Hello, I recently got a 2005 FX4 supercab short bed. It was my father in laws truck. He kept it in pretty good mechanical condition, it has newer struts (appear to be aluminum) ball joints, brakes, tires, looks like ACCEL coils, and I know he's already done the spark plugs so I don't have to deal with that issue. It has about 155,000 miles on it. Cosmetically it's good, but the paint is not perfect. Most everything works, the driver window is intermittent, I'm guessing it's a bad contact in the switch. Also, the adjustable pedals don't work. The driver power seat is also intermittent to move forward and backward.

I just replaced the cheap spectre/ebay intake he had on it with an S&B. SO glad I did, look at the filter!!!!! It had probably been like this for a really long time. Maybe a year or even longer. Been sucking raw air for a long time. Oh well... I cleaned the MAF and TB they were filthy. Also put some new ebay blacked out headlights on it and man they are pretty nice (originals were oxidized badly). I sealed them up really good with silicone after reading bad reviews about moisture intrusion. They actually fit better than the factory ones.

Also bought some long tube headers, no name brand but they are pretty nice. Going to install them in december and have it dyno tuned. I'm not looking for a crazy fast truck, but this 3v 5.4L engine is a dog and I'm just trying to get it running strong for cheap investment. It runs good, but it just doesn't seem to have much power.

I also have a 98 f150 4x4 4.6L and a 2010 ram 1500 4.7L 2wd and even the 98 4.6L feels stronger lol. My 4.7L ram will blow it away. I'm selling my other two trucks and keeping the 2005 fx4 as it can replace the need for both the others.

I'm going to do a few other things, powdercoat the bumpers as they are dinged up a bit (my buddy has a huge powder coating oven), going to paint the plastic front bumper cover (all dinged up), going to paint the wheel flares and cowl pieces. Other than that it looks pretty good, just a little bit of money and should be all "tuned" up. I also need a replacement grill, I'd love to find one already painted but having trouble. Anyone know if you can buy them that way?

Down the road I plan to pull all the F150 emblems off and replace them with the newer style F150 FX4 emblems in chrome and black. And replace the blue ford ovals on the grill and tailgate with black/chrome ones. Also will try to put a small 8" subwoofer under the front center jump seat. Would like to do all LEDs also.

Thanks for any advice! I'm brand new to this truck. I'm not really a ford guy, nor a modular engine guy, but trying to do what makes the most sense with the situation. Hoping this will be a good truck.

 

Installed the headers last weekend. They are really nice and super cheap. I paid like $320 shipped I think and they are all stainless, include the downpipe with resonators (cat delete), & y pipe. I didn't use their gaskets they are crappy, I bought oem type from advanced auto. And I used stage 8 locking header bolts, although I couldn't get my hands up in there to get the front lower two on both sides.

I was able to do this job without lifting the engine off it's mounts and without moving the AC compressor, but it was a pita. I only removed the inner fender wells, the starter, the oil dipstick, and disconnected the steering shaft. The 3rd bolt on the starter is truly a bear, I didn't put it back in. Other than the lower front 2 bolts on both sides, access isn't really THAT bad. Doing this job, plus making some modifications to the SLP loudmouth to get it to fit how I wanted it to, and some other things (changing oil, greasing all the suspension, fixing my parking brake, etc) this all took my 2.5 days. A big job, and that was on a lift with endless tools.

So, moral of the story is it's probably not worth the power gains. But, it's super cheap and they are nice and fit perfectly. It sounds good as well and it did seem to be a noticeable power increase on the drive home although I took it easy as it's not tuned yet. I'll have a dyno tune this sunday and will post the numbers. Truck has S&B intake, Longtubes, SLP loudmouth exhaust, and accel coils not that they'll probably make any difference. I'll probably tune it on 93.

I'm amazed how quiet it is with barely any muffler. When cruising you hardly hear it.

I also attached a picture of the headers I bought as I hadn't seen anyone else review them. I'd imagine they are almost identical if not identical to the OBX headers. The price is right and I can verify they are pretty nice and literally fit perfect. The passenger side is really tight but no issues. There's about 1/8" to 1/4" clearence up against the frame.

I did have an issue where one of the welds on the resonators wasn't finished. They said I could send the whole thing back and they'd send a new set but I didn't have time to wait as I had a weekend slotted to do this job, so I had a buddy weld it here for me.

