I have a '97 E150 with the 5.4. The engine started missing and set an error code. My mechanic said it was for cylinder 2. He bench tested the coil pack & the injector. They were ok, so he figured the spark plug was defective & replaced it. Put everything back together... and it still misses. But now it's not setting an error code. He says that if it sets another code & its still for cylinder 2 he'll replace the coil pack & injector, just because it's so hard & takes so long to tear off all the crap necessary to get to the plug. Anybody have any idea what's causing the problem?
Thanks for any suggestions.

 

I had this problem start rather suddenly. At first, it ran great until the engine warmed up, but now it idles rough.

You can replace a bunch of expensive parts trying to find the problem, but first check the plug wires.

Evidently, the factory plug wires tend to get brittle and start leaking and cross-firing. You pass/rear plug wire is the most vulnerable, I think, but on mine, FROM THE FACTORY, many of the wires route against metal components, and touch each other in many places.

Do the night-time check. In the dark, with the hood open and the light bulb removed, watch around the plug wires while you blip the throttle to make the engine miss. If you see any faint blue light, the plug wires are bad. Mine are suddenly so bad I cannot believe it. Original wires from FORD also had failure-prone 3-piece, glued together, plug boots.

I have to take the entire day off work today just to install the darned plug wires.

I bought the premium Belden wires from NAPA for about $100. Ford wants $175 for theirs.

Ford does not stock the wire separators, which would costalmost $50 for the whole set. I can't figure out how to get the old ones off in one piece.

dtdrnll

 

Well that would work great if you had a 4.6L. The 5.4L have coil packs and not plug wires. If the miss doesn't go away with the g of the plug, injector or coil pack....first thing I would do is check the compression. You may have a case of a dead cylider....

 

let me ask why these dealers just don't put engine analyzers on any more
look at the firing of each sparkplug.
Whats wrong that? Is there some reason or are they just into reading error codes or what!

Bench tests are fine for static testing,but heat and humidity and effect
performance.

here's my list
get this engine on the scope,ask for a print out of all cylinders
do compression test
chk for possible sparkplug blow by plug itself or the threads in the head.
are you losing antifreeze
clogged injectors
bad fuel

Rich



Ford Trucks Built Tough!
not with rocks
Watch out "X" Mayor of Truckville

 

I wanted to know if you are having the same problem as I am.

Here is my scenario. I have always had the detonation problem and thought maybe it was bad gas. No change with 93. Then I started noticing a little stumble at first. Nothing at idle and nothing really at a cruise. But, as I put a decent load on the engine (not full throttle, just enough to make it want to downshift), I felt a miss. Sometimes it would repeat. It does seem kind of rhythmic like it is the same cylinder. Anyway, it got worse and then the check engine light came on and I took my car to a mechanic who replaced the plugs and the fuel filter and said I had a vacuum leak. He said my old plugs looked like my engine was running lean. I bought it and the next day...you guessed it. A miss.

My miss seems almost random. I tried all day today to repeat it. The best I could find is that when I catch the truck in a tall gear and give it just enough gas to make the computer think about downshifting, it's around a 50/50 chance of it happening. But, it does stop after a second or two. I have just put in the fuel system cleaner/octane boost and it didn't seem to help.

Please let me know if this sounds similar to your miss because I swear on Henry Ford's grave I will not let this go. I will find the cause of this and I will be damned if I subject myself to the hunt and peck and replace method of dealership service. Like FortyFords said, why don't the put all of that expensive crap they have to use.(not direct quote).

 

Daddyo!
In yer case what, if any DTC codes were detected by their ngs reader?
your pinging problem could be a result of a combination of faulty sensors
causing the engine control module to advance timing or spark advance,and change air/fuel mixtures.
this is a case where you need to know the dtc codes that are being stored if any.

Rich






Ford Trucks Built Tough!
not with rocks
Watch out "X" Mayor of Truckville

 

Well, we didn't actually look at the codes. We used the old "ground cable disconnect" method. Anyway, out of the blue, I went to a quick oil change place the other day. I was there on other business, not because I pay to have someone else change my oil. I start in on my rant about this annoying problem and one of the guys listening to my conversation says, "It's your transmission." What an idiot! This guy must me out of his....OK, I think he was right. I change my transmission fluid (prior service unknown) and voila, it made all the difference in the world. My car actually got more power and better shifts. Apparently, ATF has grip agents that wear down with mileage and cause the transmission to slip and the sensors in the tranny get confused. Either that or I fell for another line of bull. Anyway, I am not going to say that everything is peachy. I still feel a quick and slight "slip" from time to time, but I finally did something that had a direct effect on the problem.

