Was driving to Airport yesterday and out of nowhere got the flashing check engine and shudder/limp mode while trying to merge/accelerate onto the onramp (had to gun it to go around someone who decided to stop on the onramp for no reason). Let off the gas and the blinking went away. Upon leaving the airport I was accelerating again at highway speed to pass and got the blinking light and then a solid CEL. Found my way to a Autozone and got the code read. P0301 Cylinder#1 Misfire. Was suggested to change COP and plug. Changed COP on the spot and had to drive it home to my tools to install plug. Thought maybe that since the CEL was still on solid after changing that the code needed to be cleared for the PCM to function normally again. Still have shudder when accelerating hard, so thought it might have been injectors so got cleaning service done at Goodyear. Still have the issue. Disconnected battery and performed IDLE relearn just now and it still is shuddering upon hard acceleration. Stumbled across TSB 12-6-4 which speaks to my symptoms.......I do not have the plate which in turn would imply I do not have the PCM update it references. FML if this is what the fix for this issue is then I more than likely just wasted about $150.

Mind you I have not noticed a misfire nor had an acceleration issue before so this was a surprise to come out of nowhere. Have any of you that ran into this issue have success with the TSB? I'm going to be calling my dealership in the morning but wanted to see if it helped.

 

ok now my head is spinning. I now notice that this is a problem that has superseded upon superseded TSB's......I'm lost now as to the latest fix for this be it a PCM update/addition or removal of deflection plates.....

 

You may have more than one plug that needs changing. I had similar issues and the dealer noted random misfires. Changed all plugs and boots and the problem was solved.

This weekend I had an incident just like yours that resulted in a flashing CEL. It cleared and later on when I hammered it came back and stayed on. My scantool indicated a misfire on the #2 cylinder. Since the dealer fixed everything before, it's going back this after noon and I'll be pressing on them pretty hard. If it's a COP, I'll be pissed as they said they tested all the COP's back in April and all were fine, that was 7K miles ago.

I drilled a 1/16th hole in the CAC and nothing came out. I WILL NOT allow them to place a plate over my CAC, it's dry.

 

Pains me to hear the frequency of this issue. I still stand by the weep hole and tighter plug gaps. Plugs at .030" with a tune pushing 19lb of boost under hard acceleration and she's yet to stumble.

The TSB for dealer re-flash will more than likely de-tune the engine to a degree as they attempt to pull boost pressures back to avoid moisture ingestion.

Tim, about your weep hole...when did you drill and have you done any drive cycles since? The back of your air dam and the lower CAC support should be slimy to the touch.

 

Ok. Some hope. Was able to get it to trip another CEL while out and about. Now its P0302 and P0304. I'm pulling all the NGK plugs and putting in Motorcraft. Now that I think of the condition of the NGK I pulled yesterday, I should have just changed out all 6. More to follow after I change plugs.

 

That was it. Pulled all the NGK plugs, put in Motorcraft pregapped at .30 on all 6. Took her out and is running like a top again. Went through full power Band on Highway with no shudder and power is back. I guess I'm sticking to Motorcraft plugs from now on lol. Made sure to be at highway speed before going into WOT like before and she just took off. Now the nausea feeling is finally starting to dissipate.

 

I've had issues with non Motorcraft plugs before also, stuck with them since. Glad to hear you have it fixed and she's running good again.

I'm not looking forward to changing all 16 on my 6.2 but that should be some time from now.

 

Yeah, I guess some stuff you can get away with aftermarket parts. Others it looks like you have to stay Motorcraft. Good to hear from you again Alaskan.

 

I actually drilled it yesterday morning and nothing came out. I drove it to work this morning but didn't think to check if anything blew out the hole. I just dropped t he truck off at the dealer on my way home. They changed the plugs and boots and blessed the coils, they can find the issue again.

I punch it pretty hard coming home from work and I did get it to stumble but I couldn't get the CEL to flash again. It's really not a serious issue as it drives perfectly at all speeds so long as I don't stress the engine with immediate heavy loading. It's gotta be something simple.

 

That's how mine was too. Everyday driving was fine until I needed to get on it. That's where the problem was the last 2 days. Plugs were it for me and it turned out to be on cylinder 1,2,4 per CEL codes at the end of the day but figured I might as well do all. I assume they used Motorcraft since they are a dealership Tim?

 

My paperwork from April shows MC part numbers for the plugs and boots.

 

Besides Motorcraft, NGK and Denso iridiums should be excellent replacements. I would have swapped all of them to begin with. Not just the troubled cylinder.

 

My #2 coil is breaking down under hard load. My scan tool indicated this clear as day.

The fricken dealer quoted me $300 to replace the coil. I lit right into his azz over the phone and explained as clearly and calmly as possible that the truck was just in there 7K miles ago and all the coils tested fine under a forced load. We replaced plugs and boots then and perhaps they all didn't need replacing.

He wanted to charge me $105 for diagnostic, $174 for a coil and the rest in labor.

I explained that I bought a coil from his parts counter for my Expedition for $109 and it's the same damned part number and that I shouldn't have to repay for a diagnostic. He agreed and lowered the price to $187. Still too much but at this point it's cheaper than buying a coil over the counter and still paying for the diagnostic.

She'll be ready in a few minutes.

Hope this helps someone, anyone. Don't be afraid to push back a bit if the price seems steep.

 

I replaced my own coil for $56 from Autozone. 1 bolt and 1 connector. Very easy and I don't charge myself labor lol. Compared to the old 5.4, plugs and coils are extremely easy for the 3.5L

 

I would have but I had a medical procedure today and the last thing I wanted to do was to mess with the truck.