Shoulda bet on it steve. I put the new plugs in and she did the same thing: started and ran like crap for 10 seconds, sounds like its full of gravel haha. Then died and wont start.

Shoulda kept my money in my pocket on this one.

Thanks everyone who replied and tried to help. I dont think i have it in me (or my bank account) to keep throwing parts atthis pos.

 

Well of course the spark plugs didn't help with timing issues. Not that new plugs won't hurt anything, but no reason to give up. I confirmed to you a very similar barrage of codes in my rig resulted from a bad (but new) VCT solenoid. I remind you that this was with all new timing components, plugs, cops, oil pump, etc. It is your truck and your choice on how you pursue things, but for a little over $100 and a relatively easy job (easier than spark plugs), I would change the solenoids and see what happens...

 

Just an update, i was able to sell the truck and made about 75$... Im happy with that!
Guy who bought it needed a transmissio.... Having never driven this truck, i couldnt tell him for aure if it worked, but today he messaged me and said it works great! So something good came of it all, and i learned something... Never buy a 5.4 3v (at least not one that doesnt run)

It has made me appreciate my 96 f150 a whole lot more. Thanks to all of you who offered suggestions and schooled me on this engine. It was a good learning experience.

 

Yeah, the 3V can be a bitch when the timing stuff goes. I just got mine back in the truck this weekend, still need to put the valve covers on, air intake, plugs and injectors and wire everything back up. Hopefully my rebuilt engine runs another 232K miles though. Gotta say, the rebuild has been fun and educational, I've actually really enjoyed it. But after having it down all summer, I can't wait to get it running again.

 

Nice! Glad to hear youre seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I was really excited for that truck, as I may have mentioned Im a huge fan of the 04 to 08 body style... I was toying with the idea of getting another one and throwing an old 351 in it . But thats a project for another year... When Im rich and have garage space.

 

Yeah, I hear you, it takes a lot of time. I have a 7 1/2 month old at home, so time has been limited, but at least my mother in law let me borrow her 08 STX (on a side note, even with the issues I have with the 5.4, I will never ever own a 4.6 V8) while I'm working on mine. Just doing the timing stuff wouldn't have been to bad, but I wanted to get the oil pan off (found a lot of the guides/tensioners in the pan blocking up the oil intake tube) and just decided on a full on rebuild. I'm really impressed with this engine, the bearing surfaces were awesome and were still showing almost exactly .0015" clearances.

 

Glad to hear it worked out for you! The 5.4 seems like it should be good, but the whole timing thing is annoying. Hope you get another 200k miles out of yours!
As far as the 4.6, a guy at work has an 08 explorer with that engine... When he pulls up to work it sounds like a diesel, ive warned him of what will happen if he doesnt do something soon... If he doesnt show up one day Ill know why

 

It's probably not so bad in an Explorer, but in the f150, even though it's a 2 wheel drive, it is gutless compared to my 5.4L.