So I'm insanely new to Expeditions, Fords, and IFS in general. Came from Jeeps and solid front axles. This is my parents truck and rarely sees any driving time. It's a 97 Expedition XLT 4wd with the tow package. I borrowed it to take on a ski trip. 4wd was lightly used on the trip( some 4 hi and the 4AWD since there was some snow). Trip was 6 hours there and 6 or so hours back. Little longer due to snow/ice.

Get off the mountain fine and about 2-3 hours from home I started to get a mild shudder right before the trans kicked down when going up hills. Basically once things started to load up and the RPMs started to drop when in cruise going up an incline. Once it kicked down a gear and RPMs when up the shudder went away. So I babied it home and tried to give it enough gas to reduce the shudder and get up the hill, but not shake violently.

Get almost home and it starts to shudder pretty much under any acceleration. I'm sure everyone is thinking trans right now......yeah I was thinking the same thing. The check engine light came on after some pretty violent vibrations, however I'm not exactly convinced that has anything to do with the issue.

I park it since we were getting snow/ice at home and I didn't have time to really check into it.

Go out this morning to give it a quick look before I head to work. Notice gear oil smell and what appears to be gear oil all over the cv shaft, boot, suspension, and wheel well on the passenger side. No fluid leaking under the truck or visible underneath the truck.

So now my immediate thought is.......CV boot. I know on SFA vehicles if an axle seal or shaft goes it can blow gear oil out of it. I'm guessing that can't happen on a IFS vehicle.....but I have no idea.

So I guess my question is.......vibration/shudder was the CV shaft going, losing oil/grease, then eventually locked up, seized, etc? I was for certain it was a trans issue until then. Truck has 68k on it, and been pretty well serviced over it's life.

 

If your check engine light came on, I AM convinced it is related to your problem. You need to read the codes first. My guess at this point is a misfire from a bad coil. It could be a fuel filter as well. Are all 4 tires the same size? The 4X4 experts can tell you about the front end. Check your codes and tell us what engine you have.

 

Yup all 4 tires are the same size and they are pretty much brand new. Maybe a couple hundred miles now on them. First thought when it came on was to check the codes, but concerned about driving it now with what appears to be gear oil all over the suspension. Kind of want to get that taken care of before she goes too far. Or atleast figured out. If it's not really a risk then I don't mind driving it to the local part store and have the codes pulled. Engine idles fine, though.

 

x2 on a misfire feeling like a trans problem.

 

I'll have the codes pulled, but still kinda concerned about the mess on the suspension being CV shaft/boot related.

 

WOW! You guys just might be right. Soooooo I dug into it a little more. The fluid in the wheel well appears to be brake fluid. I changed all the pads, replaced the rear calipers(were seized), and bled the brakes all the way around a few weeks back. Somehow in my ventures the right front brake line going into the caliper was JUST a little loose. Snugged that up and hoping that was it. It wasn't loose enough to create a loose pedal. It had good pressure, so no idea how that happened.


Checked all fluids just to cover the simple stuff. Brake fluid was down just below the max line, oil looked good, trans looked good, coolant was spot on as well. Both drive shafts have zero play in them and front spins without any binding. Searching through this forum it seems misfires can be pretty hard to track down. So not looking forward to that. Hoping the codes will give me a more definitive direction.

 

Had the code checked......p0300 random misfire. Yay.....that means I'll never find out what's wrong and be chasing this forever.

The list it could be is endless:
plugs
coils packs
vacuum leak
dirty throttle body
fuel filter needs changed
on and on and on

:facepalm:

It didn't do it on the way to the parts store to have the code checked. Missed JUST a little here or there on the way home. I'm going to guess vacuum leak as I hear a noise I've never heard before right when I turn off the truck......kind of a sound like air coming out of a balloon if you squeeze the end and restrict the flow. But it's kinda muffled and not as pronounced.

 

With only 68k miles, do you think those may be the original plugs? If so, change them. Fuel filters are cheap and easy to replace. Get a Motorcraft for only a few dollars more then other brands. Check the rubber PCV elbow at the rear of the intake manifold as they crack and rot and it's hard to tell unless you pull it off and inspect. Have a new one on hand anyways, they're only $7. A can of Seafoam or concentrated Techron in the gas tank for potentially dirty fuel injectors may help and certainly wouldn't hurt. Carefully clean the mass air flow sensor and throttle body. Other then the plug replacement, these things will take no more then an hour to check, clean or replace.

 

They're not the original plugs......however, they're prolly 8 years old or so. Yeah plugs and fuel filter were a definite. As well as an air filter. After some searching that PCV in the rear seems to be a common issue. I'll check all the easy stuff.

 

Replaced the whole PCV assembly today with OEM Ford part( Front/rear elbows, PCV, and hard plastic line), still misfires a bit here or there. No where near as bad as it used to. Wonder if maybe I got ahold of some bad gas? Going to toss some midgrade gas in it with some seafoam and see if it clears up at all.

Both the rubber pieces seemed pretty perished. Had quite a few cracks in them. None appeared to go all the way through, but I guess you never know. In any event it wasn't really the issue.

 

Found the "oil" in wheel well issue. It's def brake fluid. No idea how but appears I have a bad brake line. The thick rubber part down near the caliper I can squeeze and brake fluid comes out. Not a ton, but I'm sure more when you press on the brakes. $20 part, and that issue should be fixed.

My parents need this back next week so after today I'm done with it. Guess they'll have to pay someone to diagnose the shudder for them when the CEL comes back on. Which they'll have to have fixed to pass inspection here in NC.

 

Pulled off the IAC. It was pretty dirty in there. Cleaned it up with carb cleaner. It's pretty clean now. Didn't make it any better......possibly made it worse. lol The stumble is more apparent on idle than it was in the past. Haven't driven it anywhere yet.

MAF sensor looked spotless. I'm going to guess it's probably a spark issue( plug, coil, who knows). Unfortunately I don't have the 9891890180981023812 hours or patience to change these plugs before my parents pick this back up this weekend. Hopefully it doesn't get any worse or do any damage. They'll have to fix it when they get home.

 

Dude. When you have a misfire, you start with the coil packs first, and then plugs. Stop wasting time and money.

 

I was doing quick, easy, and cheap first. Unfortunately I don't have time to venture into what could be an 8 hour job trying to change the plugs on this thing.

My parents will be picking this back up tomorrow. Everything I can do that's quick has been done. It's up to them now to check on the plugs and coils. Hell coils are $250+ for all 8......I'd say that'd be a bigger expense then the $35 I've spent.

 

Well my parents decided they didn't want to try and drive it 2+ hours home. So they wanted me to fix it. I drove it pretty hard yesterday in hopes it'd give me a better code. It started to run like crap and the CEL came on. Had the code checked today, FINALLY misfire on cyl 3!!!! That tells me something. Bought all new plugs and figured I'd change all of them while I was at it. I've only done cyl 1-4 at this point. All the plugs but cyl 1 looked perfect. That one the electrode was completely gone. Cyl 3 the gap was super high at .070 almost. Other than that the plug looked great. So I was pretty certain at that point it was the coil. So bought a motorcraft coil and tossed it in cyl 3. I really didn't want to play the game of moving it to another cyl just to get it to throw a misfire code on another cyl. It purrs like a kitten, not even the slightest hiccup. NOW it has the power back that I remember it having. I thought it felt a little sluggish even when I first picked it up. Will get to changing 5-8 when I can.