I've had my EB for two weeks now, it has less than 500 miles on it. So far it has started and ran smooth as silk.
This past Saturday morning, I fired it up to run some errands, and noticed that at idle, it "stutters"...like an intermittent miss. The tach "jumps" too.....only about a couple hundred rpms up/down, but it's something that is out of the norm. Since Saturday it has continued to exhibit this behavior.
After doing a little listening and looking, I hear a "ticking" that was not there previously, and can actually feel the stutter when sitting in the cab.

Figured I'd give it the week to see if it clears itself up, and if not, will run it into the dealership early next week and see what they say. Anyone else experienced this with their EB?

 

If it's jumping a couple hundred RPMs it might be worth worrying about. That said, I feel like I've noticed a difference with BP gas (or other known high quality gas) vs. others when it comes to idle smoothness. Might be worth trying some gas you know is good (BP, premium, whatever) to see if it smooths things out.

 

Not sure I'd describe it exactly the same, but I've felt what I think you're describing. And it started around the same time for me. I'd describe it as rough idle you can feel in the cab. Otherwise, smooth as glass when idling.

 

Any chance your a/c pump is cycling on and off at idle, that may cause a jump in the rpm.

 

I noticed my tach jumping a little bit at first but it seems to have gone away now. I have a feeling that it might have been something to do with the motor freeing up or the ECM learning process. I now have about 2,700 miles on it and would not trade it for any other motor in a truck today. I am getting about 18-19 on my drive to work compared to the 15 or less I had from a 5.4. Throw in the extra 65+hp and 55+tq makes me quote Charlie Sheen, "winning duhh!"

 

The truck is still doing it....and as the week has gone by, it's becoming more pronounced...along with the "ticking" becoming louder....it almost sounds like a water pump bearing would on one of the older models, when it's going out. I'll be making an appointment with the dealership today to take it in and have it looked at. My Mrs. said "maybe you shouldn't drive it." I told here "It's under warranty...if it blows up, I'll get a new engine!"

 

I wonder if the ticking is the high pressure fuel pump?

 

That's what they told me when I first drove the EB....I noticed the "ticking" and asked about it...they said the "high pressure fuel system".
The "ticking" that I hear now is much more pronounced, and the only other way I could describe it besides what I said above, is a "muffled valve clatter". We'll see what the dealership says when I take it in. I'll let everyone know what happens.

 

The truck went into the dealership on Friday....although the Tech said that he could physically see/hear the "rough idle", they ran every test on it they could, and said that nothing was wrong. They did note it in the vehicle history, and added it to a TSB "for possible future reference".
Took the truck on a 200 miles trip today. Sure hope the MPGs improve.....on the trip there, it averaged 13.4mpg and on the way home it averaged 14.4mpg. That was interstate driving, 70-75 mph. If this keeps up, and I can get it OKed by the dealership, I'll be looking for an economy tune when something becomes available.

 

That just seems to be way to low, tell us more about the truck, gears etc. and the environment, your driving habits, etc. I have a 4X2 and 3.15 gears, the last interstate trip I made a few weeks ago Florida to PA 1100 miles each way through the blue ridge mountains and the hills of WV. and PA and the lowest hand calc on the entire trip was 19.56 and the highest was 23.78 averaged about 21.5. This is with the cruise set and 68-70 mph. I could run a lot faster than that but not if I want to get decent gas mileage! Even at 75 you should do better than you are reporting, something is not right. Do you use your instant mpg gauge?

 

The truck is an XLT, Scab, 4x4, EB, 3.73 gears, 18" tires/wheels.
Those MPG figures were from the trip computer, but calculations by hand were only .2 per gallon more. I'm not a "hard" driver. Most of those miles were with the cruise set. The drive was on 87 fuel.

I've mentioned the low MPG several times to the folks at the dealership, and they keep telling me that things SHOULD improve a great deal after 3000-5000 miles....we'll see.
It took a lot of research to convince myself that the EB was the engine I wanted, and that was mostly due to the MPG/power claims. I'm more than impressed with the power the engine produces, but at the current MPG rate, I'd be just as well off to drive my old 77 F150 in regards to mileage.....and it's got a 400 in it.

 

Ed,

just for a reference I have the same basic truck, SCREW EB 4X4, 3.73, Max tow package. On a 150 mile interstate trip back from the wife's mom's house yesterday up I55 (rolling hills) I reset the trip gauge and got 17.9 mpg with the cruise set on 80. I have 2300 miles on mine.

Mine does 'flutter' a little at idle, is quiet as a mouse though.

HTH,
Dave

 

I also will get an occasional flutter at idle, otherwise she runs perfectly. dwloop your mileage sounds way more realistic, and if you slowed down to about 70 it would get even better. Ed, Could the cap have anything to do with it, or was the mileage just as bad before the cap?

 

I suppose it's possible that the cap might have an impact. It's about 200lbs. I would think that it's shape would be beneficial in reducing wind drag....but that's only a guess. The grill guard adds about 100lbs to the front end, but even with both it would be no more than a large person riding in the passenger's seat. Mileage has been pretty much consistent before and after the cap.
I suppose I'll give it the recommended break in miles to see if it improves. If it doesn't then I may be forced to trade it in on something more realistic, or possibly wait and see if anyone comes out with a "economy" tune for the engine. Right now I'm just kinda dumbstruck that the MPGs are so poor.

 

Your mileage seems extremely low even for as few as miles as you have on it. What does your instant gauge show while you are on flat ground with the cruise set at 70mph? I drove mine today for about a 20 mile stretch with the cruise set at 70 and the instant meter ranged from ~13 going up hills to pegged going down them on level ground it hovered around the 20mpg mark.

I average 17.2 or so with mixed city and highway driving. This is with me driving, normally I'm doing 80 or so on the freeway and I love to hear those turbos spin. I have been having a lot of fun reving this motor up and learning how to launch it like a drag car. I noticed that it seemed to pick up a little more pep around 3000 miles. I have even embarrassed a few of the bowtie boys around town. My truck is a Platinum SCrew 4x4 with 3.55s with the 20"s so our numbers shouldn't be that far off.

One thing that pops to mind is how much do you let the truck idle? This can kill the recorded mileage but the truck actually is getting much better.