Got an 07 Screw with only 50,000 miles. Yesterday, wife drove it home from work and said it would only do 45mph and didn't sound good. No warning lights were on, she said. I test drove it in the evening and it ran totally fine. Today, she drives it to work and said it ran real rough and "Check Engine" light was on. I picked it up from her work and it idles very rough and slow, and once you hit about 2000 rpm, it runs decent, maybe even normal. Below that, it stumbles and engine doesn't sound right. "Check Engine" light is either ON steady, or flashing. And ideas? I don't have a code reader, so its likely going to the Ford Dealer Monday. Is there any way to read the code without a reader?

 

Almost sounds like a bad cat

 

you can not read the codes without a reader but any auto parts store will read them for you for free. a flashing CEL means you have a misfire. symptoms you describe sounds like a mis fire as well. thats just my opinion.

 

Thanks Guys. I removed the battery cable overnight, and cleaned the MAF Sensor. When I started it yesterday morning, the symptoms were the same. It ran rough right away, but took about 2 miles for the Check Engine Light to come on. At idle, the entire truck shakes/vibrates, and the engine had a deeper groan sound now. It hesitates a lot when accelerating from a stop, and you have to be very gently on the gas to make it drive. I drove it 10 miles to the Ford dealer, and the light never flashed, but did stay on continuously. I'm hoping its nothing major. I will keep you updated when I hear back from the dealer.

 

With the misfire indicator its probably going to need a set of plugs/coils at the minimum. It'll be interesting to see if this problem is related to plug breakage.

 

When I dropped it off at the dealer yesterday and spoke with the service manager, I asked him when the plugs should be changed. He said @ 60,000miles and doing them any sooner was a waste. I was thinking of getting them to do them now while its in the shop, but I'm pretty handy with that stuff so I figure I'll do it at 60,000 and attempt it on my own.

 

A flashing CEL is a warning of a misfire. That is also what is causing the power loss and shaking. You should stop driving it until it's repaired. The computer is supposed to shut off fuel to the misfiring cylinder until the misfire is corrected, but if it doesn't the raw fuel will soon destroy the cat, and you will have a much larger repair bill.

This most common cause for a misfire is a failed spark plug or coil. These engines have one coil per cylinder. Without reading the codes, you cannot tell which cylinder has the problem. Once the codes are read and the problem cylinder is identified, the best procedure on these engines is to start by swapping the coil on the problem cylinder with a good cylinder. The spark plugs are much more difficult to swap than the coils. After swapping coils around, clear codes and run the engine again. See if the new codes you get indicate that the problem followed the suspected bad coil. If it did, that coil is confirmed bad. If the code remained the same, then the problem is with the spark plug or fuel injector on that cylinder. Swap fuel injectors next (still easier than swapping plugs) and repeat. If the fuel injector was bad, you should get a code that mentions it (fuel injector cylinder X open circuit, etc), but not always. Repeat the test and compare codes. Last, swap the spark plugs. If the original cylinder still shows a misfire, do a compression test.

 

Just got a call from the Ford Dealer. Says the problem is a faulty solenoid that runs the cam phaser for 1 cylinder bank. $140 for the solenoid, $204 Labor. They are proceeding with the work as we speak. Keep in mind I'm in Canada when you look at those cost figures.

 

$204 labor? It's a twenty minute job, tops, and that's if you have to fight with the seal to get it out. Probably $100 of that was the diagnostic.

 

That part is only 40 bucks and super easy, your getting robbed

 

When I picked it up, they said the seal was also leaking. They probably tore it themselves, but whatever. I can post the bill later today. Grand total with taxes was $391.

In Canada, we pay more for everything. It really bites.

 

The seal nearly always gets destroyed when it's removed.