Kerley2010

Ive done a few new things to my truck recently and I have no idea if theyve caused the problem or if its a wonderfully new problem I may not have thought of. Mind you, before ANY of the following modifications ever occured, my Service Engine Soon light was perpetually on...

I had the catalytic converters removed and a glass pack installed to quiet the obnoxious sound. No skipping.

Installed a cold air intake, all sensors seated and plugged in. Ran fine, no skipping.

Then all of a sudden, the skipping starts. When running slowly I dont notice it, until I go to accelerate (passing, going up hills, etc) I had the codes checked when I went in to a mechanic to find out why my battery kept dying (bad cell, taken care of) and what comes up is one vacuum leak and 2 emissions errors. Im also going to add that the skipping problem seemed to go away after driving home with the new battery and cleared SES light, but returned this morning on my way home from work along with the freakin SES light! Im going to see a mechanic tomorrow to see if he can help this new problem, and if he has a code reader I'll post the code numbers if that helps. Ive seen some good advice from people on here so I thought id try out asking about this myself. Does anyone have a clue what might be the culprit behind this? The missing cats/O2 sensors? MAF sensor? Spark plugs/coil packs?

One more thing, I think this all in my head, but... ever since I got the exhaust work done and the CAI installed, ive been running premium. One day on a trip I bought Casey's unleaded plus (decent price) and that day was the first time I noticed the skipping. Is my truck an... alcoholic? D:

Kerley2010

Could it also be the vacuum leak? Another user told me it could be the reason my A/C isnt kicking back in after shutting off during acceleration, but I didnt think the vacuum system could cause the skipping

BigPoppe

sounds like sparkplug wires.. but with the O2 sensor off could be the problem. without the O2 sensor, your engine doesnt know how to controll the fuel/air ratio. so you could be running a lean ratio which is bad!! cracked manifolds and internal damage could result. you can buy a universal O2 sensor at any auto parts store and a threaded port you sut a hole in the exhaust and weld the port in.. unless you still have manifolds on it, then the port should be there

Kerley2010

I took it to the mechanic yesterday and he thinks its a bad ignition coil. He says its a common problem and a new coil pack should fix it but we'll see I guess...

drof 1

"He thinks it could be a bad coil"??

He don;t have a scanner to read the codes? Mechanics that think what is wrong are not all bad, (don;t take it wrong), become great friends with the parts store(s). Not to mention cost Customers money thinking it could be this part or that part.

Unless this guy is your brother, brother n law, or cousin, may be worth stopping into Nappa & have them scan it for you if your light is on, (should be if coil gone).
If skipping I would think it was electrical, being free advice we can "think".
Spitting & sputtering I would think fuel, fuel filter, fuel pump if sputtering when under loads, missing, I would think plugs, coils or wires.

What another member offered above could also be the issue seeing how you did remove the cats. The one who removed the cats should have installed a universal o/2 to ensure no later issues.
If the one who removed your cats is the same one who thinks it is now your coil, (and just may be, hard telling not hearing the motor), but if not & suggest you buy more parts to "try", mention the cats to him & the universal o/2, but I still would stop by Nappa and scan codes if you have your light on.

Let us know k? And good luck!

Kerley2010

Got a tune up (which it needed anyways) and it still kept missin. He did a diagnosis the next day and found out it WAS just a bad coil pack. He swapped it out and now it runs better than ever! I went over the bill and he gave me a pretty good deal. Ive had friends who got bent over a barrel on trucks like mine, but this bill was satisfactory.

Thanks to everyone who gave their two cents, it was appreciated more than you know!

herberthw

When my '91 F-150 started skipping a couple days ago, I immediately began thinking the worst: Coil, ignition module, time for new plugs, distributor cap, rotor, set of wires, dirty air filter, etc.
Ayah!
For starters, tho, I checked the caps on the plugs ...
... and found one loose.
Now she purrrrrrrrrrs with power.
Luv my truck!