2008 4.2 V6, 48k miles.

Brought it to the dealer about this issue before. It was not throwing any codes and they said they had no idea where to start since they could not reproduce the issue.

Anyway, it doesn't seem to matter if its cold or up to operating temp. The starter just doesn't sound like it used to. Sometimes, it feels like I didn't hold the key long enough even though the truck has the auto start feature where you just flick the key for a second and it starts. At the end of the cranking, right before it fires up, it'll stumble for a brief moment before the rmps come up enough. The starter sound is also a little more "grindy" than before. It doesn't have the same "ch-ch-ch-fire" sound it made before. Now it's more of a "chch-ch-chchch-fire"

Sorry about my lack of proper starter sounds haha.

Also, if the truck shudders and stalls at the first try, it'll just crank for 5 mins before starting again.

Anyone have any ideas what to check for? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm bring it back to the dealer and I'd like to be able to point them in the right direction so they don't charge $128190 for labor.

Thanks!

Also, if the truck starts with in a minute of

 

Battery getting weak maybe?

 

Honestly, the battery seems like it has plenty of power. When it starts normally, it doesn't crank any longer than it has ever has since new. Seems more like the starter or something along those lines. But I have absolutely no idea.

 

Notice more in colder weather? The battery in my '08 went bad in less than 2 years (junk). Luckily it was still under warranty and Ford put in a new one. Same type of issues you describe for about 6 months, then whammo, one cold morning would not start. Granted, I only have 14k on my 4 year old truck, so it's not driven daily.

 

Hmm, something to look into. My 08 was built in late 2007 so the battery is over 4 years old.

For some reason, it just doesn't seem battery related to me. But it's definitely worth a shot. At the current batteries age, it's probably a good idea to replace anyway.

 

Before you go to the dealer, you can go to Autozone and get the battery and alternator load tested.

 

My Lariat does this also, very rarely though, 2007. Previous owner had alternator and battery replaced with OEM ( warranty for possibly this issue you have ) in 2010. Could bwe chitty starters in '07/'08.

 

my 2006 4.2L used to do that.

the only time i could re-create the problem was if i was driving around for a while, stopped somewhere, and then when i'd go to start it back up, it'd stumble.

it never failed to start, it would sometimes just take longer.

 

Do you notice a weird idle every once in a while? Your issue sounds exactly like what I had and mine was a clogged injector. Didn't throw any codes either

It started out as a random starting issue and weird sounds at start up and eventually I noticed a weird idle...I couldn't really feel it but I could see it make my floor shifter wiggle.

Only had the "skips" at idle though...nothing while driving....had it to the dealer 3 times before they figured it out..

But I guess the only way to check for a bad injector is to pull them all out and test them

I have a 4.6 though so I dunno....good luck!