I understand the wiggle test, but the problem is that the connector is a double male going though the valve cover and though the gasket, Part of the outside you can wiggle, But it wont effect the inside, if you can look closely at my pic with the quarter you will see what I mean, The clip on the bottom of the pic with the quarter in it, Is inside the cover and the one on the top is on the outside, Its one unit There basically identical to each other both females, The one inside will comes loose, Then vibration and gravity take over sliding it off,
I really would'nt try to wiggle the outside one to hard, To try and duplicate the problem in fear of damaging the gasket there somewhere around $80 I believe and it would take some force for it to move, since I believe that its one part, Gasket and connector together sealed by the cover

I do feel that maybe when he shut down the engine at the end of the day that it might have just given the engine that little shake that you get some times when killing an engine or the little shutter of a cold engine starting, It might have been the last little bit it needed to come loose and that is why the problem started when he started it the next day,

On mine the connector on the shorted side of mine was touching but not enough for contact it was off about 1/4 inch, (passenger side) On the connected side (driver side) I still had about 1/8 play in it and it was still connecting but could have fallen off since the clip that holds it was'nt under pressure anymore.
(I do remember someone else with same problem and it was there passengerside also)
Also there were write up about this and about some wires in the valve cover rubbing against the push rods, on some models, When i opend mine which is a 99+ they seemed to have fixed the wire rubbing with support tubes and nylon ties....

Well this is my 2 cents

I really Hope this helps
Please add to this and tell us what you find,
Thanks and Good luck
Rick

 

Well I am picking up the truck and am going to try the fix today. Hopefully this is the problem. I will post back and let you know!

Thanks
Bill

 

I recently had the same symptoms with the chugging/SES light (not the oil/fuel thing). I also had the same IDM error code. I replaced the valve cover gaskets and wire bundles under the valve covers. I found that one of the connectors under the valve cover had a pin that was shorting. The replacement fixed everything.

 

Well........................ SHE'S ALIVE!! I pulled the valve covers off, and sure enough, the passenger side was just laying there!! If I am correct that means it was only running on 4 cylinders and still going down the road!! I had a friend help, and it took about 3 hours. I pulled the drivers side, and all was well, nice and tight! I dont get why the passenger side is such a problem!? Afterwards, I changed the oil, so that is fresh now too!

Thanks for all the advice guys! Cant go wrong on FTE, all kinds of knowledge here. Thanks Rick for the pics and phone call, if you are ever in Kalamazoo let me know, I owe you a frosty one, and Gary for taking the time to look at it! I REALLY appreciate all the help!

Thanks!
Bill

 

Hearing that everything worked out ok and your Rig is up and running, That really makes me happy, Good job And Thank you for the Offer we might just get the chance,

Really Glad I could help,
FTE is a great site, gotta love it,
Rick

 

I too had the exact same problem. I found the UVC harness was coming undone. I bought the retainer clips and haven't had a problem since. Plus I'm getting better mileage since. Look under the vavle cover and look for the wiring harness coming loose or a wire rubbing. Find it yourself will save you no telling how much money.

Chad

 

Same problem here. FTE post got me the fix last year. Mine was the driver's side (easy side). Only problem was that I did not believe that something this stupid (read FORD) could have been the problem, so I just snugged up the connection and put it all back together. Three months later it just chugged, then died at the end of my street. High that day was 20 degrees and I had to re-fix the problem. This time I fabricated some retainers to fix it permanently. Now no problem. Since it was the drivers side and that was the first one that I tried, I never got around to the passenger side. Sounds like that is in my future.

 

Ford didn't make that. They do stupid things, granted, but like the crappy oil pans, Navistar gets the kudos for that.

 

Post # 2 in this thead. Not to brag or anything

 

Yep Kevin, you nailed it. Now can you help Torreador. I'm a little out of my league there.

 

Hey Bill,

I am glad things worked out for ya. I should have asked you to take some pictures. I could have made a tutorial for future use. Maybe the next time I get one of these apart I will be able to get some good pictures and post a repair procedure here for all to use.

If there is anything else I can help you with call me.
Gary

 

When mine went I called ford and they told me the clips were not in there parts list, and i did'nt have washers that would fit as good as the quarters, by the time i would have went to the store found washers, got back and did it that way it would have took a hour more to fix, so quarters were the best thing i had to use, (the contour of them does make them stick nicely) wonder how many kids got busted for putting penny's on railroad tracks...wonder if the federal reserve is going to crah down on me for this

 

Okay guys, I'm pulling the 1316 code too. Truck runs like crap until it warms up, then the service engine light goes out, and it runs like always. What signifacance does the engine being warmed have on this?

 

Could it be as simple as thermal expansion of the contacts on the plug finally mate up after things get hot?

 

Ah, sounds like an engineer reply. That would make sense, I was wondering if the IDM had any input from a temp sensor. I did a search, and everything points to the wiring harness. Is there anything else that might cause this problem? And, how much of a job is it to pull the valve covers?