Hello All,

Just found this forum from google. Glad to see other ford truck enthusiasts. I need your advice!

I have an 04 XLT Expedition with the 5.4L. Just had an oil change about 2 weeks ago at a local service station, first time had it done there.

The problem: my spousal unit (wife) and I noticed a few days ago, when we were at a light, the truck had a quick "bumpy" feeling, felt like an engine knock, but with no sound. It would last for a second or two, then go away, then come back, etc. When my wife was using the truck, she said she felt that everytime she was in traffic while stopped, that bumpy/engine knock feeling came about while stopped and the "Check Engine Light" came on. So now I took the truck out today and saw that the CEL was off, never came on. But when I put the truck in reverse to go out of my driveway, I felt the bumpy feeling again, lasting a few seconds, then go away, then come back. As I drove away, I kinda felt it briefly, then it would go away as I drove. When I'd accelerate, it would go away, but it felt like there was a slight loss of power (I could be mistaken since I'm used to driving a Camaro). The oil and temp levels seem correct, no problems. I also do not hear anything unusual from the engine or no pinging or noises. We just feel that bumpy/engine knock movement.

Could it be an incorrect oil filter or oil? Synthetic oil was not used in the last oil change. Could it be something more serious? Like engine knocking in the works......Any advice?

Thanks!

 

Most likely it's an engine skip. One of the coils or plugs is kicking in and out when it wants to.

 

Thanks for the info! Damn, so I imagine its a fix that will take time and put a big dent in my wallet. Any range of approximately how much it will cost? I'm not an auto guru, just want to make sure I don't get burned on the cost.

Also, is it safe to drive anymore? I'm guessing I'll have to take it to a shop ASAP or some place to get it fixed. Any more advice?

Just out of curiousity, what can cause that slip? Time?

Thnx,
Chris

 

Each plug has it's own coil on the 5.4 and they just love to burn out, no rhyme or reason to it. You can pick up a cheapy off of eBay for under $20 with shipping and change it yourself. The trick is figuring out which one is doing it.

 

Hey appreciate it! Would love to do it myself. Dumb question, you're talking the spark plugs and coils for each? Sorry if I got it wrong. Would I be alright to do a tune up (replace the plugs) and the coils? Or just only do the one that is bad?

Thanks again!

 

You can do them all if you wish, your call. I bought a set of 8 coils off eBay for under $100 including shipping. The auto parts stores want about $60 each for them. I put in a new set of plugs along with the 8 new coils and mine is running smooth as silk.

Here's one of the 8 pack kits:
eBay Motors: 97-05 Ford Lincoln Mercury Expendition ignition Coil 8 (item 350060348574 end time May-21-08 18:27:51 PDT)

 

Oh and yes, I was talking the spark plugs and coils for each.
Just make sure you have a set of injector o-rings handy and some dielectric grease to coat the boots of the new coils.

 

Sweet! Thnx! Just ordered the 8 pack. Going to pick up some spark plugs, injector o-rings, and dielectric grease too. By the way, which spark plugs do you recommend for the Expedition? Which do you use? Can't go wrong to do this and save money!

While I'm waiting for the coils to arrive via mail, can I still drive my truck without doing damage? (local driving only) Or do you recommend me just keeping it parked until after I do the repairs.

Thanks again!!
Chris

 

Use Motocraft plugs, I think Autolites are ok as well. STAY THE HECK AWAY FROM BOSCH!! I'd just go the moto's myself. Really all i use plug and battery and filter wise..

 

Rocker 7700,
I hate to intrude on your thread but I have a question for Alloro. I started a thread after having the same "bumping/misfiring" problem immediately after washing down the engine a month or so ago but dried out quickly.

It came back this week after washing the car(not the engine) 3 or 4 days ago but hasn't gone away this time. I saw this thread and wondered if Alloro thinks I could have shorted one or more of these spark plug/coils when I washed the engine? Is it that easy to do ? This is my first Expedition and I love the car but I'm a maintenance freak- I get Xmas cards from Griot's Garage- I like clean and if cleaning the engine can cause these kinds of problems I'm no going to keep this car for long (it's a '98-one owner).
Thanks for the input. Bob

 

Rocker7700,

It's never good to drive with a skip, the raw unburnt fuel gets into your catalytic converter and can destroy it in a short amount of time. I wouldn't sweat a quick trip to the corner market if you're stuck for a vehicle, but if it were me I'd avoid driving it until it was repaired.

As a rule I use always NGK plugs, but since plugs are good for 100K in these engines I decided to stick with the Motorcraft plugs.

 

trshman,

The damage was probably done the first time you washed the motor. The water got down into the plug well and caused the rubber boot to crack, which in turn caused spark to jump around. Once a crack is in the boot, it will get worse fairly fast. The water boiling down inside the well doesn't do much good for the plug itself either. At the very least, you will want to replace the boots, at about $25 for the set of eight.

Since you're going to go through all of the grief of having to pull out every coil. For the extra $75 above the cost of the boots you could have all new coils and parts, so I'd change the plugs and put new coils back in. Personally, I'd hate to change one this week, one next week, one the week after, etc.

 

Thanks Alloro,

From your description can I assume I can minimize/eliminate potential damage if I clean the engine when it's cold ? As you can see I'm having a hard time giving up my cleaning compulsion

Thanks for the tip about replacing the boots. I agree with your suggestion to replace all 8, plugs, coils, everything. I don't have money to burn but in my experience doing it all and doing it right the first time is cheaper and less aggravating in the long run.

Thanks again, you all have a nice weekend. Bob

 

If the engine is missing then a code should have been thrown or at least a pending one. Have the parts store people see if they can pull the codes for you before you spend alot of money on parts that will not fix the problem. You can see if you have a COP problem by taking the COP from a bad cylinder and exchanging it with a COP on a known good cylinder.

There are many issues that can cause a misfire or miss. Determine what it is before buying parts for it.

 

Alloro, I know dealers are ALWAYS more expensive but just for grins I called a local Ford dealer parts dept this morning and was quoted $100 EACH FOR A COIL ! ! Can I really get comparable quality on ebay for $100 for all 8 ? That seems like an incredible markup even for a dealer !
Thanks, Bob