I'm a new member so please bear with me. I need help with a problem on my 2003 e150 5.4L automatic 30000mi. About 6 months ago my vehicle develop a momentary hesitation. This happens intermittantly and not often at around 40-50 MPH when I feather the accelerator especially on a mild incline. I changed the gas filter about 3000 mi ago but that didn't seem to help. I then brought it to the dealer who checked the codes and said there was a lean condition. He also changed the gas filter and said that got rid of the lean condition code. This was about 300 mi ago . Again the problem reocurred within 150 mi of changing the gas filter. There is no hesitation when nailing the accelerator, or hesitation outside the the 40-50 MPH range. There was no problem go up a steep incline for about 3-5 min at 80 MPH. Most recently there has been a double instantaneous hesitation wherein the car feels like, but doesn't, stall. There is no back firing or power steering loss. The car idles smoothly and accelerates smoothly and has no other problem. Gas milage has been the same since it was purchased. Gas is purchsed at the same station and they have not reported any problems. If this is caused by a "dirty" gas then why should it reduce the gas flow in a new filter after only 150 miles but not drastically reduce the gas flow in a filter with 3000 mi on it. There is no differece in performance of the car between the two filters. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

if the problem does not occur under hard acceleration or at high speed I doubt it is a fuel filter/resrtiction is the problem. when this problem occur does the transmission shift? does it happen when the vehicle is warm or cold?

 

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Crash687,

Thanks for replying. The problem doesn't occur upon transmission shifting. But it seems to ocurr only after the overdriver has engaged. In fact in order to relicate the problem, which is difficult to do, I have to feel the OD engage (around 45MPH) then back off on the accelerator to a coast around 38-40MPH, then feather the accelerator to about 42 MPH which causes the momentary hesitation ( if the car down shifts to 3rd the problem doesn't ocurr). As stated above recently there was a double hessitation. At first I suspected a problem with the overdrive lockup but the dealer insists there were no transmission codes only the lean mixture code which did not reocurr after the fuel filter was change by him. WHen I first changed the filter there was a lot of small dark particles from the filter and the dealer also said the the filter he removed was dirty. But again to restrict flow on a new filter with 300 mi the gas has to be so dirty that it should have caused a significant amount of hesitation on the old filter with 10 times the amount of milage on it (3000mi). Yet the car acts the same with both filters. Maybe my reasoning is faulty. Is there a way to scan the codes without purchasing a device. On my old Chrysler I was able to see the codes via the top mount console after turning the ignition switch 3 tmes in succession. If there is no way, what scanner would you recommend to purchase. I have been looking at Autotap but that means a PDA or Laptop purchase. My knowledge is limited although I worked my way through school as a "mechanic" many years ago (late 1960's no computers only vaccum lines)

Again thanks in advance for any info.

 

First, just because there are no codes doesn't mean there isn't a problem. Codes have a criteria that must be met before they will set and the criteria is different for each code. As an example, a particular transmission slip code must be seen continuously by the computer for 10 seconds before it will set the code. That means if the transmission is slipping in OD and you only drive around town below 50 mph and there are a lot of stoplights, you may never have it slip for a total of 10 seconds at any one time. Its still slipping though. Another criteria that is pretty common are engine codes that require the computer see the problem 5 times on a single ignition cycle before it sets.

The symptom you described above fits with a torque converter clutch engagement problem. In O/D at that speed, the converter clutch engagement will release if you feather the throttle, then re-apply as the throttle comes on. The converter may be delaying engagement or it may be a harsh engagement and that could feel like a hesitation. This would not necessarily EVER set a transmission code.

The other thing that fits with your description is an engine load dependant hesitation and the engine is never under more load than when the converter applies at low speed. (Just as you described above) When the converter comes on a low fuel pressure situation could cause a hesitation. A restricted fuel filter could cause this. It may be that you got something in the tank after you had some miles on that first filter. Or the pump could be failing. Monitoring the fuel pressure with a gauge while driving the vehicle and creating this condition would tell you if that is your problem.

The other thing could be an ignition problem. bad plug wires or coil could do this. Even an ignition module going bad could start out this way. It looks to me like this will take a good technician some time and energy to properly diagnose you problem.

Steve
'95 Clubwagon XLT

 

Yep, that's what happened to my husband's 83 E150/302 earlier a few months ago. Since late Sept 2004 and then earlier this year, this "hesitation" began to happen. First time it was during a bad rain storm (remnants of a Tropical storm) while in Payson. The rain was coming down so hard we thought it had to do with moisture as it would hesitant similar to yours. Finally it died at one point and we had to push it off the road to let the electronics "dry out"...so to speak. As soon as it dried out (or so we thought) the van started up again. Then again in February while driving to a SCA event.... it rained again and acted up for abit.

