I've got a 4.6l 2 valve that has an intermittent stumble while under a slight load. Does not trigger check engine light. 5 of the coils are newer 4-5 yrs. Other are motorcraft age unknown. Will I have to wait til it gets bad enough to set a code, or is there another way to find out issue. I have not changed plugs yet, but probably will. Not crazy about changing them since they tend to blow out on these aluminum heads. Any suggestions are appreciated.

Probably the coils again.

I'm gonna go start it in a few minutes since it's nearly dark. Maybe I'll find one leaking fire.

If you know someone with a good scan tool it will have a misfire counter and can tell which cylinder is misfiring, even though the light is not coming on.

I would do two things:

1. Replace the plugs if they are anywhere near used up, or maybe even just halfway used up...and buy the highest quality long-life plug the factory recommends

2. Replace all 8 coils all at once---don't screw around with it. Be sure and buy Mototrcraft parts from a Ford dealer or the warranty will be meaningless (I found that out putting coils on my 5.4 L last summer, which pissed me off mightily but could do nothing about it).

I have actron scan tool, but think I need a newer model to do what your talking about.

Generally all you will get is a P0300 random misfire code.

Start with finding a scan tool that will monitor misfire cycles. If plugs are old no time like the present to change them. The head issue isn’t reason to no fear them. Heli coil kits for them make the fix a beeeze.

Damn even their pocket readers access misfires. I/M monitor section. Actron has your user manual online. Mine is 15 years old.

I play with 4.6 a lot.

Could have a bad plug under a good coil.


But most likely it’s a coil. I’ve got a guy that has a scanner he hand figure out which one. Make sure to always replace the spark plug when that bad coil is found.

I have four vehicles with 4.6 and one with the v-10

I wont even drive these sombitches thru a mud puddle any more. I have a low water crossing on one county road, i’ve lost coils on 2 separate occasions slinging spray up onto the engine.

To add

I never get a CEL with a bad coil.

Unless I blow the plug through the top of it. BTDT that a couple times too.

I'd like to have a little chat with the Ford engineers about the V-10.

MOFO's

Yeah it sucks

Took me an entire weekend with a step ladder to do 10 plugs and 10 coils.

I had to fix up a jerry-rigged shop vac attachment out of heater hose to suck out acorns and hickory nuts gnawings so they didnt fall into the plug hole.


Yeah and those back plugs under the firewall....

Make sure you put anti seize on the plug threads and delectric grease on the plug nipple. Nothing makes it more fun in the future when you pull the coil and boot stays on the plugs

Mfkers in a 8” deep well.

Needle nose locking vice grips

V-10’s and all the other Tritons have lined my pockets well through the years

I despise these coil on plug aluminum engines. I long for the single coil distributor days.

Along with the never sieze and grease--cold engine and patience

I’ve got me a shop now that will do spark plug Timesert rethreads for $200

Research the fuel pump driver module. It's a common problem-item that can cause all kinds of weird issues.

Also, check your spark plug galleys for coolant, could be a leaking intake gasket.

Are you leaking any fluids on top of the engine? Valve gasket/thermostat housing?

Perfect timing on this question. Just tonight I learned that the cause of the stumbling/hesitation issue on my E250 van (worse when cold) was due to a loose rubber grommet leading a wire into somewhere in the air intake close to where my air filter was. Apparently I had been a little rough when changing the air filter which caused the grommet to pop out creating a break in vacuum or some variance in the amount of air being sucked into the intake....or somesuch. Anyway the last guy told me I needed a new throttle body, but this guy just popped the grommet back in and cleaned of the sensor the wire was attached to, A 30 dollar fix not a 1000 fix. So I'm happy. Not sure whether your symptoms match mine, but might be worth at least mentioning as an item to check out before breaking out the billfold.

No leaks. Has 120,000 miles so I figure intake will crack sooner or later as it's original. I'll be driving it tomorrow about 40 miles. Probably have to let it get worse as it's very intermittent. I'm not ready to throw money at it til I get more evidence.

Mine really (v-10) pitched a fit when ya hooked a trailer up to it. 😃

Another time, I swore to myself I had another bad coil.

Would stumble going up hill just like a coil.

Decided I would change the fuel filter, got it unclipped and dumped the contents into a mountain dew bottle.

It was 1/2 full of water.

Gawd, no wonder it was stumbling, that water would slosh around with gravity and motion.

Sorry....
But LMFAO!!!!

BTDT...


Just put a thermite on the intake and let it melt thru the block.


Worst designed ford engine ever to work on for the simplest things....

Passenger side rear plug is " special "...

I stopped buying gas at the same market I bought my rollin papers at

This is a mercury grand marquis ( crown vic). Wife drives it mostly. She's not comfortable driving our silverado. Not sure why, that car is as long as a truck.

To this day, “unca Lahhrie” has no clue who owned that mysterious green F150 parked in his field.

LOL

Dodge Hemi's 5.7 or 6.4 aren't any better, and they have 2 plugs per cylinder. My son just had to replace his plugs and his fuel injector on his number 5 cylinder. Says it runs like a champ now, hell it should, the wife got taken for over $1500 in Oct. 2018 while I was contracting overseas, The stealership claimed it needed all new plugs and coils, and I had just replaced them a year earlier. They wanted a lot more, so I called and gave the maintenance manager a piece of my mind, and he agreed, not all the work they wanted to do was necessary.

BTDT .



Not to mention the perfect water channel angled backward and inward along the heads and the block.



Figuring I was doing great things with I brought my green monster with the 4.6 in it and wash the engine down the day after I bought it...

Chitty chitty bang.

