2002 F-150 Extd Cab Lariat. Good looking truck. High miles, but good price.

I pulled out of the lot on a test drive and the engine had a pretty bad vibration. Decided to turn around. Guy said when they steam cleaned the engine, the guy didn't cover up on of the coils?? So one got wet.
I have no idea? Said he would replace it.

What do you think?

also, next week, I thought I'd make an apt. at ford dealer to have the truck checked out before I buy. Is this worth it? Will they really check it out pretty good?

thanks.

 

Yea, that's what happened alright - not only that, the porter prolly filled the spark plug chambers with water as well. That just made for a pretty big job for a tech to fix. I'll bet someones very cheesed off over that mistake..

They need to pull ALL 8 of the coils now and blow out the chambers, dry up the boots and coils. Test Primary and secondary then reassemble. Then they need to go to the WDS Oscilloscope Tool and select Channel 3, then select Auto, then select COP_STRESS_TEST_RED for low grade misfires.

Once there wet , they have been pretty much compromised and they should just throw on a new set, I doubt they will.

So when/if you test drive that vehicle again, make sure that there is no missing at all.

The 02 motor will most likely miss with a low grade misfire right after the shift into OD , so listen for that. It gets worse as time goes on if you buy..

 

I argee with Jbrew. I had the same problem when I purchased my used '02 King Ranch SuperCrew. I didn't notice anything on the test drive because I didn't get it up to high enough speeds (my fault.) I ended up buying the truck that afternoon then noticed a vibration the next day while driving at highway speeds (vibration was the worst at 45-55 mph.) I went back to the dealer and had the owner of the dealership drive it with me because he denied any problems, after driving it he said he would cover 1/2 the cost to fix but only if his mechanic worked on it. He changed some plugs but it didn't help. I had to take it to a Ford dealer and sure enough one of the coils was the problem which is what I suspected. They tested all of them then replaced one bad one, the truck has ran great for over a year now.

 

You got to change all 8 cop's, and probably new plugs too, cuz those get cooked. If you dont change them all out it will get worse. But it that is the only problem then once fixed the truck should be fine to buy. I'm at 150k right now and no issues other than the same problem when I first bought mine. When I redid my cops I bouht new bolts, and used high temp silicon to seal them to the head, cuz I off road to much, and clean off the motor too much to worry about that issue. Not had a problem since.

 

good info fellas. The guy said he was replacing # 8 only. That was the only one that got wet? Any cause for concern over that?

Is it worth taking the truck to a Ford Dealer to have it checked out before buying? Is it worth the time?
THanks

 

Can't hurt to have it checked. Hard to beleive ONLY 8 was wet..

Just make sure everything is smooth thru the gears.. - No missing ..

 

Runs great. I will get her tuned up this week. Gotta get the muffler cut off and add some pipes. Can't even hear the engine running at a stoplight.

 

Very clean...worth the quick fix. Wish I could keep my trucks looking like that..I'm to abusive!

 

I bought my 2000 in august 2002. She is a 4.6L extended cab XLT. I had the exact same issue on a test drive. It turns out that moisture from a condenser line was trickling back to #8. They replaced the boot and it was good for 20k.
I ended up replacing the CP anyway. Never had a problem since. Heed JBrews post, all excellent information. I would hit the EBAY link here in the forum and order a set of COPs. I think they are $100. Hell of a lot cheaper than fords $75 a piece!