Ok guys I've got a doozee on my hands here and I'd like your input and opinions on what I've got goin on here / next course of action.

99 F350 w/ 5.4L 2v Triton V8 155,000 miles on the Odo. Its a long read and I've included a BOLD section at the bottom with the quick details and my guesses for those with no attention span... Thanks for any help you guys can give!

Truck is regularly maintained and no major issues till now. Started after we had some heavy rain in the area and I went out playing...

I forget the exact codes (I can pull them up tonight if necessary) but it started with a Lean on Cyl 3. Did some testing and determined the injector on Cyl 3 was fried. I ordered a set of Reman injectors off Ebay (reliable seller) and installed. Truck ran better but not 100%.

New codes pulled indicated P0303 - Misfire on Cyl 3. I test the coil and all is good so I pull the spark plug... My guess is it overheated due to the faulty injector and it cracked. Thankfully it was one of the platinum 4's from Bosch (never again) and it held itself together till i could get it out. Pretty sure nothing fell in the cylinder. I went ahead and replaced all 8 spark plugs with Motorcraft platinums.

Fired em up and he runs rough, gives me P0171 and 0174 indicating running rich. I find the elbow from the PCV to intake in the back is ripped so I replace it and clean up the maf sensor n bolt it all back up.

He's running great after this, good as new almost and I take him out on 3 or 4 short trips around 30 miles each. Returning from the last trip exiting the freeway and as soon as I come to a stop he starts shaking real bad out of knowhere... Soon my side of the intersection is covered in a good amount of white smoke and it WREAKS of unburned fuel. I was beginning to worry I had a fire under the hood!... Truck is now sputtering smoke out the exhaust and has almost no power in low RPM's. Get em going and he pulls hard but not normal, somewhat handicapped. Managed to limp him home smelling and shaking the rest of the way...

Get em home and scan em. New codes show P0308 - misfire on Cyl 8. I test the coil and its dead so I replace it (low on funds at this point or I'd have done all 8).

Fire em back up and the badboy PURS!!! Only a very VERY slight vibration (normally he runs smooth as glass) and now I've got white smoke comming out my exhaust. After initial fire up it takes about 5 seconds or so before the smoke starts to show. The smell of unburned fuel is still there but its MUCH less significant than before. Smoke comes out in puffs untill you get on the gas then its a steady stream of stinky white.

I know white smoke means water in fuel so I'm flipping out I may have a headgasket job on my hands and this is where it REALLY gets confusing... at least for me...

I start checking for signs of a headgasket. The exhaust smells of unburned fuel, no sweet scent associated with burned anti freeze... No gelling on oil cap, no oil in coolant, no loss of coolant (other than the very slow leak thats normally present) and no unusual consumption of oil (1 quart every 3k). I went as far as to rent a block tester from Autozone and check my cooling system for exhaust gases. The test fliud turned blue green from blue but did not turn yellow which indicated I didn't have a leak.

Tracing my steps I realized the truck was sitting on a public street for many hours prior to acting up so I begin to suspect someone poured something into my gas tank, possibly some water.

I dropped the tank, cleaned it up, repalced the pump, screens, and replaced the fuel filter. The only thing original in my fuel system at this point are the lines!!! New gas in the tank and he starts up a bit quicker (2 cranks instead of 3 or 4) but he's still smoking white out the tailpipe. It stinks of unburned fuel still but not as much as before. I let him idle for about 5 minutes ocassionally revving him up to 2k for 15 sec or so to help burn out anything in the cats. No luck.

This is where I need your help!!

New reman injectors (with new o-rings), new plugs, 1 new coil later...

All his power seems to be there, I've taken him on a couple short spins after all this work and he performs normally and doesn't overheat at all. NO CODES and no CHECK ENGINE LIGHT, yet...

The only thing is I leave a nice size cloud of smoke at each stop... Also when I start accelerating from a stop and he shifts to 2nd gear I can hear the sound of water gushing through piping behind my glove box which I assume to be the water in the heater core. It could either be gasses being introduced to the water system causing the sound or water being pushed through dry tubes pushing all the air out as it goes along.

I haven't driven him long or hard since the white smoke started as I'm worried about seizing the block and bending a rod. None of the symptoms of a headgasket failure are there except for the white smoke...

Based on my research the only other explanation besides needing heads / gaskets is the intake gasket. I plan on testing that with some carb spray this afternoon... Any thoughts / ideas?? I've never seen anything like this and it's got me a bit stumped...

