ok i have a 2001 supercrew 5.4 and im having problems with misfire. i changed all the plugs and it still misfired so then i asumed the coils so i replaced those as well(expensive!) the thing is still misfiring so im thinking its electrical. when i changed the plugs i notice 2 of the well had oil in them and a friend of mine told me it was the valve cover gasket so i replaced that. i havent checked to see if any oils filled up in there lately but the misfire problems driving me up the wall.when i do floor it it seems to cycle smooth but it feels like i do i have a little power loss. the truck does have 173k miles on it but its always had its regular maintanance. does anyone have any ideas of whats going on or what the problem might be and any ideas on the oil pooling?
planing to cleaning up the engine today so if i have to work on it wont be as messy.

the only engine codes i was given were misfire on 8 and another 2 i cant remember now im sure they were all on the same side and also a bank is running rich.
thx for any input.

 

Misfires are a PITA, but you are at least getting codes directing you to the cylinder that's in fault. I'm not enough of an expert to know how oil would be pooling in the plug wells unless your valve cover gasket was in such poor shape oil was spewing all over the engine. How much oil was found in the spark plug wells? Are your sure it was oil or maybe oily water? Did you wash down the engine at any time?

-What kind of plugs did you use & did you torque them?
-What brand/where did you get the COP's?
-Did you use dielectric grease on the COP boots?

Not ruling out an electrical issue, but if you're getting oil/fluid in the plug wells, that problem needs to be resolved first.

 

Website acting funny... deleted double post!

 

im having all sorts of trouble figuring out my misfire also...except mine only does when i am slowing down...like getting off the freeway if i am just coasting, the light will start flashing. and i have replaced all the wires and plugs at this point..still working through the list like you are.

 

****** - did you get any codes from the PCM?

 

yes...cylinders 8 and 5 misfire.

 

My truck is doin the same thing yalls is it sounds like. My check engine light blinks when its misfiring but it goes off before i can do somethin about it. Ive even hooked up the Ford IDS scanner to my truck and havent gotten any codes from it.

 

ok i just checked the wells and they are ok so it must have been the gasket i replaced. i use motorcraft plugs and yes i torqued them.i forgot the brand of the coils but think its the same brand i got them from autozone. i used the grease they they provide so i assume its dielectric. when i took the plugs out the first time its had enough oil to cover half the plugs and it was a mixer of oil and dirt so it was kinda like a mud texture it wasnt water. iv never wash my truck enginetil now it was pretty clean for 173k. but the oil problems solved so now onto the misfires. could it be the fireing order is wrong or the ecu? ima go to the store and have a reading and tell you what they tell me.

 

If you were losing so much oil that it filled up some of the plug wells, I hope you kept up with the oil level in the engine! If you get error codes for those cylinders again, pull the plugs, make sure they're clean and also make sure that there's no dielectric grease on the top where the spring from the COP connects. You only want grease inside the boot and around any seams to try and keep anything out of the boot. You can also check the COP's for primary resistance, but I hear it's still possible for it to test ok and give a misfire. Let us know what you find out.

 

i had the same problem with my 8 cylinder. it also had some oil in it . i am assuming the build up was from the cylinder not firing and it just building up. also i am told that if it continues to happen like as soon as you fix it it is your piston ring that is bad. i went through 3 spark plugs before it burned it all out of there.

hope you guys didnt take your fuel rail off like the books tell you . its not necessary and saves so much time!

let us know how you make out

 

Pappa, filling the wells is an external leak, not an internal cylinder issue such as a bad ring.