Looking for a Professional Ford Engine Mechanic who works off the Dealer clock...

[Vanillagerrilla]

I had the same truck with same engine.
I did the Sea Foam through the vacuum line and the truck ran like new. Internet search will help.
Electronics are a pain in newer cars, O2 sensors, and emissions controls cause more problems than they solve.
Your truck has low miles , and the 5.4 is a good engine when maintained properly.

 

[Joe13]

600-800 miles a between quarts. Is it normal for the 5.4 to use oil? I do not pull anything, yet... That is where my concern is. I am saving for a travel trailer and not sure if wise to pull if using that much oil. In case you didn't notice, mechanic I am not...

I'd grab a light and look under your engine from below and see if there is a large buildup of nasty under there. Mine takes a quart every couple months and doesn't leak on the driveway but the oil pan was dinged at one point and it leaked more then and on the ground. A few thousand miles later it just adds to the muck down there and isn't an easy fix without lifting the engine some so I just keep feeding it.

Yours sounds much worse though.

 

[Ura-Ki]

Mine uses a quart every few days, but it's in a boat and it gets spun pretty hard, so it's going to use it more. We had a 2011 mustang that used a quart every 400 or so miles, took it in to Ford several times and they ran all sorts of tests and checks and couldn't come up with any reason why it used that much! I have been told by many folks I know that have these engines and they all say the same thing, every 800 or so miles, they take a quart, normal? Cant say!

 

[deadeye]

Here we go...

Wife calls me that night and tells me that the truck barely got down the block before having to return home. Engine warning light on and smells like fuel, runs rough and barely stays running....

Come home and find everything she says is correct. Have truck towed to my mechanic (because I'm working several days in a row and need vehicle sooner than I can look at it) Mechanic spends multiple hours over several days. Yes there were some codes (don't remember what they were) Nothing leads him to any great conclusions. At one point he tells me he drove it quite a ways and it drove great and he thought that it might have self corrected but then almost died on him and drove "rough" same symptoms. More hours spent but no diagnosis..

 

[John Gault]

I agree, a bad motor will always be a bad motor with out intermittent issues! Like others point to, Fuel Filters, plug wires, check for Air Leaks, and check/clean the PCV valve. May also look at the fuel pump and check for correct voltage, or a volt spike, or loss of volts! Also check All Grounds! Fords are known for ground corrosion and this can cause all sorts of issues! If none of this helps, then Cam/ timing chain tensioner issues may be the cause. These Coyote engines are known to have chain tensioner issues with a lot of miles on them!

He thinks it's in this cam area. He was very technical in description but thought it was a slip/wear issue but not the chain itself which sounded like it would be more constant...

SO still no full blown FORD mechanic on site? My first plan was to change fuel filter so I'm sure that had to be the first thing done there.
Lots of options here..

 

[MilitantBEEMER]

He thinks it's in this cam area. He was very technical in description but thought it was a slip/wear issue but not the chain itself which sounded like it would be more constant...

SO still no full blown FORD mechanic on site? My first plan was to change fuel filter so I'm sure that had to be the first thing done there.
Lots of options here..

Just remembered my brother in law had a similar issue with his 05 and 5.4. His was a wire that has slightly worn through and was occasionally grounding out on the Aluminum looking AC Line. Look and see if any burn marks on the line? He taped up the wire that was arcing and has had zero problems since

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

Mine uses a quart every few days, but it's in a boat and it gets spun pretty hard, so it's going to use it more. We had a 2011 mustang that used a quart every 400 or so miles, took it in to Ford several times and they ran all sorts of tests and checks and couldn't come up with any reason why it used that much! I have been told by many folks I know that have these engines and they all say the same thing, every 800 or so miles, they take a quart, normal? Cant say!

may not be normal but id rather pay $2.50 for a quart of oil every 3 tanks of gas than put new rings in it.

