I have a 2010 Ford-F150 Platinum and am having power issues. Now strangely enough I had a situation back in March where diesel was put in it by mistake (and I posted to ask about solutions, thanks to all), but I had it flushed and running over 6 thousand miles, no issues since, so I believe this is unrelated as it just came up. I am deployed in Africa on embassy duty, so though they have a Ford Dealership, they are not certified by US Standards and warranties mean nothing. I also only have the only truck like this in the country, likely on the continent. I have no check engine light on by the way, so no codes to test now, though I tried hooking up my scanner anyways.

I started it up one day and pulled out of the driveway, turned down my street and when i went to accelerate, I felt the lack of pull and it sounded like the engine was revving a bit high. I kept driving and then it felt like it was very slow to increase in power. If I floored it to see if I could pull it from this groggy feel, it began to shake and I could hear a click or two. A check engine light came on flashing, but then went away and has not showed up since. I can slowly accelerate my smartly hearing my engine and not going to fast, but only to about 45 mph before I have shaking issues. Going up hill it naturally will not pull as fast. Looking around online, from what I can determine, it may be a coil issue or misfire of a cylinder. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

It sure sounds like a misfire to me. Do you have access to any Ford parts that would fit your truck? Do you know if the computer at the dealer will read your system? OBDII may be North America only, IDK.

If you can get it to throw a code and it is a misfire, you can go o on line and get the parts you need.

Is the gasoline there any different? Lower octane?

 

I gotta ask...Why do you have your truck on deployment? It sounds like a misfire to me too. Although I would think it would throw a code if it was one particular plug or coilpack. Fuel issue maybe? Do they have Seafoam in Africa? It is the "mechanic in a can" here at home ya know. Run some sort of fuel system/injector cleaner through the system by pulling the vac line off the brake boost. Let that vac line suck the cleaner directly into the injection system with the truck running. Let the cleaner get in the system for a couple minutes while the truck runs, (it'll sputter and wanna die) shut it down and let it sit for a couple hrs. Then fire it up and drive it varying speeds and acceleration. It should knock anything lose as it puts out a nice white smoke from the exhaust.

 

My first step in this situation, would be to clean the MAF and the throttle body.

 

I have my truck on deployment because it is embassy duty and it beats storing it for 3 years.

The gas is a lower octane, so this could be part of the problem. If i cleaned it, would this fix it all to where i would know that was the issue or would it require replacing anything? I can go online and purchase whatever I need.

I have a code reader and it will not display anything. I know the check engine light is not burned out, as it comes on when I start the truck. Clean the MAF!!! YES! Why didn't I think of that! It would account for not throwing a code and adjusts power. I will have to give it a try. Question on this though, what can I use aside from a standard MAF can spray? This is Africa and I am sure I cannot find any. Also, to clean the throttle body, do i need to go as far as to pull it, or just remove hose and clean whats simply there where it attaches?

Is there a way to reset my Computer so that maybe the computer will pick something up that it isn't now?

 

I think you'd be safe using an electronics component cleaner for the MAF sensor. You want something that will evaporate without leaving a residue. Clean it first, that way it's dry before you restart the truck. Don't use any sort of brush either, just the pressure of the spray alone should get it clean. You don't wanna mess up the tiny wires inside it. Pulling the throttle body is pretty easy. There are a couple small lines to pull off, but nothing that's difficult at all. You'll get it much cleaner by pulling it, plus the junk you get outta there won't go in the intake. Google/YouTube the process and you'll see it's pretty darn easy. Great suggestion that should help performance

 

Ahh! Thanks. SO Eager to try and work on it, but chances are I won't be able to do more than the MAF tomorrow and then throttle body this weekend. We will see. I really hope this fixes it, but I am going to see if I cant get someone back home to illegally smuggle me two cans of Seafoam and Deep Creep as well.

Thank you everyone!

 

If you pull off the MAF and clean it, be sure it's completely dry before putting it back in and starting the engine. You may possibly have a bad fuel injector as well as a bad coil. Lower than 87 octane fuel is not good for the engine, but the knock sensors would probably minimize detination at all but hard throttle input.

 

i really hope it isnt a bad injector, I do not feel comfortable with all that. Well, it has been a while (mostly due to the holidays and travel) but I have cleaned the MAF and throttle body and no change.

I went ahead and ordered all new spark plugs and coils, a pricey but maybe easy fix? What is the likeliness that it is one of those? As I said in the past, when i first got here, someone had put some diesel in my truck by accident. I had the fuel flushed and there was no issues for months, but now i am thinking that maybe the thicker mixture didnt burn right or added compression on the valves, creating buildup on the plugs. It could be that now the misfire is from a bad plug (or a group of very poor plugs, and maybe because it is not too far off firing, so thats why it is not throwing a code?

 

if you had a flashing check engine light, there should be a code stored.

your scanner may not be able of seeing it, but it should be there.

any chance of getting your hands on a better scanner that might pull that code for you?

while systematic, throwing parts at it is not the most efficient way of getting to the bottom of this. i understand your limitations, but i'd rather buy one good scanner than 8 coils i don't need.

good luck and keep us posted!

 

I would rather go to the Ford dealership and try my luck there, need an oil change soon anyways. I would think their scanner should see it if there is anything. So I believe if it threw a code back in the day, it should again. Is there a way to erase the system completely so that it will show up again?

 

for some reason i was thinking you didn't have a ford dealer available to you ....

if you can get it to the dealer, then that is the thing to do, IMO.

their scanner should be able to see any codes, past, present, or pending. If there are past codes, it should see the operating conditions under which the code was flagged.

if you clear the system, all that data would be lost, so i would not recommend doing that until you get it looked at.

my guess is that they are going to have to hook it up and look at live data while driving the vehicle to see anything that looks out of line. Hopefull you get a sharp technician that knows how to look at that live data, i think that will be make or break for you in this case.

not sure if that really answers your question or not ...

 

Fuel quality is always questionable in 3rd world nations. Change the fuel filter before you spend time or money on anything else.

 

normally i would agree 100%, however, the fuel filter is in the tank so it is not a trivial item to replace.

 

Well I have some codes from the dealer, but other than reading the scanner I am not to confident in their ability to figure this out. P0430 cnf mod00 catalyst system efficiency below threshold bank 2
P0430 pnd mod00 catalyst system efficiency below threshold bank 2
P0430 prm mod00 catalyst system efficiency below threshold bank 2. Thoughts? Its the cat itself? Only 30000 miles...if I pulled it off and ran it, if no problems then that would mean it is, right? Truck computer is causing misfire if its a bad cat?