Hi all. I need your help. First off, i live in the Philippines and both me and my father each own a 2001 Expy XLT 4.6 liter. We do have a ford dealer here but they are having a hard time with my dad's Expy.

Problem/s:
when accelerating it misses, to me it feels like one of the spark plugs are misfiring. Also, it takes a while to start anytime of the day. It should be starting in just one click (like mine) but it takes a good 10 to 15 seconds to start. Here's the catch, the expy only has 17,000kms on it. It's not used that often cuz my father is out of the country a lot. So its 5 years old, still smells like new. The Expy is at the dealer now, it's the 4th time i've brought it in for the same exact problem

As for my expedition here's my problem:

The other day i was driving when i noticed my rear end was making some noise. When i put into reverse, drive or any other gear i can hear a bit of a clunking noise. When i actually reverse i can hear a big clunk, as well as when im driving sometimes i can hear the same clunking noise. I don't think its coming from the transmission, i'm very sure it's coming from the rear differential.

Hope you all can help me out with these problems. Thank you.

 

on the second unit check the rear u joints on the drive shaft

 

Agreed- sounds like some bad ujoints or really bad rear end gears- more likely the ujoint. on the First truck, any codes? My truck misses when it's not warmed up because it has a bad EGR valve, but it ceases when warmed. Slow starting could be from clogged fuel filter- the injectors need certain pressure to work right. turn the key to on and wait about 20-30 secs to see if it starts right off then. Mine did that too. BUt 17000 KM over 5(or 6?) years is REALLY REALLY low- maybe some bad gas from lack of being used?

 

On my father's truck, I confirmed that the EGR, IAC, MAF and fuel filter have been check and cleaned but it's piston #6 and 7 that is misfiring. Could it be the COP? we had just put gas in it very recently so i don't think it's a problem with bad or old gas. The guys over at ford said they will also pressure test the fuel pump, could that also be a problem?

I keep on telling my father he should use the Expy more, he has a lot of problems with it because he never uses it. He doesn't believe me when i told him that the more the truck sits and its not being used, the more likely you're going to have problems with it.

 

i have a 01 and just went through with a code p0306 which is cylinder #6 misfire detected but i have 80,000 miles on mine. first i tried just a cop boot but that did not help so i replaced the number six cop and plug after that no engine miss was felt and the code did not come back. i guess you are getting codes p0306 and p0307 is how you determined it was #6 and 7 cylinders. i agree a low fuel pressure could cause a slow to start but if its two bad cops that would make it slow to start also.

 

I just called Ford again and what they told me is that no codes are coming up. How they determined that #6 and 7 were misfiring was by using checking the power balance. I have no idea what they were talking about, i did see it though, they had the computer hooked up and reved the engine and i could see the power drop. They also did the pressure test for the fuel pump, no problems there.

So now, they solved the #6 by changing the spark plug and the number seven is ok as well (the COP was ok). Now they have another problem with #8. Should i just go ahead and change all the plugs on it? It doesn't really seem right that the plugs would have to be changed because it only has 17,000kms or 10,600miles on it. And how come the problem is going to #8 after 6 and 7 were already fixed? Have any ideas or suggestions?

Thank you all for the help, i'm tired of bringing back and forth to the shop. Like i said previously, this is the 4th time its been in the shop for the same problem.

 

Cullen,

I have been experiencing a similar problem with starting on my 04 Exped. XLT. Right now, Ford Motor Company is involved because the dealership I have been dealing with has been giving me the run around and I am fed up.

What's happening with mine is that when I go to start it, it takes about 3-5 seconds or 5 revolutions to actually turn over and start. This is an intermittent problem that does not happen every single time but often enough for me to take it in for service. This dealer has had my truck for two weeks now, claimed that they have experienced it only once but because they couldn't get a code on it they can't fix it. They claimed that it has happened only once while in their possession but it has happened at least 2-3 times a day when my wife and I had it in our possesion. They said that they put the pressure gauge on the fuel pump and there was no drop in pressure. So basically I have a truck under warranty with this starting problem that they will only fix if they can get some sort of code on or exactly pin point the problem.

