I just purchased a 2004 Ford F150 4Dr Supercrew FX4 with the 5.4L 3V in it. First things first is the engine does have a little bit of a tick to it, but no loss in power. It runs great. There is no engine light on. I have a few questions as I use to own a ranger and know nothing about the F-Series except what I've read.

When I floor my truck to the floor, mind you it has TRUE straight pipes, it does have the CAT's for both sides, but it is true straights as far as I can tell. Anyway when I mash the pedal to the floor it gets up and goes, however every now and then it will sputter, spit and pop pretty bad. If I never floor it and just drive normally nothing. There is no engine lights on. I am thinking this truck has 125k miles on it, and maybe the fuel filter needs to be replaced. Can anyone offer some insight into what this could be?

Another issue I noted is the ABS light is on in the truck. When braking my truck shakes, and shimmers. The tires on it are brand new. I have noted a clicking sound coming from one of the brakes on the drive side I am pretty sure when I brake. I was wondering if anyone can offer some good insightful information into what I should check/do with this.

So far this truck has been awesome to me. I love it. Plenty of room, and besides an annoying issue with the driver side rear window controls (they won't roll up, meaning you have to climb into the back and roll them up via the switches in the back) and my radio/4x4/a/c controls are a bit dim, and the Digital speed-o-meter appears to have no light behind it so I can see it at night. Its a great truck.

So I am new hear, and I would like it, and appreciate it very much if someone could give me a few answers. Like I said the motor does have a slight tick to it, that I was told by the dealership is normal. Mine does seem to be louder, but honestly if it is just a cam phaser which I read this trucks are common for, then its not harming nothing.

 

Ticking at idle is probably the cam phasers. Just a noise issue, but you can get new phasers. Shudder when braking sounds like your rotors are warpped. But this is independent of your ABS light. But have the codes pulled for the ABS and it's probably one of your sensors is bad. Simply brake job should fix your shudder. Also, check the rear brakes as the 04s did have issues with a hanging parking brake.

 

I just got a fuel filter. Gonna wait a bit to go out and put it on, to see if it fixes the sputter on high RPM revs.

 

fuel filter is supposed to be changed every 15,000 miles...odds are that truck has a filter that is easily 50-60,000 miles on it right now.

the 04-05 trucks has problems with warping their brake rotors. again, odds are you have a warped rotor, and or need brakes.

as mentioned above, check your rear brakes. the 04+ F-150 uses a 60/40 split for the brakes. The rear brakes wear out alot quicker than most guys are used to. And they dang parking brake likes to stick. So either use it 100%, or not at all.

 

oh yeah, that ticking is somewhat normal. My 2006 was ever so slight...and my 2008 Expy has a slight one as well.

it's when the ticking gets louder and becomes more "metal on metal" that you need to worry. you'll hear about cam phasers and whatnot. Don't get overly worried.

recommend you change the oil and use a Motorcraft 5w20 semi-synthetic blend...and only use the Motorcraft FL820s filter. It has a anti-drainback filter that is superior to every other one on the market. This filter keeps the heads lubricated for the initial startup. Some guys have noticed their ticking quieten by using the proper filter.

If you have any damage already, the FL820 will at least prevent it from getting any worse.



congrats man. post up some pictures if you can. The 04+ F-150 is IMO one of the best trucks ever built (besides 92-96 F-150 ). Welcome to the site and please stay a while. Bunch of great guys (and gals) around. And they'll help you spend tons of money on ideas you never would have gotten by yourself

 

The ticking is noticable from inside the truck. Again the dealership said its not harmful to the motor, but could fix it. It seems to go away at higher rpm's. I will do that. I use Mobile 1 but haven't changed the oil myself yet so I'll do that the next oil change. The oil filter is some blue one that bestone put on it. The truck had the oil changed when I bought it so I will defiantly invest in that. I will grab some pics for you guys. So would Mobile one be ok or should I just put Motorcraft oil in it?

 

Okay update. Changed fuel filter, the fuel preasure went from 147 at idle to 149-150. The miss is still there at high rpm's though. Next suggestion? Maybe I should get some carb cleaner, and clean the throttle body and MAF? I assume this truck has a MAF just do not know where, and what the best way to clean the throttle body is.

 

""So far this truck has been awesome to me. I love it. Plenty of room, and besides an annoying issue with the driver side rear window controls (they won't roll up, meaning you have to climb into the back and roll them up via the switches in the back) and my radio/4x4/a/c controls are a bit dim, and the Digital speed-o-meter appears to have no light behind it so I can see it at night. Its a great truck.""



I am just curious but with this problem you have tried adjusting the dimmer switch right? I would assume its to the left of the steering wheel near the headlight control. Just checking though in case its was an easy miss to help you out some.

 

We need the codes. If there's a mis(fire) and a pop when at WOT you may have some COP, injector and sparkplug issues. If you pull the codes and it shows P030x it may explain the popping sound.

 

Not to sound retarded or nothing but I am not new to Fords at all. LOL Its cool though but yeah they are just dim from the life of the vehicle I am sure, that or I am not use to seeing it. I do know my Digital Gauge that displays the miles, and information, does stay dark no matter what is on. So I don't know if it ever had a light or what.

 

Hey you never know what might have been over looked whether new to fords or not.

There was an issue with the wiring of the clusters altogether where they were not connected very well and those connections worked their way loose over time. I would look there first. Of course it could just be that the instrument cluster went bad too and that cost I think about $300 for a new one from Ford.

 

I'll give it a look see.

As far as the engine codes I have no codes to report. Every now and then I punch it and the truck will pop, and spit. I can't say it really doesn't go because it does. I took it up to autozone and it showed no codes at all. He said it has to be something mechanical because the sensor wasn't picking it up. That doesn't mean much I guess but I don't want to take it to a dealership and pay 90 dollars for them to tell me I need a new motor or some bs.

 

yeah, you should pull the air box off and clean out the maf and throttle body.

when I pulled my intake at 20,000 miles for the supercharger install, the throttle body had a wall of gunk built up along the plate. it was dirty as hell for such low miles.



with your trucks age and mileage, the spark plugs need to be changed if it hasn't been done already. knowing how the average joe is...you can count on the truck having the factory plugs in there. they are probably worn out and causing that misfire

 

How does one remove the in-take and what not to get access to the throttle body?