FordService

Be sure to post after you go to the dealership, Tothemax. What's the current mileage on your truck?

Crystal

Tothemax

21k miles. Will they give me grief for pulling the plugs myself?

Tothemax

I'm half tempted to install two new plugs and cancel the appt.

itguy08

You might be on to something with the plugs. They say these plugs are very sensitive to torque in this application and crack quite easily. I'd make sure you have them torqued correctly with a good torque wrench. Not sure what makes them this sensitive to incorrect torque causing cracking...

That being said it seems like it's not the misfire. From what the NHTSA and everyone reports, the truck will buck, fall flat on its face, and almost stall. The check engine light will light up. Sounds like you had none of those. From what I read you know if you had the condensation issue.

I've had a similar thing with my Taurus, although not that bad. You'll nail it and it will downshift, and take a hair to start accelerating. Almost like you hit the turbos in a dead spot and they have to spool up. But once it does it will take off like stink. Have not noticed anything like that in the truck. I always chalked it up to a turbo vehicle.

I think it may be best to get it into the dealer and see if you can replicate it. Press them and they should be able to give you the "black box" where it hooks up to the OBD2 port and when you experience the issue you hit a button and it records before and after the button press.

And I'd omit the plugs - the less they know the better.

Hope that helps!

Tothemax

Copy. Thanks. Ill get 2 new plugs and install them tonight.

zx12-iowa

What you describe is not that issue.....

Tothemax

Well the plugs are back in. I started up the truck and let it idle. It bounced around a little (like its always done). I will drive it on the interstate tomorrow and well see if anything changes. I still have my appt for wed.

Ron AKA

Good idea. I would force Ford to deal with the issue, if nothing else to get documentation of the problem in the Ford system. That greatly improves your odds of keeping them on the hook after warranty expires. "I've brought it in for all the TSB's and reported the problem, but you still have not fixed it". At least that is what I would say...

I wonder if the water accumulation in the intercooler and then having it go through the engine in a slug might be what is cracking the spark plugs? In my experience cracked spark plugs are most often a installation problem. However, that is rare if you use a torque wrench. Seems to me that it is happening so often in these engines that there must be an engine cause. The water going through the engine apparently can damage the cat, so possibly the plugs as well...

Tothemax

Humm.. Water hitting the plugs causing rapid cooling/cracking would be interesting.

Truck is in the shop as I text. Guess we'll see what they say.

Tothemax

Just leaving now. They did tsb 13 8 1