Ok, so I have a 2001 V-10 Ex. with 172,xxx miles. And it's starting to run rough. Started out only like at crusiing speed just sputtering a little. Now it's kinda sputtering more. Is it just time for a tune-up, so something else?

 

Maybe you have a few COPS of plugs that are headed south, I'll move this down to the V10 section...

 

Probably a wet or dirty/rusty plug hole, time for new boots and plugs.

BUT - clean the MAF, change the fuel filter yet? Check for vacuum leaks too.

After all that is done and you still can't find the problem, you might want to get the misfire counters read to see if it's a particular cylinder, and if it is, maybe pull that COP to see if the boot is dirty/cracked/whatever

 

when was the last tune up, and what was all changed at that time??

i pulled the plugs on my Ex the other weekend (among other things that needed trouble shot), and after 52K they were gaped from .060-.068, pretty worn for only 50K. but i'm not sure what gap was set by the previous owners!!

along with the plugs, i also changed the boots and springs on the coils, the air filter, cleaned the MAF, cleaned the TB, AND cleaned the IAC as well.

 

It's not thorowing any codes, I'm going to change the fuel and air filter today, and see if that helps. The previous owner said he just had new coils put on, whats the chance of them changing the coils and not the plugs and boots?

 

Huge possibilty!!! My 2000 6.8 was running rough when it was wet out. Because of time, I only changed out the boots. Almost all of the boots were installed incorrectly, meaning not pushed all the way on! There is a blade connection on the coil and it needs to be firmly seated all the way on. I could not believe how well my Ex ran after that! Without even putting the Ex in gear I could tell that there was a huge improvement! On the road improvements were just as immediate! I also picked up 2-3 mpg according to my next couple of mpg calculations! I only have 90,000 miles on the Ex so I'll hold off on doing the plugs for a little while. My back was not happy after doing the boots. That last one that everyone leaves for last is a killer the first time! I like to do one thing at a time so that the changes are identfied with the worked done. I can also be clearer on these forums.(I hpoe!)

 

the plug / boot change at the same time is a MUST! kill 2 birds with one stone!

i'm not going to spout off as to what my last mileage came out to be, since it may have been a fluke, but it was an improvement!

like most mods, usually just ONE or TWO won't net you the HP you're looking for, but when you combine most of the maintenance into one sitting, it will net you better results!!

with the plugs / boots, get you a tube of dielectric grease as well. i put some on the spring part that goes into the coil, some of the plug end, AND around the seat that goes into the block.

get you a can of circuit board cleaner, electric component cleaner type stuff to clean the MAF sensor (non de-greaser type stuff that won't harm plastics rubbers or electrical components). use the little straw that comes with it and clean out the small wires inside!! be careful, and do not touch them or press on them with anything, the pressure from the aerosol will clan the grime off.

get you a can of some good "de-greaser", and take your throttle body off and clean some of the grim off the throttle blades, and on the back side of the throttle body. a small tooth brush style wire brush works well to get into some of the small cracks around the throttle blades.

i went the extra step since i had all the intake off to do the plugs/boots, TB, and MAF so i went ahead and took the IAC out and cleaned that as well. might not have mattered, but i figured it wasn't going to hurt anything!