I have had my 04 lightning for a little over a month and now have a couple of problems. The first is not to serious so far and I am in the process of trying to fix it. That is a clunking noise on the right rear of the truck while making a right inclined turn. Five hours have been spent so far with no results. The second problem is, the throttle has cut out about 6 or 7 times since I have had the truck. It is like you press the pedal down, it cuts out and then picks back up within a second or so. It happened yesterday on the freeway, and was kind of unnerving to say the least. It is like the computer thinks the engine is over revved and cuts the fuel supply for a second. Does anybody have similar problems or something close. Any help is appreciated.
Thanks Mark.

 

As for the clanking noise from the rear, im almost sure its the brake caliper.... There are two metal tabs that hold the pad in place, and will sometimes loosen up over time and hit the wheel.. if you pull the wheel off, and look on the inside of it; youll probably see where its been hitting...

As for cutting out, I would suggest changing plugs, cops, fuel filter as step one.. Unless you have a fuel pressure gauge and are seeing the presure bouncing around. hard to tell what can cause what your saying without further details.

 

DITTO... Also, first before anything, disconnect the the neg battery cable for a few minutes and reinstall. Computer may be having a brain fart and needs to be reset... Will not hurt to try this.

 

might be several issues...



since we now nothing about the mods, tune, maintenance history we an't help you

 

First off, thanks for the replies.
I have had the truck only for a month and a half. No major mods except the exhaust and cold air intake. The plugs were replaced when I bought the truck and the truck has 54000 miles on it. I have some other answers on the clunking noise and will check out all the possibilities. The cutting out to me feels like the trans is hunting for what gear it is supposed to be in and is somehow a computer problem. It is just not simple anymore with the computers for everything in the truck. I was worried when I bought the truck since the plug problem with the 5.4 engines, and this is why I had the dealer change the plugs on purchase. I have plans for this truck if I can solve the small details.
Thanks again.
Regards Mark

 

hopefully they installed the correct plugs...


is it throwing any codes?

did you reset the ECM after you installed the Hot air intake and new exhaust?

did the new exhaust by any chance melt the transmission wires?

 

Tomorrow I am going to reset the computer by disconnecting the neg. battery cable. They did not do this when the new exhaust was put in, nor when the cold air intake was installed(AEM). When these items were put in, the ox sensor was taken off, and when the cold air intake was put in, the mass air sensor and one other sensor was taken off, so this may be a problem with the cutting out deal. Don't know. The plugs that were put in, I am almost sure they were the right ones as this was a deal killer for me, buying this truck. As for the clunking problem, the truck will be left at the ford dealership this coming thurs. I will inform them of what I have found out to let them see if these could be the problem.
Thanks for all the info from all of ya guys. I do have one last question. Is the standard 04 lightning different than the 04 heritage lightning?
Mark.

 

So no marks on the inside spokes of the wheels?? I personally dont always trust that the dealers know what goes on with these trucks.

To answer your question, No there is no difference.

 

Well tomorrow I am going to check to see if there are any bad codes that were thrown to the computer. I disconnected the neg. battery cable today so it may take a few cycles for anything to show up. This is a good site and all the info is appreciated. Thanks.
Mark.

 

let us know

 

Mark here,
Took the truck in today to check for any bad codes, and no luck. Thursday is when I take it back to the dealership for the clunking problem so they will get the other problem too. The mechanic and I looked under the truck today to see what pieces they put on. We then found out that they slopped silicone grease all over the leaf springs. What a mess this is, as this will just l mask any possible problem and certainly not cure it. My mechanic thinks the other problem is electrical so wish me luck.
Will let everybody know when and if it gets fixed.
Mark.

 

The truck went to the dealership today. They think that they may have solved the clunking problem and the parts are ordered. It is the body mounts and evidently ford has had some issues with this. After 7 hours at the shop today, I guess they finally got online to ask ford if they have had any problems in this area. Bingo and the dealerships put sensors at this spot to confirm. We will see. The other cutting out problem or hiccup is probably a coil pack going out, and I am supposed to wait until an engine check light comes on so it will throw a code to the computer. Dealerships are the pits but what ever is covered under my limited warranty, I am going for.
I will keep all the lightning owners informed.
Mark.

 

what octane fuel are you running? what do the plugs look like??

 

I am running 91 octane gas as suggested in the manual. I am not sure on what the plugs look like as they were just put about 4 weeks ago. As it stands today,
the truck has not had the hiccup problem in the last 4 days. Maybe the computer finally got the idea so we will see on that matter. Thanks everybody for all the info as most has been passed to the dealership.
Mark.

 

Mark here,
I am still waiting for the parts to maybe, and I mean maybe fix the clunk problem. It is to the dealership tomorrow to see if the parts are in. What a hassle it is to deal with the dealership. The truck is still hiccuping, as did it twice today, and again it happened on the freeway. I am going 65 miles per hour, and gave it a little gas, and it just stumbles for a second. Dealership says one of the coil packs is going, but they say anything they want to keep you off their back. Does anybody else have any ideas on this problem, and could a coil pack cause this problem? Thanks again.
Mark.