So I've got a letter of complaint going to the president of this dealership with a copy going to Ford Motor Company. I have also been in contact with Ford Motor Company via phone and have documented everything that has happened and informed them of what the service manager has told me. They said that some of things like Ford telling them that if they can't pin point or get a code on the problem there is nothing they can whether truck is under factory warranty or extended warranty. The Ford rep that I talked to today said that that was wrong and he should not have told me that.

I have also been in contact with two Ford Techs via telephone and email and explained the problem to them and they both told me that the dealership's service department is giving me the run-around. They even suggested numerous things that that service department should be looking at but to my knowledge they have not. One tech that is familiar with this service department told me that because my truck is still under warranty, that service department doesn't want to really troubleshoot and fix my problem. He said that his dealership get's alot of their customers because of stuff like this.

I would suggest that you make sure that the dealership is exhausting all of it's resources to solve your problems because there should be a solution to get your dad's truck back to operating correctly. And if you 'bark' loud enough, they will hear you. There are alot more details about this whole thing that would make go hmmm.....

 

roybus14,

I'm sure that they are really trying to solve the problem, I'm good friends with the owner of the dealership and they are all over my dad's car. It's just that it's not giving any error codes so they are just troubleshooting it blindly. I just got off the phone with them now and they changed the spark plug in #6, cleaned #7 and changed the COP in #8. They are letting it sit for a few hours and they'll take it out for a test drive to make sure. I hope everything is ok on it now, it was a little frustrating having to bing it back and forth 4 times but i'm sure that everything will be fine now.

 

My 2000 XLT also misses when it's cold, and when it's really cold outside at the same time. By the time I get through town and onto the interstate, it's fine. I just replaced a faulty COP and keep my IAC clean....wonder if I should try a new EGR valve? What do you think?

Bobby
2000XLT
197K Miles
20" Harley wheels

 

I would go ahead and have all the plugs changed.

 

oldexpo, try running the codes on it first and see what comes up. In my case, no codes came up so it more of a trial and error kind of thing. You may try cleaning your fuel filter also before speding the money and changing the EGR.

Honestly, i never had the problem with my Expo missing then being ok later on. When was the last time you changed your plugs?

 

you could also try cleaning the EGR and MAF.

 

That's just it, they are not all over my truck. They start it, if doesn't happen, then they give me the old song and dance again. My brother picked my truck up from them on Saturday and not even an hour or two after he had it, the problem happened to him 2-3 times. He told me that it has even gotten to a point now where if you don't hold the key in the start position, the truck won't do anything. He had it for an hour+ and it happened to him numerous times and they had it for two weeks and it only happened to them once?

As far as troubleshooting blindly, they have not even changed a part other then the starter wiring connector two weeks ago. They have changed spark plugs, cleaned anything or tried anything else. For a minute, I was begining to think my wife and I were bonkers but then my brother picked my truck up on Saturday and was like "man, I think that your starter is going up." So now he is dropping it off at another Dealer where a friend of ours is Tech there. If this dealership repairs my truck today and it is ready to go today, I'm going to be pissed. I went two weeks without my truck, got the run-around, didn't get a loaner, and just got nothing but lip service from the Service Manager.

 

roybus14, your problem was the exact same problem i had with my fathers Expo the first time i brought it to the shop. The truck was very hard to start, just as you described. So you already changed your plugs cleaned the MAF, IAC, EGR and fuel filter?

I'm going to ford today to pick up my father's ride, I'll check my his service record once i get there to see what had been changed. Hopefully that can point you in the right direction on how to solve your problem.

Just out of curiousity, Once you get your Expo started does it stall out and you have to restart it again?

 

Cullen,

Just I thought.... This dealership has found and diagnosed my problem in one friggin day. Where as the other dealership had my truck for two friggin weeks and the best they could come up with was "winter blends" in gas....GTFOH...

There were three problems that they found with my truck. 1) The IAC needs cleaning or work; 2) The coil packing (whatever that is) is going bad; 3) They think that my keys are out of synch with the chip or mechanism that the key communicates with when starting. All of this is under warranty so I am straight. I dropped off my second key so that they can confirm that about keys being out of synch.

The other dealership just flat out lied and didn't want to help me, period. This other dealership is used to getting the first dealership's customers because of the bad service they give. The first dealership is very good at getting you a deal on your car/truck but they suck badly when it comes to service...

Thanks for your help and I will keep you posted.