I have a 97 E-150 V6. While driving, the engine will gasp for power and my van will jerk really hard. Sometimes it will gasp for power once or several times every 3 - 9 seconds, just once or twice and nothing - it's random. If I'm driving on flat roads, I can accelerate a bit but if I'm going uphill, I have to speed up as much as possible and move over to the right lanes because the van will start to jerk when I try to accelerate uphill. The best way for me to describe the jerking is like when your driving a stick - if you pop the clutch in and out from a stop but not kill the engine (like a rookie learning a stick) the vehicle jerks really hard. All this happens while driving.

A Ford dealership performed a diagnostic and recommended I replace the plugs, plug wires and ignition coil ( these coils are expensive) - didn’t solve the problem! A friend who is a mechanic taking certification classes at our local junior college took my van to class as a project. He believes one of three wiring connections just below the transmission dipstick is coming loose.

Any thoughts? I don't want this jerking to cause other problems to my van - damage the trans, rear end, engine mounts etc. and I needs to get fixed. Ford wants to perform another diagnostic to try and find the problem at my expensive and private shops say it will take about 3 - 6 hrs to possibly find the problem. HELP!!!!

 

Hi MrBandBooster,

When you say it gasps for power does it misfire quickly or slow down for a few seconds or?
Any idea why he thinks one of the connections is loose? Which one?
What brand of parts did you use when you replced the plugs etc?
Is it any better at all since then?
To me it does sound like an ignition problem still.

 

It could be related to the transmission. Is it a shutter? Like running over a washboard? Another thought would be to check the egr and pcv valves. make sure they are clean and operating right. If the PCV has a rattle to it when you shake it, it is still good. I would also clean the MAF sensor while I was at it. Is it idling rough? Also, you said it was a 97. I would check your coolant level too. Make sure its not running low. Check out
http://www.leakingfords.com
But it still sounds like an ignition problem. If you didn't use Motorcraft plugs, wires, and coil pack, that could still be the problem.

 

Thanks Racerguy,
It does both. He said after he disconnected the 3 connections and reconnected them the problem disappeared. About a month later, it started up again. I think they are Bosch wires and plugs! Whats different about Motorcraft parts and others?

 

Thanks dbeames,
I had the transmission serviced about 4 onths ago and was told it's okay. Don't know if it's a misfire, but when it happens, it's a hard jerk. I disconnected the battery for 4 hours while doing some home project and after reconnecting the engine ran okay but quickly started actting up again. Now when it happens, I'm starting to loose power and at a stop the engine will sometimes die. When the jerking starts and I start to loose power, I have to pump the gas peddle to try and keep the engine from misfiring and maintain my speed. I can only work on my van on the weekends, so you know what I'll be doing on Saturday!!! I've checked the leakingfords site and I know I have a small leak somewhere. I've used a stop leak product and hope I won't have to open the engine. I'll make sure I check everyones suggestions!

 

MrBandBooster,

It does sound like your engine is misfiring and it may very well be from coolant fouling the plugs.

I had an e-mail recently that described a very similar situation. The engine was misfiring, so the dealer changed the plugs and wires. A week later, then engine broke a rod on start-up because the lower intake was leaking coolant into a cylinder.

Get the leak fixed. Stop leak will not resolve a leaking lower intake manifold. You have a choice of spending $400.00 now or $3000.00-$4000.00 in the very near future.

 

I agree with AJ. Get the leak fixed as soon as possible. You can have a mechanic run a pressure test on the engine to test the seals and gaskets. That will tell you what's leaking and where. Get that done and go from there. Also, IMO, NEVER use Bosch plugs/wires, especailly in a Ford engine. I went through 2 sets of Bosch Double Platinum plugs and a set of Bosch Wires in less than 6,000 miles. The engine kept misfiring. Wouldn't quite run smooth. So I put in Motorcraft Double Platinum plugs and Motorcraft wires. Problem solved. For some reason, Ford Engines really love Motorcraft.

 

Also, the difference between the two sets of wires is resistance. The Bosch wires seem to put up more of a resistance than the motorcraft wires. Also, the motorcraft wires seem to be a little more durable than the bosch, thus causing less cracking (so that means, no arcing).

 

Thanks AjRagno and dbeames,
I read the articles on the engine leaks and didn't think it was that critical. I really thought I have some kind of electrical problem. Whats great about this website and forum is that people like me/us can ask questions and receive the answers or directions. I'll make an appointment for a pressure test. I think I'll also replace my plugs and wires with Motorcraft.

 

Both Great things to do. While your under there working on the plugs/wires, I would go ahead and clean the MAF sensor too. If you have a spare couple bucks, I would get a PCV valve also. THey are only 6 bucks or so, but might need to be replaced.