Well, I just bought this truck a couple of weeks ago and i flushed the engine and put some synthetic blend in. Also put a Purolator filter on. I did wash the engine with some degreaser to get the grime on it off. But i was careful to cover intake and the distributors. The truck ran fine that day.

The next day i filled in some gas. Right after this, i made a 150 mile trip where the truck seemed to buck and struggle whenever i gassed it. I put some of that dry gas treatment in, checked all plug wires, connections, etc and everything seemed ok. The truck began running smoother after i filled in some high octane fuel in. Also had the MIL on but got reset when i disconnected the battery.

Now, there is no MIL. The truck ran fine for a week. Then it began misfiring a lot. And the exhaust smells weird. It started doing this slowly, building up where now driving it is becoming a PITA. I dont know what to check since i'm new to trucks and OBD-II vehicles. I would like some pointers and suggestions please.

What could go wrong? Should i change plug wires, plugs?? I'm changing the Fuel Filter tomorrow(after reading up the process in Chilton's ).

 

Sounds similar to the times when I have had plg and wire problems. I never did smell a funny exhaust smell but the bucking struggle is very familar. The first time I ever had a problem I got a MIL all of a sudden, the second time it took two weeks to to finally throw a code. Once it was reset the MIL never came back on but the problem was still there to a degree. Not saying that this is diffently your problem but it never hurts to have a fresh tune-up on your engine.

 

TakimanPGT:
Sounds like you got moisture into something, or maybe started something on the way out.
Try this. At night, or in a dark area, make sure the engine is hot, spray (not with the garden hose) water on the wires, then start the engine. Watch for spark shooting out of the wires, or along the wires or at the coil packs. With the engine off, check the coil packs for "BLACK LIGHTING" that may be coming from the output terminals to other terminals or down toward the bottom. If you see this, change the coil packs.
Check the terminals/connectors that plug into the cam and crank sensors. If you see a green like material on the pins, clean it, its corrosion. Make sure the terminals are clean and use some dielectric grease on the pins before reconnecting.
Check the grounds from the battery to the engine for tightness and cleanliness.
Depending on where you get your fuel, you may be getting water in the fuel. Put in a quart of denatured alcohol. That should clear up any water in the fuel.
Make sure your battery is in good shape, have it checked to be sure it can pass a load test.
Hope this helps.
Mike C.

 

Sounds like a coincidence between the cleaning and misfire. I had this happen before on another Ford, and it was the 02 sensor. Is any black smoke coming out of the exhaust when it does this? Might even be a bad catylitic convertor, too. ,,,,,98

Is it using alot of gas when it's running poorly???

 

Hope somebody didn't "Sweeten" your gas.

 

Is any black smoke coming out of the exhaust when it does this?
Is it using alot of gas when it's running poorly???

98Screamer, there is no black exhaust or anything. Just some smell. It is not giving bad mileage too.


Depending on where you get your fuel, you may be getting water in the fuel. Put in a quart of denatured alcohol. That should clear up any water in the fuel.

Mike, when i filled up gas before the trip, the pump at the station was low on gas since i saw a carrier unloading fuel as i filled up. I'm thinking crap got in, and is now blocking my injectors. This could be a reason for the smell too, right?

I put in some of that dry gas treatment to take out the water in the tank. I'll go ahead and change out the fuel filter, put some injector cleaner in a half tank of gas so its concentrated, and then maybe change the plugs and wires too.


What else could it be? And no, i dont think anyone sweetened my tank!

 

Oh man! Was there another station open when you stopped there? That's
not a good thing to put your vehicle through. I hope you come out okay, and it gets fixed.,,,,,98

 

Any other suggestions???

C'mon guys, help me out here

 

Wow!
It sounds like you got the worst of the fuel from that station.
You may have to drain the tank and fuel lines, put in some fresh gas at a reputable station, and try that.
Yes if the injectors are not putting in the correct amount of fuel, there may not be enough fuel in the combustion chamber to ignite, consequently, you get a misfire. Unfortuneately, the fuel/air that did not fire is sent to the catalytic converter UNBURNED. This can cause the rotten egg smell, as more and more fuel from the "Missing cylinder" enter the cat. You may have to remove the injectors and have them cleaned. This is the extreme though. The top of the injectors have small filters of their own, which if there is enough junk there, can cause the injector to malfunction. I would have the injectors flushed (this is done with the injectors in the engine and the engine running) first to see if that will clear them.
Hope this helps.
Mike C.

 

Ok, I give up!!!!

Guys, how do i get to the spark plugs? I could only get to 1-2 and 5-6 with an extension. Can anybody tell me what kind of special tools i need to get to the back plugs???!


And to update, the code i got was for cylinder 1 misfire. When i removed the plug, it was in bad shape. The tip was black with carbon. No 2 was fouled with oil but only on the threads. Nothing on the tip. Does that mean a VCG job in the near future??

 

If your engine has plug wires, you should be able to remove the wires, then using extensions or wabbly extensions remove the plugs.
If you engine is like the 2001 I worked on a month ago, there is a coil for each spark plug, in which case I would say remove the coils from each cylinder, make sure you mark the plug-in wires to the coils with each cylinder number. Once you remove the coils, the plugs should be accessable. There may be some electronics or mechanical items that need removing, then you will be able to get to the plugs.
Mike C.

 

Hey! Thanks a lot, Mike! I searched and found out about the spark plug removal tricks! I ran some Techron injector cleaner through the fuel today. Hopefully tomorrow will be a sunny day, enough time to finish the work on plugs. BTW, ita a 4.6L so it has wires!

The truck now makes a "sput" kinda sound sometimes when driving. I think i'm gonna go ahead and change out the ignition coils too. I hope all this money helps it stop shuddering so much.


I havent been enjoying this truck since i bought it almost!