Hello. I've viewed this forum a lot, but haven't posted. It's been an awesome source of information!

I have a '01 F150 5.4L 4x4, 52K miles. It's garage kept and used mostly on weekends. With the exception of some parking brake issues, it's been a great truck.

The problem I'm writing about, is the accelerator pedal sticks in the idle "no pressure" position until the first time I depress it. When trying to accelerate the first time, it takes enough pressure that the truck produces a noticable lurch... enough to break the rear tires loose on slippery pavement. After the initial acceleration, everything works normally. I've lubricated all the pivot points on the pedal, with no difference.

Anyone with similar problems, and advice?

 

I was just working on my dads Honda Shuttle for the exact same reason. Last Time i drove with him i was thinking how cool, in his old days he´s starting to race this thing . Found out he had the same reason to spinn the (front)wheels as you. After searching the hole way from the pedal to the engine i learned that i should have started on the other end. Turned out to be the Throttle Valve (I hope thats the right translation of Drosselklappe) which was getting stuck in dirt that build up in there. Got it cleaned of and everything is like it should now. By the way the Honda dealer he went to first wantet to replace the hole thing for 800 Euros!

 

do you by any chance have a Cold air intake?

 

I have a 97 F150 with the 5.4 that has experienced a similar issue that was related to the main butteryfly on the throttlebody being dirty. I was able to just remove the air intake and clean with a throttle body cleaner (not carb cleaner) and wipe down the butterfly edges to remove any gunk.

My problem seemed to show up when cold and also at times if the truck was parked for a few hours. The first time the throttle was pushed you had to tap pretty hard to get it to break loose.

I have had to clean mine about every 15,000 miles after the first incident.

 

Thanks ericbryant, your condition sounds identical to mine. I'll give that a try.

There is no aftermarket intake. It's stock except for super chip tuning, in the premium gas - performance mode.

 

I also recommend to use powdered graphite (the stuff you use on door lockes) on the throttle cable. Just puff some down the cable where the wire comes out. It smooths things up a lot.

I used to have this problem on our Windstar and on the Escape... I used to clean the TB and get some graphite and puff some down the cable. Worked great for a few months, then had to do it again... it was a pita... but it fixed it every single time. I think it's from how much gunk gets around that area.

Luckily, the new body style F150s all have drive by wire instead of a mechanical setup.

 

If some clean grease on cable where rod-end connects to throttle doesn't help, then you need to remove the rubber intake hose where its clamped to throttle body, and clean dirt deposits from around the throttle butterfly using some carb cleaner and a rag.