 

[Joe13]

Just remembered my brother in law had a similar issue with his 05 and 5.4. His was a wire that has slightly worn through and was occasionally grounding out on the Aluminum looking AC Line. Look and see if any burn marks on the line? He taped up the wire that was arcing and has had zero problems since

View attachment 313383

Phantom electrical problems are the absolute worst things to try and find and diagnose

 

[MilitantBEEMER]

Phantom electrical problems are the absolute worst things to try and find and diagnose

He found it by googling the symptoms. Sure enough the one that came up as the most likely was the fix. Gotta love the internets

 

[Joe13]

He found it by googling the symptoms. Sure enough the one that came up as the most likely was the fix. Gotta love the internets

True. I fixed an inline "wtf does this thing do" by watching YouTube videos and it only cost me $14 for the part and wasn't all that hard to change.

The spark plug wires were a pita, had to take the whole intake manifold and gadgets off just to get to them.

Felt like king of the castle when that fixed the car though

 

[John Gault]

I'm really liking this one here for risk vs reward coupled with symptoms and the likelihood that I could do it with minimal damage to self or vehicle...

Did I mention that the problem is worse when it's cold and then gets better over time and then reappear intermittently.....

 

[John Gault]

Keep them coming guys even if you're not a Ford mechanic you're doing way better than I am. Speaking of risk vs reward I will reward whoever correctly diagnoses said problem with something fun firearms related.

 

[MilitantBEEMER]

Keep them coming guys even if you're not a Ford mechanic you're doing way better than I am. Speaking of risk vs reward I will reward whoever correctly diagnoses said problem with something fun firearms related.

Please let it be the wire thingy!!!

 

[Ura-Ki]

I can call my Brother later tonight and see what he has to say about this. He is a Ford Master Tech and he has a few of these as Race motors ( he is the one that did the boat for me) I know the cam chain tensioner is a known issue with these motors, but it could be a number of things. Sounds to me like the VCT might be a possible cause.

 

[lucifermonkey]

Bad fuel injector is my guess. You can look up online how to test them with a meter.

My car had similar symptoms. Found that a mouse ate through one of the wires to the fuel injector which resulted in one cylinder misfiring. Same thing happened twice. Good times.

 

[Joe13]

Hell, I want to win something but I'd rather you fixed it with as little time, effort and money as possible.

 

[easy-e]

He thinks it's in this cam area. He was very technical in description but thought it was a slip/wear issue but not the chain itself which sounded like it would be more constant...

Clearing the codes and it works for a while and then gets worse sounds like a sensor issue and your engine is going into protection mode.

I went through a Cam Shaft Position Sensor problem on my 05 Altima recently. Went directly into limp mode and threw the correct code. I bought a reader at HF and confirmed it was the sensor on the Front Bank the internet said it usually is. I got lucky.

From my research A LOT of problems are caused by a faulty camshaft or crankshaft position sensor but it doesn't always throw the correct code. Those are the sensors the ECU uses to run the entire engine. Those sensors, connectors, and wires would be the first thing I'd check or replace.

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

Phantom electrical problems are the absolute worst things to try and find and diagnose

yeah, try explaining that to my customers after they've been to the independent shop 3 or 4 times and somehow now its our (the dealerships) fault that theyve spent X amount of dollars X amount of times and we fix it the first day or two that its here. it happens all the time

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

did you ever find out which codes were stored in the PCM?

 

[John Gault]

I'm really liking this one here for risk vs reward coupled with symptoms and the likelihood that I could do it with minimal damage to self or vehicle...

Did I mention that the problem is worse when it's cold and then gets better over time and then reappear intermittently.....

So I dug into this and I guy online shared a video he says to just disconnect both of these solenoids and then take it for a test drive and if it got better than you know the problem is in the solenoid. Question is seems like these solenoids must be needed for something or they wouldn't be in place to begin with. How long would it be safe to drive without them working/Connected? About $160.00 for two solenoids and rubber covers on Amazon..