2003 F150 Transmission issues.

[kenmac]

A friend of mine has a chevy that would do what I would call a shudder when the converter tried to lock up in OD..Would make you thing the engine had a miss, but only did this in OD.. We replaced the converter .. He's still driving the truck today

 

[N80]

Update: It is a misfire. I would have sworn up and down that it was not a misfire but it is. As mentioned, apparently these trucks will not throw a code for a misfire pretty much until the coil isn't firing at all.

Anyway, we were heading down to the cabin and it started shuddering at any speed, in any gear, OD on or off to the point that I was not sure we were going to make it there. After about 15 miles of this the check engine light flickered a few times and then went back off, even though the misfires continued constantly. I just happened to have my OBD reader in the truck, plugged it in and my wife read off my cell phone that it was a "severe" number two cylinder misfire. The CEL never came back on again.

But, I'm happy. This will be a lot cheaper and easier to fix than a transmission problem (if it is just the coil, which it probably is).

The only thing that bothers me, other than being generally incompetent at automotive diagnostics, is that this vehicle can misfire that much and that bad for so long and never throw a code. This vehicle shuts down fuel injection to the misfiring cylinder so that raw gas does't get to the cats and still won't throw a code. There is no way to slice it; that is bad engineering.

Now I've just got to decide if I'm going to do it myself. It will depend on where the number two cylinder is. The back cylinders are practically in the cab.

 

[RobertBrown]

I would replace the plugs and the coils... all of them.

 

[N80]

I would replace the plugs and the coils... all of them.

I totally agree, but this truck is 13 years old, back window leaks like crazy, smells like mildew and wet dog inside and is starting to have lots of other little problems so I'm probably going to sell it.

 

[3930dave]

Now I've just got to decide if I'm going to do it myself. It will depend on where the number two cylinder is. The back cylinders are practically in the cab.

If you haven't changed plugs on a 5.4 before, do some reading up first.

Original plugs often come apart during extraction. There are dedicated tools for dealing with this issue.

Rgds, D.

 

[N80]

I have done some reading and glad I did. The plugs in the 2003 trucks like mine are not the ones that come apart. This is a problem on later models. On the trucks like mine the problem is that the plugs tend to get seized in the head and then strip the threads coming out. And even to change the plug and coil on one of the front cylinders (#2), you have to remove the fuel rail and a bunch of other stuff. I'm going to let a mechanic do it. Even toying with the idea of letting the dealership do it. And then I'm going to sell it. Will be a bit sad to see it go.

I have heard of dealerships charging $1000 to $2000 to change coils and plugs figuring that at least a few of the plugs will result in stripped threads. Dealerships also charge over $50 per coil. (You can get a whole set for $130 of (reportedly) good quality).

 

[tman1020]

Just change the bad coil it's not that bad you'll have it done in 15 or 20 minutes.

 

[N80]

It looks like the fuel rail has to come off. Lots of other hoses and plugs etc. and it is very tight in there. That worries me a bit. But stripping out a plug hole makes me real nervous. I'll get a quote from a local shop. If it sounds too steep I might give it a shot. But only with this coil. The ones in the back are pretty much unreachable and notoriously hard to get to.

 

[kenmac]

Update: It is a misfire.
The only thing that bothers me, other than being generally incompetent at automotive diagnostics, is that this vehicle can misfire that much and that bad for so long and never throw a code. This vehicle shuts down fuel injection to the misfiring cylinder so that raw gas does't get to the cats and still won't throw a code. There is no way to slice it; that is bad engineering.

glad it wasn't the tranny (converter) From what you are saying, it doesn't sound like the job will be any easier..

Funny, old Ford advertisement was.. Ford has better idea:laughing:

 

[3930dave]

I have done some reading and glad I did. The plugs in the 2003 trucks like mine are not the ones that come apart. This is a problem on later models. On the trucks like mine the problem is that the plugs tend to get seized in the head and then strip the threads coming out. And even to change the plug and coil on one of the front cylinders (#2), you have to remove the fuel rail and a bunch of other stuff. I'm going to let a mechanic do it. Even toying with the idea of letting the dealership do it. And then I'm going to sell it. Will be a bit sad to see it go.

I have heard of dealerships charging $1000 to $2000 to change coils and plugs figuring that at least a few of the plugs will result in stripped threads. Dealerships also charge over $50 per coil. (You can get a whole set for $130 of (reportedly) good quality).

Just wanted to give you a heads-up warning..... I like Ford trucks, but that is not one of Ford's better designs. Specific 5.4 weaknesses aside, this is a good example of why I'm not in general a big fan of leaving plugs in an aluminum head a really long time (meaning distance really....).

A 5.4 is more than many guys want/should to get into at home, but it's not that big a deal for a competent commercial garage.

Rgds, D.