03 F-150 spitting and sputtering
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Junior Member
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 2
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03 F-150 spitting and sputtering
In as many details as possible here is my probem...
2003, F-150 Supercrew Lariat FX4, 5.4L Automatic 310,000 km (200,000 miles)
It has ran GREAT for the last 2 years but always had a slight miss when stopped, in gear and my foot on the brake waiting for a red light or stop sign, but nothing I was worried about.
Oil changes and other regular maintenance has been done on time.
In Jan of this year it was running terrible so I had the fuel filter replaced by a mechanic, it was plugged full of SAND, he replaced the filter, it ran good for a week and then the fuel pump went, I dropped the tank and looked inside, there was about a cup full of fine white sand in the tank, I cleaned and flushed the tank so it was SPOTLESS and repalced the pump and put on another new filter. When I reinstalled the tank there was a plastic "check valve" on top of the tank that I broke the end off of and was unable to attach the hose that was originally on it. I just left the hose hanging and ignored what I had broken.
The truck ran ok (not great) for a couple months then slowly started going downhill fast, spitting and sputtering most of the time, when I "put my foot into the throttle" it seems to help.
After some internet research and talking to a few people I started with the easy things...
I replaced all of the coil packs - NO IMPROVEMENT
I replaced all of the plugs (they were very BAD) - a bit of improvement
I replaced 1 injector and rebuilt (new o-rings and plastic pieces) the others - slight improvement
Replaced a couple broken vaccum lines, - helped a little bit
I replaced aftermarket cold air intake system with the original and changed the sensors (mass air flow and O2)
I HAVE NOT done the EGR yet, I have visually looked at the intake and it doesn't appear to be leaking anywhere, and my coolant level is nice and clean and never goes down, the oil is also the same, clean and not foamy at all.
The truck has ALWAYS STARTED good and still does, when it is in park and idling it is awesome, if I put my foot on the brake and shift into drive somtimes it will sputter, sometimes it will not.
Driving is another story, flat road, no acceleration, runs like a wet dream, but when I start up a hill and have to accelerate, it seems like it is starving for fuel, if I really put my foot inot it, it helps a lot but still not 100% once I am up to speed, it is fine.
This happens all the time, hot or cold.
Any ideas??
2003, F-150 Supercrew Lariat FX4, 5.4L Automatic 310,000 km (200,000 miles)
It has ran GREAT for the last 2 years but always had a slight miss when stopped, in gear and my foot on the brake waiting for a red light or stop sign, but nothing I was worried about.
Oil changes and other regular maintenance has been done on time.
In Jan of this year it was running terrible so I had the fuel filter replaced by a mechanic, it was plugged full of SAND, he replaced the filter, it ran good for a week and then the fuel pump went, I dropped the tank and looked inside, there was about a cup full of fine white sand in the tank, I cleaned and flushed the tank so it was SPOTLESS and repalced the pump and put on another new filter. When I reinstalled the tank there was a plastic "check valve" on top of the tank that I broke the end off of and was unable to attach the hose that was originally on it. I just left the hose hanging and ignored what I had broken.
The truck ran ok (not great) for a couple months then slowly started going downhill fast, spitting and sputtering most of the time, when I "put my foot into the throttle" it seems to help.
After some internet research and talking to a few people I started with the easy things...
I replaced all of the coil packs - NO IMPROVEMENT
I replaced all of the plugs (they were very BAD) - a bit of improvement
I replaced 1 injector and rebuilt (new o-rings and plastic pieces) the others - slight improvement
Replaced a couple broken vaccum lines, - helped a little bit
I replaced aftermarket cold air intake system with the original and changed the sensors (mass air flow and O2)
I HAVE NOT done the EGR yet, I have visually looked at the intake and it doesn't appear to be leaking anywhere, and my coolant level is nice and clean and never goes down, the oil is also the same, clean and not foamy at all.
The truck has ALWAYS STARTED good and still does, when it is in park and idling it is awesome, if I put my foot on the brake and shift into drive somtimes it will sputter, sometimes it will not.
Driving is another story, flat road, no acceleration, runs like a wet dream, but when I start up a hill and have to accelerate, it seems like it is starving for fuel, if I really put my foot inot it, it helps a lot but still not 100% once I am up to speed, it is fine.
This happens all the time, hot or cold.
Any ideas??
Thread Starter
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Junior Member
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
Solved!!
After doing everything possible short of setting it on fire, I took it to Ford, they charged me $200 to diagnose the problem, one of the BRAND NEW Accel coil packs I put on was faulty and mis-firing, went back to the auto parts place and got a new one and it is now running like a brand new truck.
I can't be to pissed off because all the other stuff needed to be done and the mis-fire motivated me to do everything.
I can't be to pissed off because all the other stuff needed to be done and the mis-fire motivated me to do everything.
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 6,200
Likes: 39
From: Easton, Pa.
Well how about that!
You never said anything about what coils you used.
A little research on this board and you would have found ACCELS are NG.
They are made in China (PRC) and have a high failure rate.
There's an old saying that often times when something is free (low cost coils) it's still no bargin.
Good luck.
You never said anything about what coils you used.
A little research on this board and you would have found ACCELS are NG.
They are made in China (PRC) and have a high failure rate.
There's an old saying that often times when something is free (low cost coils) it's still no bargin.
Good luck.
Last edited by Bluegrass; Aug 5, 2011 at 08:28 PM.