2001 V10 - just bought
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5th Wheeling
Joined: Jun 2025
Posts: 47
Likes: 10
2001 V10 - just bought
Cross posted from the 1999-2016 Super Duty Forum
Back story:
I have a 1999 F250 SD in excellent condition that was backed into and the offender drove off. Insurance company told me to go get an estimate and wrote me a check. Instead of repairing the bed (not exactly horrible) I went looking for another bed to drop on my truck. I found a 2001 F250 SD that is a twin to mine. A farmer had it and had pulled the bed off years ago and put a flatbed on it. He has since put the original bed back on it (had it sitting in a shed). Bed is in perfect condition - truck has a few farmer dents on it but is in pretty decent shape for no rust through and Alcoa wheels. I bought the truck (V10, 166K, 4x4 extended cab) for $2400. My son saw the truck and wants to see if we can get it running good enough to be his "school" truck and he'll look at building a flatbed in shop class - for the time being my dented bed will go on it.
The Issue:
2001 V10 auto that has sat for 3 years. Guy said it had a miss when they parked it in the corner of his shop. It now has 3 year old gas in it and there is a definite miss but no other noticeable issues (no knocking, no smoke, no blown spark plugs). The check engine light is NOT on - my truck will not trip the light when a COP goes bad but will still have a random misfire code). I hooked up my (very cheap) code reader and there are no codes stored. I don't know if the guy cleared the codes or it truly isn't missing bad enough to trip the codes. Battery is VERY weak and needs jumped at every start up. We had it running for a bit and it did die the first time it was dropped in gear - needing another jump start to restart. Idles with a noticeable miss.
Where do you start?
2001 Super Duty $2400
Back story:
I have a 1999 F250 SD in excellent condition that was backed into and the offender drove off. Insurance company told me to go get an estimate and wrote me a check. Instead of repairing the bed (not exactly horrible) I went looking for another bed to drop on my truck. I found a 2001 F250 SD that is a twin to mine. A farmer had it and had pulled the bed off years ago and put a flatbed on it. He has since put the original bed back on it (had it sitting in a shed). Bed is in perfect condition - truck has a few farmer dents on it but is in pretty decent shape for no rust through and Alcoa wheels. I bought the truck (V10, 166K, 4x4 extended cab) for $2400. My son saw the truck and wants to see if we can get it running good enough to be his "school" truck and he'll look at building a flatbed in shop class - for the time being my dented bed will go on it.
The Issue:
2001 V10 auto that has sat for 3 years. Guy said it had a miss when they parked it in the corner of his shop. It now has 3 year old gas in it and there is a definite miss but no other noticeable issues (no knocking, no smoke, no blown spark plugs). The check engine light is NOT on - my truck will not trip the light when a COP goes bad but will still have a random misfire code). I hooked up my (very cheap) code reader and there are no codes stored. I don't know if the guy cleared the codes or it truly isn't missing bad enough to trip the codes. Battery is VERY weak and needs jumped at every start up. We had it running for a bit and it did die the first time it was dropped in gear - needing another jump start to restart. Idles with a noticeable miss.
Where do you start?
2001 Super Duty $2400
Hotshot
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 19,762
Likes: 1,079
From: St Louis
You will need a better scan tool or equivalent to look at the Mode $06 data to see which cylinder(s) need attention. Forscan with a recommended adapter will work fine. Torque Pro will also work.
FTE Community Team
Joined: Dec 2023
Posts: 8,759
Likes: 4,232
From: sussex county, nj
welcome to the v10 club area, where you find us past and present 10er owners hanging out, as was posted in your other thread start by charging or replacing the battery, fresh gas, and a scanner,
Laughing Gas
Joined: Dec 2019
Posts: 893
Likes: 255
From: San Diego, CA
Also worth making sure it is not a vacuum leak. Check intake and hoses coming off intake. Check PCV hose and connector. Clean MAF. Does the truck have an EGR system?
Haven't tried this on a Triton, but you can use an IR thermometer to measure the exhaust manifolds and possibly find the misfiring cylinder.
Haven't tried this on a Triton, but you can use an IR thermometer to measure the exhaust manifolds and possibly find the misfiring cylinder.
FTE Community Team
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 10,728
Likes: 1,497
These guys have some great advice ^^^^^^^
Dead battery will make it be randomly weird, definitely a good place to start.
Is the oil miserably pitch black like it never gets changed? That might be a clue to keep in mind.
I'd start by pulling and inspecting all of the coils and the holes they go into. Maybe one is just filled with water or oil or something. Maybe a boot has gone bad. Etc. Etc.
At 166,000 miles, do you know if the spark plugs were ever changed? If you don't know, or if they haven't been changed, that is probably necessary. If they supposedly have been changed, it is probably still a good idea to pull and inspect them. Once you're pulling them, you may as well replace them unless they are nearly new.
Either way, the next step (without any clues from a scanner or Forscan etc.) would be a compression test, which would require you to pull plugs anyway.
Dead battery will make it be randomly weird, definitely a good place to start.
Is the oil miserably pitch black like it never gets changed? That might be a clue to keep in mind.
