I have a 2001 ext cab V6

And for awhile when it first turns on it would skip, and barely run and sometimes shut back off. And then when youd go to press the gas to go sometimes it would skip even worse and the harder you press the gas the worse it would skip.

And now when youll be goin about 65 the truck will start shaking rerally bad, and the check egine light will start to flash. then the oil temp gauge will start to raise but if you let off the gas and slow down for a few seconds the check egine light will quit flashin and the temp will go back down.

And ive replaced the spark plugs with E3 spark plugs, spark plug wires, and i replaced the thermostat yesterday. Because i thought the thermostat was getting stuck making it over heat. but it still does it.

 

the oil temperature rises or the water temperature rises?

get those E3s out of there ASAP! Essex 4.2L V6's only run on Motorcraft SP-504s gapped appropriately (0.52"-0.56"). Make sure the spark plug wires are motorcraft as well. that will eliminate half of your problems.

what are the CEL codes? have you had them pulled yet? post them here if so

change your fuel filter and clean the MAF. couldnt hurt but it could help pending more information.

 

You have an oil temperature gauge?

What mods do you have or is it stock?

 

Well the oil temp "gauge" will move when it gets hot enough

 

Oil TEMPERATURE? I think not - oil PRESSURE maybe. The TEMPERATURE gauge in the stock cluster is coolant temperature, either direct or calculated from CHT.

 

i stand corrected- my bad. blonde moment

 

It's pretty hard to gap those plugs at over 1/2", blondie.

 

... yeah not oil temp... sorry. water temperature gauge goes up.

so take out the E3s? And go back to stock spark plugs?
And yeah the spark plug wires are motorcraft. And the reason i had changed to the E3s was because of the truck skipping on take off and when idling some times.
Because it started skipping first then it got worse over time. and now im at a new problem that may or may not be related with it over heating.

And I dont know what the CEL codes are yet havent had it checked. I think dads gunna take it to get checked soon.

And fuel filter. will be done soon also.
And im going to sound stupid when i ask. but what are the MAF?
Thanks for all the help guys.

 

The MAF sensor is on your intake, just after the filter and before the throttle body. When you open up the intake, you will see a little wire in the MAF inlet. Grab some electronics cleaner/MAF cleaner from the store and spray it good

 

and..
Essex V6? Im not sure what that means.

 

It's just the type of engine in your truck. It was built using a 90 degree V configuration. These engines are rather particular, in that they prefer Motorcraft parts

 

Well tomorrow im takin it to the shop to get the codes ran off of it. and maybe this will get it all fixed i called the guy today and he said it sounds like a head trying to crack. and if we dont get it fixed soon and that is what it is then water will leak down on the piston and bend the push rod.

Idk about all that being so true... but i reeeeally hope not..

 

The 97-98 F-150's had that problem. They came from the factory with small Fel-Pro gaskets and after a while they would shrink allowing coolant to seep into the combustion chamber. Its called hydrolock but any truck built after 99 is safe from it.

Definitely get those codes ran (AutoZone does it for free, it sounds like this "mechanic" is trying to take you and your wallet for a ride). I'd do some searching before letting anyone tinker around my truck. Knowledge can save you a lot of money.

 

No this guy works on family freinds farm. His a good guy and his gunna be straight up with me.
And when we ran the codes it said that cylinder 3 was misfiring and that it was burning too lean. So we decided to change the fuel filter (which he done for free) bc he thought it might be stopped up. causing more oxygen to get to the chamber than gas making it burn hotter. but that didn't fix it ether. So Saturday when we have time were goin to switch cylinder 2& 3s plug wires and see if it says cylinder 2 misfires then and not cylinder 3 then its plug wire and if that doesnt work he says he think it'd be head gasket or valves. but he said he think a compression check would be the next thing to do after the plug wires.

 

dont do that