Now, on to the detonation. Anyone know of any common causes of lean engine, detonation. My guess is a sensor and I think I am going to have to save some pennies to get a diagnostic done.

TEAM RULES EMASCULATE RACING.

 

FYI-
I've got a 99 Expedition with a 5.4L, and my engine began miss about two weeks ago on a Sunday afternoon. After 5-10 minutes of driving, I got to my destination and shut the vehicle off. Fifteen minutes later I got back into the truck, and the rough idle/cylinder miss was still present, although my check engine light did not turn on for another couple minutes. I only say this because I was surprised the MIL light did not come on immediately.

Anyway, I called the Ford garage the first thing on Monday morning and was able to get in for service that morning. When I dropped the truck off, the service guy told me that this is a very common problem on my vehicle, and he knew what to do before even looking at the motor. (He was also surprised that I noticed the misfiring before the OBDII system did - he says it's usually the other way around.)

According to him, Ford put some weak clamps on the radiator hose, and there is a small coolant leak that periodically drips onto a certain coil pack. This corrodes the coil pack and the missing begins, although the corrosion is not always obvious. They replaced my coil pack and put on a heavier clamp, and the problem completely went away.

I don't know if this is a Ford problem, an Expedition problem, a 1999 problem, or a 5.4L problem, but it is worth looking into if you get an engine miss. I suspect there is a TSB out there on this issue, so it may be covered by Ford even after the warranty expires.

Jerm

 

the service guy told me that
>this is a very common problem on my vehicle, and he knew
>what to do before even looking at the motor. (He was also
>surprised that I noticed the misfiring before the OBDII
>system did - he says it's usually the other way around.)
>
>According to him, Ford put some weak clamps on the radiator
>hose, and there is a small coolant leak that periodically
>drips onto a certain coil pack. This corrodes the coil pack
>and the missing begins, although the corrosion is not always
>obvious. They replaced my coil pack and put on a heavier
>clamp, and the problem completely went away.

My Expy had the exact problem (twice). There is a TSB on this problem (5/99) that the dealership clearly didn't bother to look up or it would have been corrected the first visit. After reading Jerm's response I checked and discovered the #4 coil covered with antifreeze. It probably had the same symptom back in Dec '01 when it failed the first time. Why the shop didn't look it up then is beyond me!

Now, I've been without my truck for 4 days while I wait for the clamp kit to come in. I want to complain to Ford about this. Does anybody know who to contact? What good are the TSB's if the shop doesn't bother to look them up and the customer has to do his own diagonistics?

 

I have a 1999 EB Expidition I started to notice a slight miss with 44k on it I thought tune up time maybe a bad plug or bad wire... I look over the 5.4 and found no plug wires and thoughtProfanity Removed? So I started reading about the common problems with the truck and found other people having the same trouble. I did get the occasional check engine light. So I called the Ford dealer I asked about the TSB I read of in this board and the guy says $300.00 to check and be sure the #4 coil is bad.

Well I went to auto Zone and for $58.00 I bought 1 new coil, I didn't notice any anti freez on the coil like was reported in the TSB but I figuredProfanity Removed...I replaced the #4 coil and Poof runs like a champ!

Seems that you don't have to have obvious coolant leak on to the coil for it to go bad, I did notice some crud on it after I took it out and a slight crack at the base, other that that you would never know it was bad. The #4 coil is the one tward the back of the engine on the passenger side.........If any one else has a problem like this I hope my comments help.

 

I did the same thing that "Daddy O" did. I got the tranny fluid changed because it hadn't been done for quite awhile. My truck had been experiencing that random miss and I had changed the plugs, wires, mass air flow sensor, etc.. with no luck. Now it runs MUCH better. Weird, huh? I called Ford and they said the sensors in the tranny can actually cause an engine to run too lean. I don't know if it's the answer or not, but it sure helped me.

 

 

I was out of town last night about 160 miles from home. I stopped and filled up at a Fina and about 3 miles later as I was entering HWY 287 on the on ramp my truck started cutting out badly. I gassed it and it continued to cut out and seemed that all cylinders were not functioning.Once I got it up to about 70mph it was ok until I had to slow down then re-accelerate then it did it again.It only does it under load. It idles perfectly. Does it badly at slow speeds in overdrive.So badly it jerks the truck.....I need help here........Thanks ahead of time for any suggestions............Only 65,000 miles on truck

 

DaddyO.....Our problems sound alot alike !!! Mine only does it under load also. I havent done anything so far but asked alot of questions..Problem only started last night.Do you have any new info?

 

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