Greetings everyone!

Just recently, with the arrival of cold weather here in Oklahoma, my '00 F150 V6 has started acting up. At first I thought it could have been water in the fuel, but have since ran it to virtually empty a few times and refueled.

The problem I am having is a ... miss or shudder while idling in either drive or park/neutral. However, it doesnt always do this nor do it consistantly. It seems to happen more frequently when stopping after long travel of consistant speed (such as the interstate).

When it is acting up, I can put it in neutral and give it a little gas, thus causing it to shudder more UNTIL I reach a certain RPM. However, I can drive to the next light or stop and it not miss or shudder at all. Very frustrating!

No dumby lights or anything...yet. Is there a way I can check the EGR to see if it is sticking?

Thanks in advance!

EDIT: Also wanted to mention that when it is acting up I get a considerable.. engine clatter / pinging. .. But when it isnt acting up, no such thing.

 

Early Results:

I just went to Autozone and had them check for any codes. Nada. The fella there suggested I try some HEET (fuel moisture remover) and some fuel injector cleaner (Chevron).

I poured the HEET into the fuel talk (not doing the Cleaner yet)and within the 4ish or so miles I traveled back home didnt notice any missing at all (and it was really bad when I pulled up at AutoZone). However, it has been intermittent so i'll have to monitor it for a couple of days.

Will continue to give updates as I find out more.

 

Have you done the basics,like,clean the IAC,throttle body,checked the plugs and plug wires? These can also contribute to your problem.Also,you might want to clean the MAF sensor.One more thing,check your pcv valve and all hoses running to and from it.

 

Sorry I didnt give the basics prior. Here is the stats on Maint. recently.

2000 F150 V6 with 73k.

At 63kish: New plugs, new plug wires, Seafoam, MAS cleaned, regular fuel injection cleaner (Lucas), oil, air filter, and throttle body cleaning.

All of this done to cure hesitation on accel... which it did (plug wires actually did the trick..shame on Motercraft).

For 10ish K no problems.. until I fueled at Conoco early last week.

Again, I havnt drove too much this weekend..no probs since AutoZone.. but will keep posted.

 

Did this station have there tanks just filled(within 2-4 hrs) prior to you fueling up there? There are two times you never want to fill up at a gas station;
1) While the tanker is filling (stirs up sediment in the underground tanks)
2) and within 2-4 hours after the tanker has filled the underground tanks.
My neighbor does gas station renovations (from tank removal to installaation of new tanks and pumps) and gave me this advice. :santa:

 

Thats what the handy-dandy at Autozone suggested.. That if you see the tanker there, come back later.

I thought that by running the tank almost empty a couple of time would help, but he said it actually make it worse (the moisture problem that is).

 

Well, unfortunately... the HEET didnt do the trick.

My only guess from this point would be to replace the fuel filter (done at 40k) .. then.. clean the EGR? Any suggestions on what solutions to use in doing this or anything?

 

I change my fuel filter every 3rd oil change!
If you are "only " cleaning the EGR valve,use a spray areasol called "Deep Creep". Its made by SeaFoam. If you want to clean the EGR system the correct way,you need to remove the lower intake and clean the "6" EGR ports in the manifold.

 

You may be on the verge of an emissions "Service Engine" situation. My 4.2 started with occasional "hickups", drive train jerks. Sure enough, about 2 weeks later the light went on. It was something like a DPNE sensor that controls the EGR valve. Ford has had a lot of trouble with this sensor and has extended warranty on the part for an additional 2 years. It cured my 4.2's hickups.

 

Did you discover your problem?