Truck is having difficulty starting up. When I turn the key it turns over a few more times than normal. Sometimes sounding like it's not going to start having to let it go a second or two. And then when it does it doesn't have the peppy sound that it does normally on start-up... Where it goes vroom up in the rpms and comes down... it's like it catches and struggles to start.

It's already been back to Ford and they've replaced the fuel filter and cleaned the throttle body. They said they tested the fuel pressure and it's fine. They also tested the battery and said it's holding it's charge. I took it back in today and they said nothing is coming up on the computer and they haven't been able to duplicate it yet. Told them to let it sit an hour and then give it a try.

Any other thoughts on what it could be?

 

well as mentioned alot, i think its the EGR valve and throttle body. My truck only had 73,000 on it when it would have trouble starting, really slow, no VROOM that it used to have. Put in a new battery and spent some time cleaning the EGR ports, IAC valve, new gaskets on them,etc and WOW what a difference. Thing runs like a scalded dog now, and best of all--NO PINGING!!!
at 74,500 now, still VROOM when i start it, even in cold cold temps!

 

Thanks... It doesn't turn over slower though... Just keeps cranking over a few seconds before it catches...

They said the battery is holding power fine and I paid them to clean the throttle body. I'm going to call tomorrow and see if that included the EGR and IAC. A friend who use to be a Ford tech said it should have included that.

I took it back in today and they said they can't find anything mechanically wrong w/ the truck. That same friend is saying I might just have to drive it until it stops working.

 

How old are your plugs? Worn out plugs can cause that condition too.

 

When they say the battery is holding it's charge, do they just mean in volts?? When you hit the starter, it's all about amps at that moment......

Since you say it seems to crank slower then normal, it could be the battery is fine on volts, but the amps is not up to snuff anymore???

Just a thought.....

Good luck!

Mitch

 

Does the truck run fine once you get going?
You could have a dirty sticky IAC not letting the computer control the idle as quickly as it should at startup..
Try barely cracking the trottle while you start and see if that helps with how fast it starts. This would most likely point to a dirty IAC.
Had the same problem with my wifes 5.4 Expy, cleaned the IAC and cleared it..

 

I think they said volts but I said it doesn't crank over slower. Cranks normal speed.

The sparkplugs are about a year old. It's getting worse though.

I'll try barely touching the throttle tomorrow when I start it to see. idk though, the IAC should have been cleaned by them. A friend, who use to be a ford tech, is saying I might have to just drive it until it doesn't start.

 

I agree with the IAC diag. Sounds like it's in the early stages of gumming up, working juuuust a bit too slow. While you can clean the it, you're better off bolting on a new one ($50-100 depending)

SL

 

Ooops.... That darn dyslexia..... Put it in my mind the other way around!

Mitch

 

I'm running it right now w/o my computer chip and it's still doing it. I'll let it run like this a few days so the computer can readjust to the engine (and b/c I have no time to take it back into ford) and have them see if the diagnostic equipment can find anything.

If not, then I may drive it till it stops working or replace the IAC completely... idk... this is odd and everyone looks at me when I start the truck up because it cranks over so many times...

So, w/ the battery, they can test and it'll hold volts but that doesn't mean the battery is any good still? Is there any way to be sure it is/isn't the battery w/o replacing it?

 

Well, I've had batteries that would take a charge and hold it, (12.5 volts) but it didn't do anything when it tried to crank the motor..... Or, you only had one chance for the motor to start and that had to happen pretty fast!

Since you can still crank normally, I'd say your battery is probably ok.... If they used a tester that places a load on the battery to check for it's charge/amps, then that basically simulates a starting condition and if it checked out, then it should be ok.

A quick test at home would be to turn on your dome light and then try to start the truck..... The light should dim some, but not a whole lot.... If it basically goes to nothing, then there would be a battery problem.....

Dunno man...... My truck has always started after only a second or two.... That's even with the "worthless" Bosch + 4 plugs that nobody likes...... I have over 4 years and 76k miles on them too...... Truck has over 138K on it now......

I did have my IAC replaced about a year and a half ago, but the only symptom for that was that it would not idle... It would start right up everytime it died!...

Fire only needs three things to ignite.... Air, Fuel, Spark.... Back in the old days of carborators, distributers, and points, it was pretty easy to diagnose..... Now, with fuel injection, COP, computers and a sensor or module for every little thing, it could be anything!!

So, this whole post and I've not helped one bit!!!

Good luck man!

Mitch

 

Intel--

clean your IAC first--takes under 10 minutes. 2 bolts and an electrical connection and its off, plus its right on top where you can reach it. Flip it over once its off, and spray the hell out of it with carb cleaner. Be careful when removing it, theres a gasket you'll want to save. Use a screwdriver to work the spring back and fourth while the carbon is breaking up. Worked great for me

 

MitchF150, it's all been a help. Thanks for the info on the battery.

I think I'll try to clean the IAC out, even though they should have done that and I also did it about a year ago on also. I'm also heading home this weekend and might pull out a sparkplug to see what they look like. I replaced them about a year ago but used cheap ones.

If that doesn't work, then idk... maybe see if someone will let me put their battery on my truck... lol...

It starts everytime but cranks over for a few seconds... makes everyone in the parking lot look at me...

 

The reason I brought up plugs is b/c my wife's work van had new Bosch plugs that I supplied, but had the local dealer install to the tune of about $200.00 for labor (about a 3 hour job on a V10 van). Anyways, less than a year later the van would have to be cranked over for what seemed like at least a minute or two before it would fire(letting the starter cool off every 10-15 seconds of course). And of course it didn't throw any codes. Anyways, after much head scratching and muttering I finally pulled some plugs and found they were gapped wrong, they were ALL gapped wrong, 10-15 thou too much wrong!! Plus, when they changed them out at the dealer, they neglected to tighten up the intake plumbing I ultimately changed out all the plugs and eight of ten COPS b/c one or two were bad, and the van has run great ever since.

 

Check all the ground connections - especially the one going to the block. Even though they "look" good, you might want to take them off and clean the connector/ground point.