Diagnosing the PROBLEM
First off y’all have helped me a ton.
Thank you all.
i have a 05 f150 5.4 XLT 4x4 with 189,000 miles. Recently I had full tune up on the truck plus oil change.
In addition couple months back I changed the VCT solenoids when the went bad. A new PCM
Had the Cats checked for back pressure. New o2 senor.
Truck ran great for a month then bam.
Come to a stop light it idles rough. it doesn’t die but shake horrible.
Couplr miles down the road it will stop.
Next day drives fine . Then and a red light it starts again. Shakes and idles rough. Driving down the road it’s fine.
Then suddenly THE CEL COS ON.
P0349
p0345
p0174
p0300
p0300
p0303
p0304
as mentioned truck has me plugs boots etc.
So I go back to driving and it stops . I clear the codes reset the pcm . Next day . All good til on my way home from work. Stop to get gas which I was low. It idles horrible. Left gas store made it home and soon as I pulled in drive way it stopped. It idles fine. I was curious so I drove it all evening around the block.
I’m confused. Bad . Lol.
You are not receiving the bad timing codes yet but you are in the zone . The timing parts are much improved .
Right now I wonder what plugs you used and if plug job done correctly . This engine very fussy about that . Should be using sp546 not the troublesome 515's You have misfires on bank 1 pass side. That does not mean that you are not having misfires on drivers side but maybe below the threshold of setting cel ..Mode six will tell you raw counts per cyl .
You should clean cyl sprk tip to get carbon out of there with carb cleaner as it breaks plugs . Plugs should be done hosp clean with new boots . Clean all connector plugs with contact cleaner .. Replace all connectors that don't lock on . Clean cop contacts real well . Torque all plugs in 25 to 28 foot pounds' . Very hard to diag engine unless you start with a real good tune up .
Me I would do an engine flush several times and run some marvel m oil . If oil system very sludged it will keep blocking small screens and vct ports . Even if you do timing job the clean out will help . .
That's enough with the info at this point . You have way more info than we do
I would think you cleaned throttle body and maf .
Most funny u say engine flush cause to weeks ago I had it done.
The tune up I had done was by a certified ford mechanic. It has daily new VCT solenoid . Bout 4 months old. If that long.
Mans for more info I woke up this morning and drove to work. Keep in mind it didn’t do it yesterday after I left the gas store. but this morning. It started again.
And hasn’t stopped. The rpms are not really dropping it just shakes sometimes very hard.
But give it gas and it clears up. I checked the codes And no new ones just the ones listed before.
Thos truck is driving me crazy. I can see the fuel pump module and I can see corrosion. But here’s the thing.
1 I’m not mechanical inclined as I have no PATIENCE. Lol
2 I can’t get the dang spare tire off any ideas. the jack etc is gone so is there a alternative I can do with out it costing money.
3 how do I clean the throttle body. Can I clean it without taking it off.
so with that said driving down the road it drives fine.
Its just at idle is the problem.
And I don’t know if this makes any difference but my serpentine belt has been squealing for about three days or so.
so that’s where I’m at at the moment. Thx to u all I’m gonna clean throttle body and change fuel module if I can get the spare off.
Many other thing I need to look for or inspect that might cause my idling issue?
Thx
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First off y’all have helped me a ton.
Thank you all.
i have a 05 f150 5.4 XLT 4x4 with 189,000 miles. Recently I had full tune up on the truck plus oil change.
In addition couple months back I changed the VCT solenoids when the went bad. A new PCM
Had the Cats checked for back pressure. New o2 senor.
Truck ran great for a month then bam.
Come to a stop light it idles rough. it doesn’t die but shake horrible.
Couplr miles down the road it will stop.
Next day drives fine . Then and a red light it starts again. Shakes and idles rough. Driving down the road it’s fine.
Then suddenly THE CEL COS ON.
P0349
p0345
p0174
p0300
p0300
p0303
p0304
as mentioned truck has me plugs boots etc.
So I go back to driving and it stops . I clear the codes reset the pcm . Next day . All good til on my way home from work. Stop to get gas which I was low. It idles horrible. Left gas store made it home and soon as I pulled in drive way it stopped. It idles fine. I was curious so I drove it all evening around the block.
I’m confused. Bad . Lol.
Ford Trucks for Ford Truck Enthusiasts
And just because you had a shop do plugs doesn't mean its done right . We like to think so but many on here will tell you they have been disappointed .
Well as complicated as life is going to get in the next 20 years patience and learning is going to be your future as I tell my grandkids. Just watched a guy rebuild a testla , thats a real learning experience that's one hell of a battery and lethal .
Perhaps a junk yard will have your jack and tools .
I have had to drop that tire with good clothes on and its a big reason to clean it every now and then not to mention airing it up . 'Both vcts should have been replaced ,new ones are better and screens and such get clogged . Some of us do a engine flush every other oil change ,plus I run 1 quart marvel m oil as slow cleaner .
.Best To clean throttle body and maf off the intake. Plus in reality I would clean injectors A vacuum leak is always possible when in there changing plugs ,old lines etc . That makes for a rough idle ,there are several ways to test for that/ one is a homemade smoke machine off you tube .05's had bad injectors so I replaced all mine at 130k ,and will again at 230k .They can kill an engine so I replace with new ,yes they are not cheap .
If your belt squealing it may be bad bearings in pulleys or a bad tensioner . You have a steel crank pulley so that's not the problem/ no rubber damper .
The other day I cleaned every connector and then drove it for 2 days and nothing happen.
Then now I have P0174 p0303 . I’ve checked and checked and rechecked what am I missing?
P0303 Error Code P0303 is described as Misfire Detected, Cylinder number 3. This means the vehicle's computer has detected a misfire in the engine's cylinder number 3 which is passenger side third one back .
It determines a misfire if crank gets boost or not from that point of crank cycle . Not perfect .You can move no 3 plug, cop and injector to another cly . There may be other misfires but not as bad . Torque pro lets you see those building up per cyl.
Me I would run a vacuum smoke test with homemade smoke machine off you tube . Of course you cleaned maf and TB . You must have put a new fuel filter on it . Its not good to run fuel pump with low gas all the time as it cools pump . Torque pro will let you see fuel pressure on rail . Its a cheap diag tool for $5 ,you need android phone and cheap amazon bluetooth reader .
Yes this motor eats parts and it can be a bear to find problem .
Your 345 and 349 indicate the cam on bank 2 not where it is supposed to be ,perhaps the new vcts are jammed with dirt . You could pull bank 2 valve cover ,clean vct and inspect valve train . Dirty oil from vct drives cam phaser to position computer wants it . You can look at cam phaser to see if its distorted ,turn engine until 3 fingers are up ,middle finger timing mark . directly behind in line , the spring should not be distorted and finger plate should be parallel to cam gear . Of course if guides are broken then oil maybe getting blocked at oil pu screen . So low oil pressure can cause a lot of this . Basically if you drop oil pan and plastic in there then its time for a full timing job . I hate to bring bad news to Cesar but don't shoot the messenger . You are at the miles most fail, mine did before this .












