Hi, I'm working on a 99 Expy 5.4L. It has 110,000 miles, owner says plugs were done last August. I just did this to it:
Seafoam put in oil
New oil, filter
New air filter
New COP # 4 per CEL, code pulled with reader at AutoZone (parts store)
Cleaned battery terminals.
Before the repairs (ahem) the truck shuddered/shook violently at almost all times. Take-off was way below normal, like it lacked power/torque.
Now, it's worse. Yup. It shakes less at idle, but when you hit the gas it does NOT want to speed up. What could I be doing wrong?? CEL comes on, flashes, then will go off. Codes will be pulled again asap. Any ideas?
Sorry, I searched the forum but this is baffling me so i posted it up.
Jeff

 

get those codes checked.

at least your getting a CEL, I had a terrible miss and got no CEL...

 

oh forgot to add to my original post, I cleaned the MAF sensor with "MAF Cleaner" spray from Autozone. Could this have damaged the MAF?
Jeff

 

A flashing cell light means one thing only.

Time for COP's, Buy these for that thing and she'll run like new -

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-I...mZ160111254456

Buy the whole set if you want it to run right, only $96 ..

Good Luck..

 

Aw nuts. Flashing cel light is only indicitive of bad cop? that means i screwed something up? what the heck could i have done wrong, i mean, you just put it in the hole and tighten that one bolt down....i didnt want to keep messing with these things, those back cops are a pain to get to. but thanks for your help! at least now i Know...
jeff

 

You didn't do anything wrong - you have more than one bad one.

They will keep messing with yuh until you replace them all.

 

ok, first things first... a flashing CEL is mandatory per ODB law and shows that the vehicle is running (I think the numbers right) 1.5 times the federal test limit for that vehicle, not just because a COP is not working.

second, COP #4 does fail first. It's due to design and the location of that COP. It happens, oh well.

Third, I highly recommend you stick with OEM COPs. I'll just leave it at that. It's my recommendation, I'm not going to buy COPs off ebay.

EDIT: Fourth, never rule out a bad repair. Think of it this way... you bring in your vehicle for service and they flush the transmission, now you drive and the trans doesn't shift into overdrive. Who are you going to blame? The trans or the garage? Recheck your work before you rule out another "bad" part

 

Ok, so is there a way to decipher what is wrong with the truck by the flashing CEL? I won't rule out that I made an error, I plan to re-do the cop install to see if I messed something up. AFAIK though you just place the cop in the hole and tighten the bolt, or am I missing something? All connectors were in place (I did double check that) before driving it. A faulty MAF sensor would not do this to the truck? I think spraying the MAF with that "MAF cleaner" spray may have killed it.
Jeff

 

I told you what to do.. Once one COP goes the others soon follow. Chances are that your misfire monitor hasn't picked up the other bad COP's yet. Look at my post count - I know what I'm talking about...

Your MAF sensor is prolly ok as long as you didn't touch it and break the wires. COP's off eBay ARE OEM and theres allot of people that purchased them from Kevin @ Global because they are - theres many succes stories here , just search - Cynder has not been around long enough to know. He's posting without investigating and searching theses Ford forums. He just isn't informed and giving bad info that will end up costing you..

The Ebay COP's come with a one year warranty as well. That's better than buying them from the dealership without warranty. Dealership COP' will run you over $400 , you really want to pay that when you don't have to.

If you want to fix your Expy you need to listen to those with the experience - hence post count.

You have a COP problem - all of them ..

You can upgrade your COP's with these , they spec better windings and dual magnets - also only $200 for your 2 valve modular..

http://www.rpmoutlet.com/musv8wgf.htm

 

Ok, so the codes were pulled again and now it's "multiple misfire" which the guy at Autozone said could be from my repair of the #4 COP. I'll double check that install and advise the owner to get a set of cops like you said. The labor will be harsh though -- what's the smart way to go about getting to the rear cops? I didn't mean to come off as doubting you -- I appreciate the help. This truck just doesn't seem to want to go and from one bad cop to all of em bad is not going to make the owner happy.
When you let off the gas and get back on it (say on the highway) the truck does NOT want to accelerate. Is this symptomatic of bad cops or do I need to look at the EGR system like some others have mentioned (in other threads)? I'm guessing I should concentrate on the cops first, then deal with the EGR if it is indeed going south in a hurry.
Thank you for the MAF input. I did not touch the wires, just sprayed them. So at least that seems ok. There's no problems adding Seafoam to the oil with these engines, right?
Thanks again,
Jeff

 

You now have a mutiple misfire code which only backs up what I'm trying to tell you. Always tackle the Misfire problem first . These vehicles don't really need the EGR system to run well.
These are high tech ignition systems and they need to be heathy in order for the motor to perform well. Replacing one COP on an old system does nothing but throw the integrity off on said system. There picky, your model especially. At times new COP's can fail without matching them up with Motorcraft plugs - OEM replacement plugs. That has happened in my 98. Altough It isn't always the case. You can use other aftermarket plugs , but your rolling the dice and taking chances.

Again , the vehicle has ignition problems and I've seen this problem time and time again.

You need COP's for that motor to straighten it back out. A set of eight installed at the same time. For $96 @ Global along with there proven track record here , you can't go wrong.

You came here for advice, it would be to your advantage to take it. You'll be pullin your hair trying to figure out another avenue to take. The right one has been posted.

Good Luck

 

Now that is not true. High post count does not necessarily mean experience and/or intelligence. Just look at the bopsy twins Patman and Fasterf150 for example. Hell, if you were to take their advice BASED on their post count........... well....... good luck

 

I don't know about that, but I'm seriously trying to help this guy. I've been thru this crap myself - It's not fun..

Where Primary and secondary testing might as well be thrown out the window because it doesn't matter when they pass and test good - failure under unspecific loads can only be stress tested accurately or Mode sixed for cylinder history on the dealerships reader and who is really going to do that ? A stubborn DoItYourSelfer won't.. For the price , it's just makes sense to replace all , that's why I advise it.

 

Ok, here's comes the big one...

Post count does not equal knowledge... it just equals... yup... you guessed it... post count.

Just because one COP fails doesn't mean that every other is going to fail... if that was the case there would be something called a TSB (weird things that ford puts out to help the tech diag and have happy customer that doesn't have to keep coming back) that states once one COP goes, replace all 8 at ~ $100 a piece.

Want an actual tech's knowledge?

Get someone who has a PDS or IDS and get into Mode 6 data. Then go and look at a power balance with the vehicle placed under load. That will tell you exactly which cylinders are misfiring and at what percentage, no matter codes or not. That will give you a better indication of what's going on with your engine rather than just throwing parts at the problem until it goes away.

EDIT: becoming a friend of a ford mechanic will help save a lot of money when it comes to diag and using ford equipment. I've got a lot of "friends" that slip me $5 and I pull any info they want / program crap / etc when I'm off the clock.

 

I guess you do know your sh^t . But all that Mode 6 cylinder history data cost more money . People have been going with those OEM's from that ebay store and have excellent luck with em..

A buddy that's a tech makes all the difference in the world...