 

Well dyno day was miserably depressing. Not only were they behind so I ended up waiting around for 3 hours, but the truck make horrific hp. I think it was around 150hp. So pathetic. So now I'm starting to wonder if something really is wrong, maybe torque converter issue, or cam phaser issue? But the truck runs good. He said it was very lean but even after tuning it made the same power. The HP curve falls flat, looks more like a torque curve. Strange...

Sorry I didn't take a video. I'll try to take a video later on of the sound.

I feel like I wasted a tremendous amount of money to make less than stock hp.

 

OK so I may be on to something with the intake CMCV or IRMC or whatever it's called.

I followed the below instructions that I found online in another thread to test the CMCV function:

"To test the CMCV actuator, disconnect PCM connector C175E. With the key on, and being careful not to spread or otherwise damage the connector terminals, ground and unground the Light Blue/Orange wire in pin 50. CMCV actuator movement should be heard as the circuit is grounded and ungrounded, and a light and mirror can be used to watch for the actuator and linkage to move back and forth. At the same time, monitor the Black/White wire in pin 43. It should show ground when pin 50 is not grounded, and no ground when pin 50 is grounded. If the actuator does not move, and/or the monitor circuit does not ground and unground properly, the CMCV actuator will need to be accessed to verify that the command and monitor circuits are not open or shorted. Also check for battery voltage to the CMCV actuator on the Red/Yellow wire, from fuse 32 in the inside fuse box, and a good ground on the CMCV actuator Black/White wire (the one next to the Red/Yellow wire in the CMCV actuator connector), from ground G103, at the rear of the passenger side fender, next to the rear of the battery. If the wiring all checks OK, replace the CMCV actuator."

I performed the above test and could hear the CMCV actuator moving but only one time. So when I grounded PIN 50 (light blue/orange) I heard the actuator then when I ungrounded it I heard the actuator again. But it would not repeat unless I cycled the ignition. I don't know if this is normal or not. I then decided to stick my hand back there and I could just barely get my hand on the end of the linkage/rod on the passener side where it connects to the shaft at the manifold. I could feel the retaining clip. With my other hand I grounded the PIN 50 and again heard the actuator noise but the linkage barely moved. Hard to say how much but definitely not 90 degrees. Maybe just a few degrees or like 1/4" at most. So I'm feeling pretty confident this is my issue, I just need to figure out how to continue troubleshooting.

I tried to monitor the PIN 43 (black/white) to see if it Grounded/Ungrounded opposite of PIN 50 but I don't know if I was doing it correctly. I hooked my multimeter up to check voltage and put the black to ground and the red to PIN 43, and it showed -12 volts when PIN 50 was not grounded and 0 volts when PIN 50 was grounded. I'm not sure if that's correct or not? To summarize:
PIN 50 ungrounded = PIN 43 -12 volts
PIN 50 grounded = PIN 43 0 volts

According to the test above, I don't think this is correct. I think it should be like this:
PIN 50 ungrounded = PIN 43 0 volts
PIN 50 grounded = PIN 43 ~12 volts

I'm wondering if the motor inside the CMCV actuator is moving but the gears to the linkage are stripped. That could explain when there's no code, as it doesn't realize the linkage isn't moving.

Any help is greatly appreciated, especially with the electrical troubleshooting, as I'm not too knowledgable with these more complicated systems. Thank you.

 

Alright, I can't begin to tell you all how relieved I am at what I just found. I ordered a little bluetooth (to android phone) boroscope thing on amazon for $35 and used it to see the CMCV in action. The little gadget is awesome, and even has a super bright light, it works great.

The driver side linkage is disconnected and the linkage is kind of stuck on a ridge of the aluminum cylinder head, which is why it is only moving a very short amount. So basically both sides of the CMCV butterflies are stuck closed.

This is a relief as I was about out of troubleshooting options. I'm kind of surprised this wasn't throwing a cel code, but I'm glad I found it. I am going to install a new actuator since this one has been bound up for who knows how long, it may be weak or something.

I think the guys who tuned it for me will work with me and tune it again for little cost, so we will see how it performs when it actually gets some airflow!!!

Here's a picture of what I found!!!

The obd is great but sometimes old school troubleshooting is what it takes...

 

In case you don't want to read about all the info I'm posting, skip to the bold area, I'm trying to find intake manifold bolt part number or an aftermarket set.

I received the new CMCV actuator. I pulled the intake off the truck today, wasn't too bad but I fought a few things. I tried to do it without separating the fuel rail from the manifold and there just wasn't enough room. I had to take the fuel rail with injectors off the manifold. I also had to remove the throttle body and alternator which is obvious. I did not remove the coolant crossover at the front of the manifold, and it really wasn't in the way much at all. There is a vacuum line that connects to the rear bottom of the manifold and it is a PITA to get off. There's no slack so I don't know how I'll get it back on. I'll probably run a new hose and reroute it so it has some slack.

