1998 4.6L with 43,000 miles

About three months ago my truck started running rough so I took it to a mechanic who is a friend of my wife's family. He ended up replacing the wires (said that they were bad) and I had him put new plugs in while he was in there.

Three weeks later it started acting up again and he checked everything out and #7 was not getting fuel. He serviced my injectors and everything was fine.

One week later it stated acting up but not quite as bad. He checked everything and found some water on top of one of the plugs (pin hole leak from a hose on the passenger's side). It ran rough for a little bit but ran great after it dried out.

That was about 2 months ago and it has been running great. Truck ran fine going to work but when I started it up to go home it ran rough again and the check engine light flashed and then it stayed solid. The check engine light did the same thing in all of the previous instances.

I want to hear what everyone thinks. I have heard of problems with the wires popping off and that you should use dielectric grease. I am going to call him in the morning and suggest he check this and that I am tired of bringing my truck in. I would go somewhere else but he has not cherged me for the last three visits and he put the wires and plugs in (his mechanics did).

Any suggestions before I go on a rampage?

 

hey i like that expo consle and your seats are like mine,you know you can put seat covers on those,real easy. say do you have cops set up or edis at the wires....err i stand corrected... it could be one of the four post coils,pull the fault,if it,s a 300 # then the last number is the cylinder #, mine was 304, #4 was missing and it ended up being the coil pack so i changed it out with a msd coil(of course you,ve got to change both and go up to 9mm wires if the mechanic didnt already) just get the ones for the 95 to 98 ford. jeggs has it in thier catalog #121-8241(the coil pack)plug wires are#121-3222-9 good luck

 

TexfordD,

Thanks for the reply. I will have him check both coil packs. I have the 9mm wires on. I will have him pull the fault code and see which wire or cylinder has the problem.

 

I guess you can't complain seeing as he did the work for free!! Lucky you!

A code reader sounds like it should be in your Xmas stocking.

Hehe.

 

p_ferlow,

He only did the follow-ups for free. I paid him $300 for the plugs and wires the first visit.

 

Blue

I also have a 98 4.6. I have been told in no uncertain terms that Ford coil packs do degrade over time. I have been told to replace them by 50,000 miles. Supposedly they can cause rough running without showing an engine code. I suspect this may be your problem. Ford wires are also not very good, but you have addressed that problem.

 

Peddler1000,

Thanks. I pushed all of the ends of the wires onto the plugs and coild packs, re-set my computer and it started runing normal about 5 miles into work. I am sure it will do it again. I will probably take it in tomorrow and have my mechanic check the coil pack.

 

Someone mentioned that Ford wires were not that good, is there any that you recommend. I have a 97 4.6 and at 84000 and is running rougher then anything so i'll check out the other issues too.

 

I took it in today and there was moisture on the #4 plug from a A/C hose that was dripping?!? They put some silicone around it and it is running better so I will wait and see what it feels like after it dries out.

Does anyone know what cylinder #4 is? Driver's or passenger's side?

 

pass side rear,i posted a thread yesterday about noticing the water dripping off the suction side line onto the heater hose and then onto the plug at #3 and 4. i went to the local a/c supply and got a can of "no sweat" and applied it to the line, also pull the boot and apply some delictric grease to the boot at the seal rings to help keep the water out also.

 

TexfordD,

Thanks. I will go take a look at how they fixed it.

 

GrifInSac2: Any wire set that fits the 96-98 Ford Mustang 4.6L 2valve motor (not the 32v Cobra) will fit 97-98 4.6L trucks and 4.6L Lincoln's.

I just bought a set of MSD Superconductor 8.5mm wires. Seem slightly fatter than the OE stuff.

You can probably find sets by Accel, Taylor, MSD and a few other manufacturers if you look around. Prices vary from $50 to a couple hundred depending on how fancy you want to go.

I figure the MSD set at around $70US will do me. MSD also sells "hotter" coil packs as well, so does Accel.