However by Summer, the intermittant "hesitation" was occurring more often while driving. Finally it was stalling at stops and eventually, it just died while in town. At least it didnt happen while crossing an intersection! My husband went through the litany and changed what he thought it could be. Checked the lines for bad gas, the filter, ignition module. Put gas in the carb and it would start up but die. Listened to all the suggestions and "what it could be" with this older van. We were in town and there was no way we could get back home until it was fixed.

The fuel pump had gone out, that's all.

All the previous symptoms we suffered were from this. The only reason why my husband did not consider this the culprit, was this was a brand new one from AutoZone installed early 2004. So he bought another, installed it and it has been running fine ever since.

Knocks on wood.

 

i also had a miss and hesitation on my 87 ford e150 van i have changed out alot of parts and have also changed the fuel filter 2 times.i have cleaned out the throttle body with a cleaner and it seemed to help it out ,i also cleaned out the egr valve and it has also helped out a bit,now i just have a high idle in park,trying to correct this also.

 

Thanks to all for the replys. Since this 2003 7 passanger Chateau has only about 30000 mi I called the dealer and make an appt after the new year for repair under the standard warranty. I'll post the results shortly thereafter. The more I drive and experiece this problem, the more I see it only happens when the tranny is in OD and the speed is around 40-45 MPH. It's strange that it is only a momentary hesitation and is intermittant. Very rarely there is a double hesitation and it happens at no other speed. I've nailed the accelerator and it shifts strong and quick without any problems thru max RPMS. Thanks again to everyone.

 

The dealer took the car for about 2 days and had trouble replicating the symptoms. Eventually the problem reocurred and a diagnostic scope revealed that cyl 1 was not firing. This had to do with the fact that each plug has its own "coil" so in effect there was intermittant misfiring . The misfiring did not ocurr enough to set some codes but only enough to cause intermittant problems. Sounds reasonable but I'll take a wait and see attitude ( does it sound reasonable to the more knowledgable members of this forum????) I'll post updates should there be any, otherwise the bad plug was the culprit.

 

The defective spark plug was not the cause of the current problem.

 

Does that mean that the dealer replaced the plug but the problem re-occured? If so, then I would expect that the #1 coil is bad. Since the scope identified #1 missfiring and replacing the plug didn't fix the problem, it is almost surely the coil.

Steve
'95 Clubwagon XLT

 

An update for all those interested in this problem. After several visits to the dealer the problem was traced to 2 defective coils and both were replaced along with the plugs. The 2 cyls that misfired were one and two. This seems to have corrected this problem but there still is a rare hestiation now at around 55MPH which is almost non preceptable. 2 questions arise - why doesn't the check engine light come on. As mentioned above by Clubwagon who correctly diagnosed the problem, thresholds need to be reached but the frequency at which this happened leads me to believe that I may have a problem with the components that tract and alert. Anyone know where i find the threshold values and how do I check if the components are working correctly. Anyone have a number or address to call/write Ford to follow up on my concerns. ANyone familiar with Autotap OBDII diagnostic apparatus. I was thinking about purchasing it. It has software and cables that hook up into a laptop to tract engine performance and codes. Thanks in advance for any replys.

Joe

 

Hey Joe, glad you got your problem solved. One of the easiest places you can get the code threshold and charateristic information is from the online services like Alldata. I used to own a shop so and subsribed, but these are intended for use by professional shops, not the weekend guy working on his own cars. Cost can run $100 to $150 per month for a subscription. I haven't tried to find the information anywhere else so I don't have a direction for you to go.

The slight hesitation at 55 could possibly be as simple as dirty injectors, throttle plate or carbon buildup in the cylinders and exhaust valves. An entire fuel system/intake manifold and decarbon treatment may be the solution. BG or TerraClean are tow good ones. I prefer the TerraClean myself. It does a great job of decarboning the entire engine and exhaust.

Good Luck,
Steve
'95 Clubwagon XLT

 

Steve,

Thanks for your help and sharing your knowledge. I'll see if any of my friends have access to the Alldata site. Have you heard anything on the Autotap system for monitering OBDII codes. I'm thinking about purchasing the system so I can scan my vehicles for any trouble codes. I am having a hard time understanding why no trouble codes or check engine light appeared considering all the misfires I had. The dealer finally attached what appeared to be a laptop to the engine then I drove the vehicle around to collect data. Everytime I had a hesitation I pushed a button on the "laptop" which stored the data. I saw cyls 1 and 2 drop off on the screen during the misfires. I think Autotap is that type of monitering device. You load software on a laptop and then attach a cable to the engine and it reads and keeps track of the engine problems.

Thanks again,

joe

 

Hey Joe, I really don't know anything beyond the basics on autotap. I have a Snap-On scanner so I haven't had to look into anything like that. I spent a lot of money on the scanner and always wondered why I just couldn't buy a cable and software that I could run on a laptop for a fraction of the price. I would assume that is what the autotap system is.

I have seen the "flight recorder" that ford uses before. Its a valuable tool. Good luck solving the rest of the issue.

Steve
'95 Clubwagon XLT