HA I knew that would get some attention...I know, I know, our trucks do not have plug wires. However, if it did I would swear my truck would have a bad set. I had the intercooler/02's/plugs replaced around 27k miles and it now has 32k. Driving around town all is fine and normal, but squeeze on the throttle and I am missing horsepower. Also, it sounds like something is a miss (literally)...like a flutter sound. Could this be my fuel pump? Dead cylinder? Blown head gasket? Just curious were to start looking...sooner or later I guess I need to take it back into the dealer.

BTW....the problem was first noticed about 2 weeks ago. I drove it to work in the morning and it was running great no problems at all. Then late that night I was leaving work and noticed it sounded odd. Anyway, I have not driven since then except for this weekend and it is still the same.

Thanks in advance,

Mike B.

------------------
Mike B. '92 GT, '00 GT, '99.5 Lightning
Houston Performance Chip
Pro-M 80 MAF
Bassani Full exhaust

Best ET 13.16@103.84

 

Well, you got me.

I have heard of ford reflashing the eec to 00 specs, and that would conflict with your 99 chip. But usually the truck wouldn't even start. You could also have that ping problem usually associated with chips. Bad tank of gas? (eat at Taco Hell?)

 

gas was what I thinking at first as well....that is why I drove it around this weekend. I ran all of the gas through it and filled up again with good 93 from shell.

still no go.
Thanks,

------------------
Mike B. '92 GT, '00 GT, '99.5 Lightning
Houston Performance Chip
Pro-M 80 MAF
Bassani Full exhaust

Best ET 13.16@103.84

 

Well... If you run too lean that will cause the symptoms you just said...
Though i have a Dakota, its blown, and I made a little thing that hooked into the MAP sensor, to change what kinda load the computer thinks the engine is under, adjusting it too lean, would make it spit and sputter with no power... and with you saying its only when ya get down on it.. watch as see if it only occurs under boost, or what not, I'm not sure how your trucks look at what to do under boost conditions, but if you have some kinda sensor that tells the computer you are under boost, it could be failing... just a thought....

 

Jarmstro,
Yeah I was at Randall's at last week...I thought that was your truck, but Randall's was so crazy I never did see you. I have not removed the chip yet, although I probably will tonight when I get home. Also, the ECM has not been flashed I am sure as the truck was running fine for almost 5k since it was last in the shop. I am also 90% certain the chip is not loose, because I have it set to disable PATS for my auto-start alarm. And that still works.

Jason,
1)does the fluttering get faster as you get on it more? YES
2)Do you have headers? Yes, full bassani kit
3)On the miss.....does it only happen at WOT under boost? Not really...I can hear it even at part throttle as it sounds strange. The boost gauge is registering boost and feels semi-strong, but after abotu 4k it just really starts to break up. I have not tried running it any harder than that. I guess I am leaning towards bad plugs or improperly gapped plugs. I will let you guys know what I find out.

All,
What is everyone running in terms of spark plug gap and what kind of plugs? NGK? Anyone know the part# off hand.

Many thanks again,


------------------
Mike B. '92 GT, '00 GT, '99.5 Lightning
Houston Performance Chip
Pro-M 80 MAF
Bassani Full exhaust

Best ET 13.16@103.84

 

Mike:
Plugs......... Plug gap...........
No doubt about it........ Even if they did put in new plugs the gap is wrong. It's time for a plug pulling party Dude. The NGK's are the T6's if you are going to run NOS, if not go with the hotter plug. Get them from Summit or Internet Racers Supply, both are on the internet.

Are you going to make the next Burger N Fries at Sonic on Dairy Ashford, its our BIG? holiday meeting.

 

MB92,
Before you pull your plugs, Disconnect your battery and pull your chip. Install the cable and start the truck. Take it out and drive it.

If you are still experiencing the problem, take it to the dealer and tell them to put an NGS tester to it. They will be able to look at the A/F ratio and also the spark at each cylinder. With the NGS they can record the spark and print it out in a graph. If they tell you it's spark!!

Then change your plugs yourself. Is your truck still under waranty? If not, and you still have the problem after removing the chip. Just take the chance and change the plugs.


Thor01

 

Mike,

Was that you last week at Randall's? If so that was me that parked next to you.

Sorry to hear about your "stutter". Is your chip still in? If so remove it and see what happens, although I assume you already have done so.

As one of the guys mentioned the dealers have been know to update your PCM to a 2000.

------------------
John Armstrong
2000 Red Lightning
#444 of 4966
Born 2/22/2000
Went home 3/6/2000

 

MB92, does the fluttering get faster as you get on it more? Do you have headers? It could be a blown header gasket.....sounds kind of like it. On the miss.....does it only happen at WOT under boost? Could be your plugs. Forced induction engines are more sensitive to plug gap than n/a engines. With a chip, intake and full exhaust, you could be pushing enough air into the combustion chamber to effectively blow out your spark. The higher the gap on your plugs, the easier it is to blow out the spark. I just got my L, and I don't know how strong the ignition system is, but on my Supra TT (which is direct ignition), anything over a .35 gap causes a misfire. Might be something to check. Could be a bad coil on one of the plugs as well.....if the plug isn't firing, you'd be running way rich, which would kill your power and cause a miss.

Jason

 

Mike,

I just had a brain fart...... you might want to check the coil packs on each of the plugs. One could be loose and cause the problem you describe.

Or.... could it be the cats on your Bassani exhaust? Several have mentioned problems with the cats, flutter and lost power.

Anyway if nothing else I feel better now

------------------
John Armstrong
2000 Red Lightning
#444 of 4966
Born 2/22/2000
Arrived at dealer 3/4/2000
Went home 3/6/2000




[This message has been edited by jarmstro (edited 11-29-2000).]

 

Here's something you might check.
I had the same type of problem with my L. I thought I had a miss. Figured that I would have my dealership take a look at the noise and "miss" since my 15,000 mile check-up was due. Too late! Driving down the freeway, sounds like I ran over something in the road and there's a loud noise from under the hood and no power. Pulled over and checked things out. Fluids good. Temp good. But a loud popping sound from the top of the engine. Limped to my dealer and 7-8 techs ran over and one had me pop the hood. He says that I blew a spark plug out of the head. Said that he had heard of this happening, but this was a first for him to see. Anyway, you might check out that "miss" to see if you have a plug that would like to blow-up. The tech thought that I would need a new head. Ford says no, replace the entire motor and it's on their nickel.