bad, loose wire or plug, or there is something going on with the engine causing it to run rich or lean. Like a hose that has popped off, hose to the fuel regulator, etc.

 

Thanks Dave, checked O2 sensors and wiring, everything looks OK. Couldn't see any hoses off, but on a van, you can only see so much w/o tearing things apart.
Based on the codes, and what I have read, decided to go ahead and replace all 3 O2 sensors. 115k miles and never been replaced. Read maintenance wise it is good idea to replace after 100k.
On my way to get parts, speedometer went out again. I didn't think the bolt would hold very long in the transmission, but thought it would hold longer than it did.
I have got to find that plastic gear that goes on the end of the VSS, but can't find the part number for it yet. It is held on the VSS by a clip and looks kinda like a squirrel cage on a furnace, but the fins are angled somewhat.

 

You might want to try a transmission shop somewhere for the gear. I had a turbo 350 that quit shifting, pulled the servo out of the side and it also had a plastic gear on it. It reminded me of a speedo gear, the type on the older cable drive mechanical speedos. The teeth on the gear were worn down and then they stripped. I went to a local transmission repair shop and they had one in stock.

 

Yeah, had to do some research to identify which gear I needed. The part was 17271, but they make several variations with a different number of teeth on the gear. Based on your gear ratio. Found the right one and called two Ford garages. Per their database part was obsolete. Had to order it online and now waiting on it to come in.
Have, or had, two issues. The other was the code P0136. Replaced the 02 sensor after the catalytic converter and the P0136 code went away. Runs better, just won't idle or shift well until I get the speedo problem fixed. I think.... Thanks for your help.

 

OK, here is where I am at.
Got the gear for the VSS and replaced it. Speedometer now works and it shifts Ok.
P0136 code came back. I replaced all three 02 sensors, thinking I fixed that problem. Used the same 02 sensor for all three, the front two and the back one. Read multiple places where they were universal. Noticed that Motorcraft sells a different one for the downstream than the two upstream ones, so went to Ford garage today and got it and put it on. Still have the P0136 code, along with a P1131 and P1152.
The van is cutting out at low speed. Will idle OK, but when I give it a little gas it quits. Once I punch it down half throttle it will take off. Can feel a bad miss at around 50, most of the time. Occasionally it will clear up and run smooth, then start spitting and sputtering again. At idle, once I rev it up a couple times, it will set there and idle forever. But once I give it a little gas, it quits.
Any thoughts on this?
Thanks in advance, Denver

 

The oxygen sensor codes are just a product of a larger problem is what I am thinking. Normally the oxygen sensors swing rich and then lean, the computer varying the air to fuel ratio continually. If the sensors start reading rich all the time, or lean all the time, and the computer can't change the fuel amount to correct it, it will spit out a oxygen sensor code.

But there are many other things that can cause a rich or lean condition that can't be corrected. A very large vacuum leak would cause a very lean condition. A fuel regulator that is leaking can cause a very rich condition. I am not sure, but I am thinking a set of lousy worn out set of sparkplugs or wires could possibly cause enough miss-firing to cause a rich condition.

Something else is wrong. The first thing you need to do is figure out is it running rich or lean. I don't think you have any other codes but if you do, concentrate on them, if you have some other bad sensor it could cause the engine to run rich or lean. If you do not have any other codes, I would look for a hose that has fallen off or has cracked or worn through, I would pull the hose off the fuel regulator and see if it has fuel in it.

 

I used to have a 97 F150 with the 4.6. It used to misfire about every 6 months. What I think was happening is that moisture somehow got underneath the spark plug boot and rusted the plug which inhibited the connection. It rarely threw a misfire code, but I did get a few "rich" codes. I must have changed the spark plugs about 3 times before I finally just coated the whole set in dielectric grease. After that, it seemed fine.