I just aquired a 88' F150 4x4 inline six from my wifes grandmother, the truck has been used very very little for over 8 years, maybe 50 miles a year, hauling a camper to a lake near by, parking it and hauling the camper back to home, whenever it was not driven it was parked in the garage. This last year they didn't drive it or start it once as they got rid of the camper.

So they offered up for sale I looked at it, didnt start it as the battery was not in the truck, its dusty on the outside but other wise in good shape and well taken care of, grandfather was a mechanic in his spare time and took real good care of this truck, untill he had a stroke and was placed in a wheel chair.

So I opted to buy it looking at the condition and the odomiter, its got 136,000 on it so its still got plenty of miles in it.

SO today we run over there with a new battery and start up the truck.. it didn't fire for a good 30 seconds of cranking, but them started to sputter and come to life, very roughly and poorly, when it first fired up I could smell old gas, you know that nasy old gas smell.. I knew right away that this was a not so good sign.. But it did run enought to drive it to the gas station and full the tank up with some good gas.. the tank was basicly empty, I filled it up and then added some fuel system/ injector cleaner that also was a water absorber.. im sure there was some condensation over the year it sat..

I drove (hobbled) home it drove very rough sputtering and stumbling the entire way home.. about 15 miles.. I could not get it to go more than 45 the entire way home.. so I got home changed the plugs as they needed it but still the motor stumbles, I drove it about 15 more miles and after doing this it began to come out of its problems, now in 4th gear I can cruise at 60 pretty easy but here is the issue, at half throttle its running pretty well only slightly stumpling rpms at about 2500 to 3000, and when I floor it its still stumbling but it will pull through and accelerate pretty well.. but anywhere around 1/2 to full throttle it stumles really bad and starts to slow. Its like this in all gears, 5th (OD) is terrable as the RPMs drop to under 2500 and the motor stumbles like mad.. down shift to 4th and get the thottle at about 1/2 and its pulls out of the stumble fairly well.

My dad had a 85 ford stick with a inline 6 and it was a really smooth motor.. so I know its acting up pretty bad,and probably becuase of that long sit with gas going stale in the fuel system..

I drove it around more tonight and it's doing better, but still isn't there yet still stumbling a lot when above 1/2 throttle, but a big improvement from when I drove it home the first time, Should I keep on driving it hoping that the good gas and fuel system cleaner I added will bring it back? Or does any one here have any suggestions on what i should do next..

I replaced the air filter, didnt need it but did any way, and bought all the stuff to change all the fluids, crank oil, trans oil, coolant and axles.

My problems are the fallows in order of importance:

Motor stumbling problem

Blinkers don't flash, there on stedy, but hazards do flash (think my little ticker relay thing is stuck and needs to be replaced..

My temp gauge doesnt work stuck on cold?

My volt gauge works but when running always reads 10volts, just inside the OK section of the gauge but seems low to me.. all electrical works good, lights are bright and everything seems like its getting plenty of power.

When I first drove it, it had what sounded like a grear in the transfer case making alot of noise, and had alot of vibration on the 4x4 xfer shifter, after trying all the 4x4 gears out it has seemed to have gone away and everything works fine.. could have been a grear stuk in a loose position rattling around until I messed with the 4x4 gears and now its in a proper position??

SO since this is my first F150 your more than welcome to give me ny tips or common issues that i may encounter.

Thanks
Jason

 

SHould i pull the codes on my truch to help diagose this, and how would i go abou this i read lots of posts saying it was easy and that all was needed was apaper clip but didnt find any directions or locations to do this?

The only idiot light i have a issue with is the antilock brakes light comes on.. im not to worried about this one.

Ay help here would be good too

Jason

 

how dose your truck rev when not in gear? IF you can rev up to 4000 rpm from idle than the engine is ok, and you might have a bad clutch, throw out bearing, or plug wires and cap rotor, signal flasher unplugs on the fuse panel, or a bulb is burnt out.
Don't know if you have a factery tech, but rev up to your shift points when not in gear.

 

when not in gear just reving te motor, under no load the motor revs fine, itw when it lugging a load (AKA driving) the clutch and drive train seem to be OK, i know what a cslipping clutch is, all but one of my 5 vehicals are sticks.. really once im up to speed and driving along everything seems great everything is tight and sounds good.

But the motor is definatly stumbling alot depending on RPMs and throttle position..

I let it sit and cool for a few hours (im in minnesota)and started it up again, it started right up and then died.. i startd it again and it fires right up but the motor idles rough like its missing a cylider here and there..

I didnt change the cap and rotor, becuse I was seeing no signs of unbuurnt fuel the cap and plug wires look to be in good condition, the plugs that i pulled were in OK conditionand no signs of unburnt feul, this is why im thinking my fuel system is to blame on the stumbling.

As for shifting higher, its not that the engine is lugging from lack of RPM its stubling at diffrent throttle positions and rpms mainly at lower RPM's is rough and higher RPM's its rough, at 2500 to 3000 its runs smoothly uless you give it more than 1/2 throttle then it begins to stumble and slow while driving.

Jason

 

I pulled codes from the computer here is whati got:

Key on engine off

First code was 67

Neutral safety circuit failure.

CM CODE,

Second code was 34, this is what it was

PFE or EVP circuit has intermittently failed above the closed limit of 0.67 volts.


Does this help? What does this mean?

 

I can't help with the codes, what were the condition of the plugs you removed? I'm not mecanical and if thiers no slipage in the clutch than you have a flue system problem, or a ignition problem, or maybe a mass air flow sensor is toast.
I'm not well versed in flue injection but I'm sure the injectors can be removed, maybe they need to cleaned and and a new flue pump ( not sure if on the block or in the gas tank ) and flue filter...basicly flue, air, ignition..
Stay with it, the new trucks are not as user friendly.