My intake is very gummed up with carbon, and I guess since the CMCV hasn't actuated in who knows how long, there's a lot of buildup at that area. You can actually feel a good amount of resistance when opening/closing the shafts by hand.

So, I'm going to clean it all up, reuse the intake gaskets, and put the new actuator on then reinstall.

I noticed the mounting hole for the passenger rear coil is cracked. I guess someone who previously worked on it over tightened it. I'm just going to leave it alone, it somehow still is tight and has no slack. I don't feel like pulling the valve cover off and replacing it.

Somehow one of the intake manifold bolts came all the way out of the head THEN broke in half, lol. I'm not complaining, I really didn't want it stuck in the head! BUT, I need a new bolt now, and can't find much online. I'd really like to replace the whole set. Does anyone know where I can get a set, or know part numbers?

Also, while I was removing the manifold, there were a bunch of acorns and crap underneath laying on top of the iron block and somehow when I pulled the intake one of the acorns snapped up and went right down into the intake port. DOH! Luckily it was laying on top of the valve and I sucked it out with a shop vac. I ended up vacuuming all intake ports as the vacuum fit nicely in there and figured something may have fallen in that I didn't see.

 

I put the truck back together today. It was a PITA. Getting that vacuum line reconnected to the back of the intake manifold is tough, but I was able to do it by reaching my hand underneath the intake. I bench tested the new dorman CMCV and it worked fine. The wire loom for the driver side front O2 sensor was being smooshed by the green tab that is on the driver side butterfly shaft. I'm guessing this might be why it came off in the first place. I rerouted the wire loom around the hard vacuum line that goes to the brake booster and no more issue.

After getting all that stuff behind the intakee sorted out (two plugs for knock sensors, one plug for what I assume is the coolant temp, one plug for the CMCV actuator, the main wire loom behind the engine, the wire loom to the driver front O2 sensor, and the vacuum line), the rest was easy. New bolts for the intake manifold since I broke one pulling them out, I figured they all may be compromised. Otherwise I reused all hardware. I wiped clean the injectors, put a dab of oil on the o rings, etc. I replaced the two vacuum lines that run over top the rear of the intake manifold also, as they were dryrotted. I put on a new serpentine belt as mine was getting hard/brittle, and I changed the fuel filter since I had the system depressurized.

So everything is good and it runs fine (although I haven't driven it down the road, yet), but I bought a cheap catch can on amazon which is actually very good quality. I just have it zip tied under the hood for now and I will make a bracket for it later on. But I bought 5/8" heater hose (didn't have fuel line) and it collapsed under the vacuum so no good there. What can I use that won't collapse? Will fuel line collapse? I can buy fuel line online. I'm not going to drive it until I have this resovled as there is not any flow through the pcv system. But I did start it and let it idle a few minutes and it seems fine.

 

If you can locate some Tygon tubing, it is pretty tough and shouldn't collapse on you.

 

Thanks for the tip I'll look into that. I was also going to consider low pressure hydraulic hose.

 

I ended up with some fuel line for the pcv system that worked fine. This catch can is pretty nice and was very inexpensive. I got it on amazon. I built a bracket for it out of 1/8" aluminum sheet (also got from amazon very affordable). I made a cardboard template to bolt up where the factory intake support bolts to, then transferred that template to the aluminum, cut it out with a band saw and drilled the necessary holes. Then smoothed the edges and powder coated it, I think it turned out pretty good for a quick job.

Now that the pcv is done, I was able to drive the truck a few miles and man what a difference with the CMCV working. I didn't get on it real hard as I want to make sure the tuning is ok which I'm getting finished next sunday, but I can tell a significant difference above ~3k rpms.

 

hm not sure why the attachments didn't stick...

 

I'm waiting for the guy to email me the dyno sheet but it made about 260hp and 310lbft of torque. About what I expected. Runs much better and feels very "strong". Certainly not fast, but has a lot of torque. This was on a dynojet. Not sure if it was SAE or STD. The truck is pretty fun to drive now that it's making some power.

 

Here's the dyno. Doesn't list rpm which is slightly unusual to me but that's ok, you get the point. I believe this was a second gear pull (he had concerns with the driveshaft and high wheel speed). And it's STD so about 4% higher than SAE. I'm pretty happy with it, it has a lot of torque and feels like it too.