Well, another two days in the shop with no progress. SVT asked that the mechanic check the snorkel tube which ties the air box to the fender, since many have been reported as collapsing due to poor installation. Sure enough, mine was one of them. Unfortunately, that was not the problem. Several more test drives were conducted, with diagnostics on board, still no answers or code problems. Just before I left in disgust, the mechanic decided to pull one of the "easier to get to" spark plugs to check its condition. The entire surface of the plug was a burnt, deep red color, which formed a coating over the entire end of the plug and porcelain center post. It was pretty obvious that the plug had been exposed to some form of contaminant, and I must admit I have used 104 octane boost in two of the many, many tanksfull of 92 octane fuel I have burned in the truck's 5,000 mile life. I found that the octane gain was of little use to the stock truck so I stopped using it. However, this testing was done over 2,000 miles ago, with no ill effects at that time. And I must add that I have used 104 in other cars, including my '97 Vortech s/c'ed Cobra with great results. Anyway, my mechanic contacted SVT, and with a little arm twisting got them to agree to a complete plug change. What is interesting is that they are sending the plugs from the "home office", and they are a different part number and configuration that the ones I have now. Their comment was that the new plugs were of a different heat range and stem construction. Soon as I can get the part number, I will post it. We also replaced the fuel filter just to see if there was any trapped contaminents, of which there was not, and in fact the filter was as clean as a whistle. Anyway, this is their best guess at this point, since there is no diagnostic evidence to point them in any other direction. I have requested an SVT engineer/mechanic be summoned to assist if this does not fix the problem. More to follow, I hope...........

 

Thanks for the update, Mark. Please keep us posted, as your problems may not be unique in the long run. Also, it's always interesting to hear about SVT's responses and see how they handle diff. situations. I'm sure they wanted to know if you ever Superchipped even though you havn't. Did they give you any superchip feedback as to how they felt about that?

 

Hey Mark, Sal here. Did you see my post on the other thread about the MAF? You said the tech told you he was seeing 4.7volts from the MAF at WOT. I checked the software and the max range for the MAF is 4.7 volts. It's possible that MAF is bad, and it's pegging at WOT. Also, from personal experiance, I found that using HESS brand gas causes reddish dsposits. Not sure what you are using, just figured I'd mention it....

------------------
SAL
13.35@103mph
All stock with PSP 99 Lightning Chip and Filter Kit

Power Surge Performance--- Your SOURCE for SVT Lightning EFI Tuning and Performance!! http://members.aol.com/NLOCsvt/svt.html

 

Mark here: To Sal & RadarLove, SVT was very interested in whether I had re-chipped the truck. They would only say not to do it, and I did not push the point, since I don't have an after-market chip yet,,,. As far as fuel, Sal I only use Union 76, which is supposed to be 92 octane. I ran the MAF high voltage by them again, but they say it is right where they want it. I know, but they continue to say it's okay. I called the dealer today and asked that he prepare the paperwork to begin the process of enacting the California "Lemon Law". He was not happy with me, but then, I'm not too happy with them either...More to follow, I'm sure.