2002 F-150 Supercab, 4x4 with 5.4
~ Diablo Sport Chip
~ AF-1 Intake
~ Magnaflow 15609 Exhaust

~ 157,000 kilometers on the engine (97,555 miles)

I've owned this truck since new and have babied it beyond belief.
- Oil changed every 3,000 kilometers, fuel filter changed yearly.
- Plugs & ALL fluids changed every 50,000 kilometers (31,000 miles)
When it's not being driven, it's parked safely in my garage.

A few days ago I drove it for the first time in 2 weeks, pulled it out of the garage, and it felt like I was in 4-high on dry pavement.
You know that clunkety-clunk sound and irky jerky motion you get?

So I pulled it out on the road to get a better assessment and it felt like I was driving on 2 cylinders, it was shaking like a **** and knocking very loudly.
I took a look under the hood and didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

At one point I thought I could smell something burning, but I'm not 100% as there was a road crew working not far from me and I was getting super paranoid.

I just had the plugs and fluids done 4,000 miles ago, and it's been working great.

My big fear is the spark-plug blow out that I always read about, but I heard when that happens, you would hear a loud bang, I never heard anything.

Anyway, I'm having it towed to my friend's shop next week but I just wanted to get some opinions on what you guys think it is.

Oh one more thing, when all this happened, the "Service Engine Soon" light was flashing.

If it is the dreaded spark plug blow out, how bad is that? I heard once that happens to you once, it will always keep happening, is that true?

Your comments are appreciated.

Thanks
Habibi

 

what brand plugs did you use? did you use dielectric grease? was the truck rained on in those 2 weeks? if a spark plug blew out you would know it right away, it would get real loud and sound similar to an exhaust leak. and if you helicoil a blown plug then it will blow out again eventually but if you use a time sert it is a permanent fix.

 

You could have a plug backing out, getting ready to blow. Could be a leaking injector.

 

Didn't think the 2002 5.4's had an issue with blowing plugs out but could be wrong. If the CEL is on, you need to get the code(s); that will tell you what is going on. If you don't have a code reader a lot of auto part stores (Autozone) have them & will hook them up to get codes for free.

 

The fact that it sat for two weeks and now runs bad makes me think you may have water in your fuel. Truck sat long enough for the water and gas to seperate. Just another possibility you may want to check. Good luck.

 

Thanks guys, I'll let you know as soon as I find out.
I feel a little better now after reading your replies, since I don't think it's a blown plug ---> Keeping fingers crossed.

I used the Ford plugs, the titanium ones or whatever they are called.

It was outside for a few days getting rained on before I garaged it, and maybe some water got insiide the Cervini hood openings?

Anyway, it was going to cost me 90 bucks for a tow, so I bought a year membership to roadside assistance, but I have to wait a week before I'm allowed to use it. A few bucks more expensive than the cost of the tow and I'm covered for a year, only downside is I have to wait til next Wed to have it towed, but I'm not on a tight schedule.

In the meantime I'll just drive my car.

I'll let you guys know next week.

Regards
Habibi

 

I just blew a plug coming down the hwy a few days ago. I didn't get a loud bang or anything, one minute the truck was fine, the next it had all the symptoms you mentioned in the OP (sound, smell, misfiring like hell). What I found was a broken COP top still connected to the wire and the plug + boot a few inches away from it, out of the spark plug hole. It definitely blew out and took some of the threads with it, I wasn't able to thread a new one back in.


edit: I do have a pretty loud exhaust + stereo, so it could very well be I didn't hear it blow, but you could definitely hear the noise it was making right after.

 

So what's the fix for that Cashel? Is this a job that costs thousands?

 

Depends on who you go to. If you go to a dealer, maybe they'll try and convince you that the head needs replacing, so they could ask that high. Really what needs to be done is have the hole tapped a little larger with a new permanent steel insert. There's a member on here (Galaxy) that rents out the TimeSert kit you need to fix problem (requires a deposit, but refunds when he gets the kit back). That's the cheapest and best route if you're comfortable with tackling it yourself. If not, you're definitely looking at $600+ to take it to a shop and have them do it. I got lucky, the same guy that hooked me with the gear job for cheap has also fixed quite a few of these spark plug blow outs, so he's hooking me up again on this.

 

I dunno if these guys will travel to Canada, but this is the BEST way to fix a plug blowout:

www.blownoutsparkplug.com

Note: If you used antiseize on the plug threads, that is a contributing factor to blowout. So is using the factory-specified torque of 15 ft/lb. You need to slap them in dry and torque them to 28 ft/lb.

 

Keep up the good work of informing, GLC. Think of how many you may have saved from a blowout with the torquing info.

 

Thanks for the info guys, I'll let you know what's going on when I find out next week.

H

 

Well it looks like old Habibi caught break I had my truck towed to my mechanic the other day and got the call this afternoon telling me it was all fixed and ready to go.

Turns out #5 & #7 coil packs were defective, once he replaced them, the truck runs perfectly again. Nice & smooth and lots of power.

He did tell me that once coil packs start to go, in many cases others will follow, so maybe I'll have to replace the other 6 eventully? If that's the worst case scenario, I can happily live with that.

It's nice to be driving it again, been a while.
Thanks to everyone for their helpful replies.

Regards
Habibi

 

Thanks for the feedback. Glad it worked out for you. Take care

 

Yea but, why did they go out? Does the Cervini hood have a scoop?