I'd start by pulling and inspecting all of the coils and the holes they go into. Maybe one is just filled with water or oil or something. Maybe a boot has gone bad. Etc. Etc.
At 166,000 miles, do you know if the spark plugs were ever changed? If you don't know, or if they haven't been changed, that is probably necessary. If they supposedly have been changed, it is probably still a good idea to pull and inspect them. Once you're pulling them, you may as well replace them unless they are nearly new.
Either way, the next step (without any clues from a scanner or Forscan etc.) would be a compression test, which would require you to pull plugs anyway.
Thread Starter
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5th Wheeling
Joined: Jun 2025
Posts: 47
Likes: 10
I have no idea on the maintenance history. I am not a big fan of the Triton engines and I have told my son that if it doesn't have obvious and easy to fix problems the truck is going down road after the beds are swapped. He has a 1995 F150 300 6 with a 5 speed that we are putting on the road after sitting in a back yard for years.
Currently the truck is sitting 80 miles away while I arrange time and trailer to go haul it home - I'll drop a battery in it to make moving it around easier and possibly eliminate one variable.
I am dropping this truck off at a local repair shop to get readings on the engine - primarily fuel trim and misfires per piston. I am really hoping its a simple COP repair. I might have them pull a spark plug or two to check on condition if swapping in a COP fixes the miss issue. I have a pile of them in my current 1999 V10.
Currently the truck is sitting 80 miles away while I arrange time and trailer to go haul it home - I'll drop a battery in it to make moving it around easier and possibly eliminate one variable.
I am dropping this truck off at a local repair shop to get readings on the engine - primarily fuel trim and misfires per piston. I am really hoping its a simple COP repair. I might have them pull a spark plug or two to check on condition if swapping in a COP fixes the miss issue. I have a pile of them in my current 1999 V10.
Last edited by Hockeygoon; Jun 19, 2025 at 09:04 AM.
Thread Starter
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5th Wheeling
Joined: Jun 2025
Posts: 47
Likes: 10
Shop hooked up diagnosis - no codes. The rear 4 spark plug holes were filled with water from a bad hood seal. Surprisingly only two of the COPs were dead. On my 1999 when the COPs get wet, they immediately die - never to fire again. Shop also replaced 2 spark plugs - heavily carbonized - the other two were "fair". According to them the engine appears to be running fine and no excessive miss fires. Engine is running with 10 gallon of fresh gas and can of Seafoam.
Last edited by Hockeygoon; Jun 23, 2025 at 02:51 PM.
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5th Wheeling
Joined: Jun 2025
Posts: 47
Likes: 10
Shop just called again - still has a miss they can't track down. I thought they were getting a live readout - turns out they are not. The guy did the first repairs just by experience and ear. He said his computer can't get a live readout on the 2001's ECM. Most of the miss is gone - but there is still at least one cylinder not firing regular enough that you can hear it. Since its not a constant miss he didn't have any luck tracking it down pulling plug wire by plug wire.
Will a better code reader make a difference? My company has a certified diesel mechanic with a Snapon code reader - he was able to get individual firing rates on his code reader on my 1999 F250 SD V10 - it was doing something similar - having a dead miss without tripping the CEL but it was throwing a random misfire code. He was able to quickly isolate the which cylinder was having the issue.
Will a better code reader make a difference? My company has a certified diesel mechanic with a Snapon code reader - he was able to get individual firing rates on his code reader on my 1999 F250 SD V10 - it was doing something similar - having a dead miss without tripping the CEL but it was throwing a random misfire code. He was able to quickly isolate the which cylinder was having the issue.
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Hotshot
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 19,762
Likes: 1,079
From: St Louis
The guy did the first repairs just by experience and ear. He said his computer can't get a live readout on the 2001's ECM.
have your guy with the SnapOn do it, he knows what he's doing.
FTE Community Team
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 10,728
Likes: 1,497
What they said ^^^^^^^
A lot of what you're reporting from the shop it is at is not related to the V-10, but rather related to improper diagnosis that is somewhat related to not having the right tools available.
A lot of what you're reporting from the shop it is at is not related to the V-10, but rather related to improper diagnosis that is somewhat related to not having the right tools available.
Thread Starter
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5th Wheeling
Joined: Jun 2025
Posts: 47
Likes: 10
I have the truck at home. My nephew hooked up his scan tool (works at a Dodge dealership as a mechanic). Truck was actually running pretty good when started (fresh gas with a huge dose of Seafoam getting the injectors to work?). Massive oil leak from the rear main and a knock coming from deep down in the engine. the longer the engine idled the worse it seemed to run. Once up to temperature it began to blow a cloud of blue smoke. Scan indicated 0 misfires during this process but the engine died several times just putting into gear. It was giving one code about the intake O2 sensor - but no "lean codes" - surprisingly no other codes at all. Either way the massive oil burning and the knock have confirmed my earlier assumptions - engine has been used hard and needs rebuilt/replaced. I am sending this one down the road after the bed swap.
What's it worth with a bad engine, working (?) transmission and transfer case and a nearly rust free frame and body?
What's it worth with a bad engine, working (?) transmission and transfer case and a nearly rust free frame and body?