Ok I'm leaving for a long trip from Atlanta to Columbus going through the mountains and I'm wondering if I'm my 2.5L is going to make it. I've never taken it through the mountains on such a long trip. Today just because it was cheap and hadn't tried it and knew it could cause problems, I put a new camshaft sensor on. It didn't change anything. I deliver parts to shops and I've asked them all and taken it to 4 of them. I've gotten different answers from all places. One guy said the timing might be off, one guy thought the injectors were bad, one guy thought the MAF is bad, and the other thought the fuel pressure regulator is bad. Well within probably the last month or two the MAF was replaced actually because it did cause a Check Engine Light and a major spark knock and was replaced. That totally cleared the Check Engine Light and the spark knock never happens anymore. The timing belt was replaced less than 6,000 miles ago and the idle was rough before I did that. Now when it's idling you can barely tell it's running. The fuel pressure was checked by two shops with and without the A/C on and it registered at 65 PSI which is Ford's specifications. All within the last month it's had cam sensor, MAF, IAT sensor, IAC valve, fuel filter, cat converter, exhaust hanged and welded properly. I also pulled a plug and checked since it only has about 20,000 on them, and they appeared to be burning normal. Compression is also normal. The TPS sensor, EGR valve, EGR solenoid, and EGR pressure sensor are the only remaining sensors that haven't been replaced that I can think of that would cause performance issues. But these are items that normally trigger a Check Engine Light especially the Ford EGR system. Now power is down mostly when the A/C is on. Is this a problem with the A/C? Take of power is horrible and when the A/C is on you can mash the gas all the way to the floor and it won't respond immediately. 50-60 you with A/C on you can actually feel the engine vibrate because it's hesitating. What else can I do? It's got 200,900 miles. I may have to put the Superchip back in and fill it with 93 octane just to make it through the mountains.

 

to me it sounds like your ac pulley may be going out or the clutch is starting so sieze. my roomate has a 99 with a 2.5 in it and his truck lost alot of power with the a/c on but would fly with it off. 2 weeks later the compressor locked down and the belt toasted. replaced a/c compressor, evap, orifus tube and everything works great now. thats why these trucks are great. just run down the interstate at 60+ MPH with the windows down and the back window open. you will be good to go. i have 3 mazda b3000's sitting at the house. i am a collector hahahha.

 

I've taken it to about the 6th mechanic now and he drove it awhile with me and thinks that the guy that did the timing belt may not have timed it right. One other mechanic that I took it too suggested the timing seemed to be off too. How hard is that to change? Since there is no distributor the timing isn't adjustable, so how to you change it? He also suggested that I need to replace my plugs and wires again because it may be contributing to the hesitation. If you sit and let it idle with the A/C on or off as I found out today, you can feel every couple of seconds a miss, but it's only slight. That might be why the light hasn't come on. But I was thinking if the timing was off slightly wouldn't you get some kind of spark knock? I'm not getting any at all. I'm also thinking of putting my Superchip back in and I know it messes with the timing. Should I put the chip in first and see what it does. Or revaluate the timing marks on the timing sprockets and make sure they're all aligned?

 

it would not hurt you to check the timing first. if it is off it needs to be corrected. the superchip would act as a band-aide if your timing is already off. yes if your timing is off you will have a slight miss depending on how far out it is. As far as spark knock you would have to be pretty far out on the timing for it. just my 2 cents worth.

 

I'm going to do that tomorrow when I change the spark plugs again and new wires. I've always removed my throttle body for space on the intake side spark plugs. It helped but it was still hard to get at the last two wires. Is it going to take a lot more time to remove the upper intake and is it going to help? I've never removed the whole upper intake. I know the hardest part will be getting the EGR tube loosened without tearing it up. I'm going to try and save my Accel wires as they have less than 20,000 miles on them, but I'm going to have a good set of OEM replacement wires just in case. As for plugs last time I got Motorcraft Platinum plugs from Autozone SP432. The original number in the manual is AWSTF32-F. These SP432 plugs show AGSF32FM on the plug. Are those the correct ones? The guy at Ford says the number has changed and they are the same. I remember all the SP432s I checked were gapped beyond .046 probably at like .055 instead. Should I get those again or go with Autolite Platinum or Double Platinum? After I do this, I have to have the mechanic take everything off to put on a new front timing belt cover. I broke it the first time I did the timing belt. When I did the timing belt for the first time it worked great except that I broke the front cover and couldn't reinstall it. But I didn't mess the timing up. I still have to service the transmission fluid, rear axle fluid, and install new front pads all before I go out of town next week. But the power loss is my main concern.

 

Did you do a compression check? Should be at 150 psi or above. If it is 110 in each cylinder, your cam sprocket is off 1 tooth. Check you timing marks.

 

The guy that checked it Sunday told me to start with plugs and wires. He has to put on a new outer timing cover for me because I broke the original one the first time I did the timing belt at 120,000 miles. He said he would check the timing then. But I did the spark plugs and wires last night. It took me 5 hours that's inlcuding 3 or 4 breaks. This time I did it right and removed the upper intake. It made it a lot easier to get to those plugs and make sure the wires get plugged in. I used AGSF32FM Motorcraft spark plugs I got at Autozone, which is the same plug my Ford dealer was going to sell me for double the price. There isn't much choice for good wires at any of the parts stores around here. So I had to go with the Autozone wires. They actually fit better than the Accel's I took off and had the indentations for the spark plug tube on the intake side. I cleaned all the grease off under the timing cover and put the plugs in to factory torque, laced all the wires up in the factory wire looms just how the illustration shows. It all looks nice and professional, and I guess it should taking 5 hours. But it did it, it has a whole lot more noticeable power than before. So far I haven't run into the 50-70 stumble. After I drove a few miles I filled it up with 93 Octane and reinstalled the Super Chip and it's seems all right now. I'll see when I check mileage. The guy that did the timing belt wasn't just a shadetree mechanic, he's got a reputable shop that's been around for like 30 years, so I wasn't convinced that he didn't align everything back up when he put on the new timing belt. It still isn't the same without the cold air intake. That got me off the line a whole lot quicker, but now there's no hesitation even with A/C on taking off. I was amazed that the same plugs I had in before could already be worn out at 20,000 miles and a set of Accel wires. I still can't figure out what failed. But everything seems to back to normal or better.

 

its most likely your harmonic balancer, the keyway is out of wack