Went to autozone and bought motorcraft spark plugs and duralast wires and coil.....hope thats alright...ive been searchen and everyone says use motorcraft plugs but i wasnt sure about the wires and coil.....soo yes i am going to start this job tom cause i can not go above 2k rpms when driving with it it running so horrible....its weird tho when i rev it up in N or P it revs up fine...just under its own load it runs crappy, backfiring hesitiating studdering...the works! package deal here! well i am also going to take the TB off and clean it....if anyone has any last minute advice or hints to help me on the spark plug change please dont hesitate to speak up...lol ive read this is a HARD JOB!
List of stuff ive replaced so far
DPFE
EGR
PVC(and hoses)
Black solenoid(next to dpfe)
Other black solenoid on brake booster
IAC
cleans MAF
Fuel filter
oil change
seafoam...lol
so after this i should have all bases covered? anyone think of something i might have missed?

 

Tranny fluid, coolant, O2 sensors...should be running better from that list though

 

yea i was thinking about guttin the cats....would i still need o2 sensors if i gutted the cats? i forgot to put i already did the tranny fluid and coolant and radiator

 

I have seen the same thing on many Ford F150's & E-150's along with Dodge trucks.. that whole perfect in P or N and under load as you describe.. 9 times out of 10 it's clogged cats.

Consider gutting or replacing those cats.. as for needing the o2 sensors.. yes you would still need them unless there is a bypass for the o2's I'm unaware of.

 

lol i guess its off to the cats...just finished putting everything back together from the tb clean....the 2 ports from the egr...completely clogged....i mean hard as a rock carbon 100% cleaned it out....looks brand new.....and it runs pretty much the same....the exhuast sounds a little deeper and it idles a little better but that is it!!!only took it for a ride around the block no check engine light yet....but im sure its to come....so yep i guess gutten cats here i come....if i just put a pipe where the cats where and tap it and put the 02 sensor in there will that work?

 

To help prevent a check engine light after gutting the cats, try to Gotts 02 mod.

 

10-4...upon further driving, its actually driving worse and hesitating worse......so that would make sense that the cats are clogged right? i only have enough money to do 1 right now.... cats or spark plug change...... i mean i got the truck with 115k and i dont know if they were ever changed.....but now that i cleared up those blocked ports and more airs running through it its running worse cause the cats are clogged? does that sound like its it? and check engine light is back on....havent read the code yet tho...more info tom

 

Change your plugs.

 

i had the same problem on mine. i went with new plugs and wires and runs like a champ. i have the 4.6 and my changing them out wasnt to bad. it only took 2 hours (would of been faster if it wasnt for the beer). just make sure the motor is stone cold and it helps to have a long spark plug socket.

 

gotcha thanks guys im changing out the plugs in the morning AND gutting the cats...well see what happens!

 

Change your plugs before you make your truck so that it won't pass emissions testing...

 

oh im good on emissions here in fl

 

Your check engine light will be on... They're not even supposed to pass it safety wise if that is on...

 

Pretty good list.

Duralast are pricey junk ignition parts, you want to stick with Motorcraft components or OEM = Motorcraft/ Global auto (ebay), - on a 97 especially. Duralast ranks pretty bad on failures.

The 97's aren't tuned to run cat-less, you'll loose your *** on low end. You can gut ONE converter on each side and still be within parameters and keep some of your low end.
DON'T gut all 4 unless you getting the engine dyno tuned right after. You don't need an O2 mod, so you can leave those alone. However ,replacing the forward O2's is a great idea.

NO SEAFOAM, You can smoke the converters and possibly Hydro-lock the engine. It's snake oil. You can use it to assist in cleaning the TB and elbow by hand.

You might want to head over to engines and ask what to do.

 

10-4 jbrew i appreciate the input...im afraid that the truck is in the shop getting all 4 removed right now, by getting to dyno tuned what all does that entail do you know? and would a chip fix that? or do i have to take it somewhere? Man im so thankful for this website and the help i get....cause jeez if it wasnt for this site, and the fact that ive done all the work on my truck....id probably be up in the thousands in repairs! THANKS F150 ONLINE!