 

The plugs i pulled were all in ok but not new condition, I have seen alot worse plugs come from engines running a lot better.. ther had a slight white coloring to the.. and a little bit of piting on the electrodes.. Like i said used but not in a bad condition, none were wet or looked like i was getting way to much fuel..

They looked like the normal ones in this spark plug guide.. in my mind looked good..
http://www.spark-plugs.co.uk/pages/t.../diagnosis.htm

All checked out to be working on the snowblower engine, except the one i snapped off the tip when i was removing it..

If any one can tell me what that last code in my previous post means it would be greatly appreciated.

Jason

 

I have found the source of the blinkers not working, all the rear light are not working , the wiring for there camper was not hooked up to the taillights they were hooked to the trailer harness.. thus no blinkers or break or running lights.. So problem located.. easy fix.. still have the engine problems however

Jason

 

I fgound in anothe rofrum some one was experiancing trouble with there ford like mine but a 8 cylinder.. same stumbling same error code

SOme one said the egr valve and evp are probably the problem.. probably stuck wide open in the case of a over voltage.. or they said it could be a short in the sensor or wiring.. only way to find out is to test the valve and sensoe and wiring...

SO any one know what im looking for? Where is the EGR valve and EVP on my inline six? I am under the impression from what other places hav read that the EVP is bolted to the EGR valve. and sences its position.

I dont even know what im looking for, i have a chiltons manual but they doent really give any specific details besides, this is what it does and how it works, I understand its function and it uses vacume ect, but there are at least three devices that resemple the chiltons drawing.. two right on the front top of the motor near the belts, and one burried in the curve of the intake manifold..

Any help would be great.

Jason

Any one have a clue as to what im looking for here? I can swap the part if i know what im looking for, or at least remove and inspect it.

 

I think i found the EGR valve, its on the manifold drivers side, right aganst the firewall, has a tube that goes downward to the exhause from what it looks like..

So now that i believe i found it is there any way to see if its working without removing it.. a quick and dirty way?

Cant believe that this one little part would cause such terrable performance, but if its truly stuck wide open its allowing alot of un compensated flow of exhause gas into the motor... would this explain why at ower rpms it runs bad and while at about 1/2 throttle its running ok and the other throttle positions its rough again?

Jason

 

I checked over the EGR valve inplace, just checked to make sure it was not stuck and actually was doing what it should..it is and since the eror was in memory i unpluged the battery overnight and will fire it up tonight and see if it throws the code again.. or a diffrent one?

I also checked the connections and wires for a obvious short or msconnection.. saw nothing.

 

OK I did a Key On Engine Running after leaving the battery off all night and it through a bunch of codes at me

12 = Cannot control RPM during ER Self-Test high RPM check.
41 = No HEGO switching detected always lean (right side).
73 = TPS senor did not exceed 25% rotation during Dynamic Response Test (user error).

then i got one flash
then i got 2 flashes dont know if that was a 12 or a 1+2? i would think it was 12 becuae the previous first code was 12.

Then i got a 41 and 73 again...

I guess i should be flooring the motor durring this for the 25% TPS error, when do i do this..

ANd by the HEGO error means my O2 sensor is bad.. would this explain all the surging and terrable running its doing.. never had one go on me before.. But i have heard it can make motors run bad..

today i picked up cap rotor and wires but its pretty cold today may wait till later to put them on.

The 12 is explainable as i would have to play with the gas a bit to keep it running..

Boy carberators we so much easier to diagnose.
Any Advise?

 

It's best to do the plugs, wires, cap, and rotor together. Also I would do a fuel filter change as well. Super easy on an 88 with all you need being a screwdriver to pop the clips.

Adrianspeeder

 

Whats your opinion on the O2 sensor.. replace it or do the rest first... I looked at it from the undeside of the truck and it looked pretty new looking and the wires were in good condition.

Im really getting ticked off,

At full throttle it pulls really godd if above 2500 but if i was at 2000 rpm in second it will herk and jerk and die unless you shift down and get the revs up..

Its really odd, you turn over the motor and it fires right up smoothly just like you think it should, and then the truck tries settle to a idle, it then either idles really rough up or down a couple hundread rpm or totaly dies as the computer cant adjust quick enough.

I wil try the fuel filter also.. cant hurt.

I changed plugs 2 days ago so they would be together or really close together, the plugs did nothing, and the cap and rotor look good to me, wires look very new. but i got new ones anyway.

This is really frustrating me.. ready to rip off al the electronic crap and put a carb on it

 

My volt gauge works but when running always reads 10volts, just inside the OK section of the gauge but seems low to me.. all electrical works good, lights are bright and everything seems like its getting plenty of power(quote)

my old '89 with the 460 showed most of the same problems as you are describing...and i could never figure it out either...until i got rid of it...

no not that way ...my friend traded me for it and had the same problem for the duration also until he had problems with the battery keeping a good charge..when the electrical system gets weak and relies heavily on the battery well thats not good ...

the problem was the three prong terminal that plugs into the alternator(there are 2 plugs1is square 1 is flat..look at the flat plug)..look at the 3 wires...they should all be the same size...the middle wire was double the size from corrosion from the inside and basically screwing everything up...now the truck runs like a champ...no kiddin'



we were playing with it last week and found this out



we were told by a mechanic "up there" to look at this area
and he was right (where the truck lives now in n.h.)

check it out

...zap!