I'm going to take him out for a nice long spin tonight and see what happens. See if he overheats or anything else that wouldn't pop up from idling in my driveway for 15 mins... Lets hear what you guys got until then!!

***EDIT*** After reading around these boards all day yesterday and today I've found a couple other posts where guys were suspecting the intake or intake gasket but never any feedback on the results. One guy mentioned the inner channels on his plastic intake had a chunk broken out of it right where it met with the aluminum water channel which would cause water to enter the cylinders and explain the lack of head gasket like symptoms...

I haven't had my intake off yet as this is the first major work I've ever had to do to the truck (injectors aren't even major on this engine...) so I have no clue what its going to look like underneath... Any ideas?

 

31 Reads and not one reply Not even to tell me I'm a noob and have no idea what I'm doing... I know, I know, not everyone gets to the thread right away or may not have an answer etc.... I'm just venting...

Time to head home and crack open that hood... wish me luck!

 

Looks like I jumped the gun on the initial fire after fuel pump etc. Fired em up after work and after a couple seconds of smoke it disapeared and never returned. Subsequent starts returned the same results.

I took em out for a good hour drive and seems like he's back to normal! I don't understand what happened to my fuel. Its like it went bad over the span of 2 hours while parked outside my sisters place...

 

Perhaps someone poured something in it?

 

Well... Its been a few months since I initially posted and I figured I'd give you guys a followup since there isn't much info about this on the forum here. I've included symptoms to help those who come looking for answers later down the line.

Truck ran ok for a few months but he was never the same again since that one fateful night, just seemed to run a little funny and at idle with minimal throttle compression he sounded like he was running a big cam under the hood...

Last month after a short drive I pop the hood and all my coolant in the reservoir is GONE. Figured its time to do some surgery. Started looking around real good and found some grease and grime all around the underside of my intake. That pretty much isolated the issue for me and confirmed my theory, intake manifold gasket!!

Ripped em open this past weekend and I was right!! The intake gasket tore apart at the front passenger side water channel. SOO much soot buildup inside the TBI and manifold itself.. spent a good three hours cleaning them both up, and they are ready to go back on. I have the aluminum intake manifold so I hit that with the sander and got the new EGR on there as well (truck was throwing a code for that also) along with new gaskets.

All thats left is to polish up the heads where they meet the gasket (palm sander with 220 grit sand paper) and I can start buttoning him up tonight. Hes getting new coils (all 8 from an ebay source - we'll see how these do) and since I have him all apart I figure I may as well do the spark plugs again.... its cheap peace of mind lol.

Having a little trouble figuring out the best way to plug the ports so I can sand over them without getting debris inside the block. I figured I'd just cut up some rags small enough to stuff in there partially and vacuum like heck when I'm done sanding. If anyone has a better idea I'm all ears.

I'll try and post up some pics later tonight if I have the chance so you can see the in progress and the after shots for your references. All feedback is welcome

 

good luck (i'm sure you are done by now), i am interested to see any pics you have of your work. i am having some different issues with my 5.4l Expy but i read your thread to see if there were any similarities. mine is knocking and has started stalling but has not been smoking. I have also noticed a fuel smell from time to time that is too strong to just be a passing motorist. Oh well, i hope all went good.

 

Last year I bought a '99 E350, 5.4 2V, it smokes but drives, and now that school is done I am working on figuring out what is going on with it. The seller said it was a head gasket, but it is not showing signs of that. I have tested the coolant pressure, the egr (which there was a code for) and the pcv, all are fine. No misfires, runs well, just smokes a lot of white smoke. I am a fairly green mechanic, only been working for a couple years, and went to school for it too, so I know a few things, but each new problem is a learning experience. The intake thing sounds like it makes sense to me, I am tempted to take it off and see whats happening in there!
Your whole description sounded like exactly what I am going through. I also wonder about water in the fuel system as it sat for almost 6 years, and I am sure there is water in there.
That shall be the next two things I do, intake and fuel system cleaning. Please let me know what the rest of your story is and if the intake ended up fixing it!
-B

 

That poster hasn’t been here since 2013. You’re going to likely have to entertain us with your own conclusion here.

 

Looks like I need a new engine after all. Combustion gases in the coolant. Any Suggestions on a good place to get a 5.4l 2v engine?
Thanks!

 

There are a number of rebuild outfits available online including Ford dealers.
As a side note, if the engine is in otherwise descent shape it may be cheaper to clean the deck surface & measure for any highs & lows then have the head serviced at a local reputable machine shop. If you went to school for mechanics then you will likely run into many more head gasket jobs. Good practice.