Had ta pull every fugging coil over plug and dry out every fugging recessed plug .

Full of water.

Gee .....
A truck that if ya wash out the engine makes it not run....

How special........


Azzhole designed engine.......

I need to find a scanner with mode 6. Apparently these give data on each cylinder.

Went arrowhead hunting at Willy’s place once in the ‘04 interceptor

Ended up in a tornado warning, jogging back from Typewriter Ridge lightning popping all around. Most god awful torrential down pour on back of FTCKY, lost a coil on that trip.

Renegade you really washed the engine? I only wash the body of vehicles once every year or 2.

Now y'all know why the two F150s I've owned had the Essex 4.2 V6.

LOL!!!

I'm happy with the 1st chevy I haved ever owned in my life now.


That fugging green monster and that modular engine bullschit...

Sure would like ta give a Johnny knoxville smack in the nuts to whoever designed that schit....
I had fords all my life.
Never had problems swinging wrenches on any of em.
Till the green monster and that modular engine bullschitt.

Changing plugs and wires on a 2.5 I4 dual fire ranger was a pita I thought back in the day.
Easy street compared to those ford modular engines.
JFC....
They design em like this nowadays to make it almost impossible to work on for simple maintenance.
Shop$$$$$$$$$



LOL!!!!!

Yes I did..
Big mistake.
Drowned out them recessed plugs .

Pos engine if ya cant wash it. IMO...

Never experienced anything like that ever.

JFC....

POS motors.

The one day when you blew an entire coil over plug the fugg out.

JFC....

4.6L pos engines.......

Good luck

My bro in law is a hi roller, he used a snap on scanner like this to track it down.

Oh yeah

Same day we were racing JamesJr to buy all those weatherbys out from under him.

That mfker!!

Dude..


Sorry to say...
But your gonna get codes up the wazzoo from here on out.
More than likely the computer/Ecm is bad or maybe the aluminum heat resistance box on the firewall for the elec system is bad.

BTDT on constant codes.
If that ecm is going.
You have ta get a another one.
Ordered Per your Vin then have it run programmed.......
You just cant get one outta a junkyard and install it.



I paid 1800 for my 97 with 132k on it .
Ran it for 16 months.
Those last 2 months code fugging city.
Plugs, wires, coils, both ignition modules
Get it running good
Usually last 2 days before throwing codes.
Run codes.......
One time I took back what i thought were bad ignition coils i had just installed at the house.
Exchanged and installed new in the auto zone parking lot.
Fuggggg....
Changed out the fire wall elect system heat reduction module.
Still ran like schit.

ECM....
Only thing left......
460 Bucks...
And a 2 week wait for it.
Fugg that goat fugg schitt.....



Stopped about 1/2 mile short of a place down in pleasant veiw.
Disconnected the neg.
Clear code.
Drove it on the lot
Got 1500 trade in towards my Colorado


That fugging truck was possessed !!!

I think my FIL,s ghost was in it, cause he rode in it one time.
That fugging truck was haunted IMO.
Slumlord was hearing stories every fugging day that last month I had that truck.
Christine type of schit electrical/ ignition/ misfiring problems.
Lol!!!
And I pride myself a little on working and trouble shooting vehicles I own.

FIL knew I held him responsible for me totaling my 04 4wd ranger from games he played.
Woulda never been on the road that night if it wasnt for his bullschitt namby pamby games he played.

The funny thing about the green monster taking a giant schit on me.

And Im not making this up.....

Exactly 1 yr to the day after my FIL died.
Schit started going wrong with it and just kept compounding.
Like the fugging Energizer bunny making problems one after the other.


LOL!!!
Kinda......

Don’t send jiveturkey down the ECM rabbit hole just because of your Poltergeist f150. 😂😂

Stick it to the man! TFF

$200 per hole, per head, or per engine?

Not fooling with ecm. When we got car it had 83k. It's now at 120k & I've never changed plugs. Not sure how old they are or what shape they're in. Reckon I'll change them since they're fairly cheap. I just have to make sure to torque em a little so they don't back out.

Holy fugg man.
How many times did I tell you that fugging thing was haunted by Jerry...

JFC....

Never been thru a nut roll like that working on a vehicle before.
One thing after another and nickel and dimeing me to death.
And eating up time.
Started after 1 yr exactly to the day of his death.


I seriously think it was him playing games from beyond the grave.
That manipulation and control schitt some play towards the end of their life and get kicks from.

Driving down the road and this happened more than 2 or 3 times.
Get some eerie feeling, look over at the passenger side where he sat that one time .
And bammmmm
Fugging engine light would come on..
WTF?????
No other explanation for it to me...

That passenger bank rear plug is a mother fugga.

I have a telescoping ratchet.
Extend all the way out .
Had ta peice together several socket extensions.
Literally 1/8 th to the most 1/4 th of a turn at a time to break it loose
Then when loose enough take ratchet off and spin out with extension.


Do not and I repeat do not use a rubber grommet spark plug socket on that passenger rear plug to take out or install.
The extension will pull off it and then ya have the fun of getting the socket and plug outta that recessed hole to remove or getting your socket off it after install.
Even if you smear some grease on the grommet.......

BTDT.....
JFC.....




You got full coverage insurance on it????

Stage a it was stolen event and burn it somewhere.

Thank me later....
LOL!!!

No full coverage just liability. It's a 2001. I'm with you on the grommet they're a pain down in that hole.

LOL!!!

Maybe the plugs are harder to get to on the older model trucks, but I swapped them all in my Daughter's 2006 with the 4.6. I don't recall any of them being particularly difficult.