Hey guys, I posted this in the 2004-2009 section but thought I'd have a better chance of someone seeing it here. I'm sorry for the wall of text.

So I don't even know where to start... I'll just start with the basics. Back in august I purchased myself a 2005 ford f150, 4wd with 5.4l v8. The guy that I bought it from had told me that the engine had been swapped out because the pervious owner was driving it and hear a click but never told her husband. The story goes that the engine crapped out and they replaced it. Putting in a 5.4l v8 that had only 34k miles. It was professionally put in and everything was fine well and good. Since then the car has had 44k miles put on it with no issues, until now. I purchased the rest of the car with 199k miles on it and I did pay the kelly blue book for it with that milage and the condition. I was smart there.


The car drove fine, didn't slip or have any issues at all. The guy I bought it from took great care of it making sure to put the best oil in, best battery, best spark plugs. He babied his cars and seemed to have taken amazing care of this one.


So here is where things start to change up. After about three months (thanksgiving) the check engine light comes on. Car still drives the same as day one and I go to get it checked out. P0012, cam timing bank 1 over retarded. I took it to a local and he told me the sensors were fine and that I should probably drive it until the day it dies. The thing is that he treated the car as if it had 200k miles on it because I don't have any "proof" the engine was replaced.

So here we are, around early Jan. something new started happening, keep in mind the check engine light is on, no shifting issues. I've been told by many that it drives fine. So what would happen is that when I would come up to a stop light or stop sign the car would make a deep clumping noise as I was breaking. I don't know how to describe it other than a "thump". Nothing stuck and nothing shook the car, although I was able to feel it. Now this issue popped up after there was a snow and I put it into 4wd after a long while of not using 4wd. I will say that when I was leaving school that day it had snowed a lot, this is why I put it into 4wd. When I waiting in line I was going about 5mph I went to apply the breaks and nothing happened, I figured that it was me sliding and never thought more of it. It remained happening for a while but wasn't that bad. It didn't happen too often, but was most definitely noticeable when it did happen.

So the story continues, after a few weeks of this happening, check engine light still on I decided I would fix the two most likely causes of the P0012. This was that the cam phasers needed to be replaced or the VCT needed to be replaced or the filters needed to be cleaned. First things first I fixed the cheaper of the two, the cam phasers. We left to go to mountains where they had gotten two feet of snow and I put close to 500 pounds of sand in the back just for good measure. After doing research that had seemed optimal... I may have been wrong there. Call me stupid if you will. However we made the trek and it wasn't until we got there that we got a "TRANS FAULT" with the O/D flashing off. It went away within 5 seconds and I never heard from it again until we were heading back, keep in mind that at this point the check engine light had come back on meaning the cam phasers were not the issue. With the trans fault coming on again, and then again, and again we dumped the sand and kept going. The issue has yet to come up again.

As soon as I got home I ran the truck to autozone and had them test the check engine. It was the P0012 and that the trans fluid had over heated. While standing there a mechanic from next door walked up and listened to what I have just told you, he tells me that the trans fluid needs to be replaced and then it is more than likely that VCT.

I take the car to him the next day, he flushes the fluid telling me that it was about the same as any other car that needed replaced. What I learned tonight that the previous owned had just replaced the trans fluid before I purchased the car from him. It has about 6k miles on it. Either I was lied to by the mechanic or something is up.

The mechanic checks out this VCT and tells me that it needs replaced, I replace it and when I pick up the car he shows me what was wrong. The VCT was missing and entire filter, meaning it had shot into the engine somewhere, this being said it was most likely what killed the previous engine as I described earlier. He takes the car out and everything drives fine with no issues. He told me that it should run fine and that the only things that he would mention is that it has a very slight misfire on the 1-4 cylinders but it goes away as soon as any gas is applied. The other is that I have a lower oil pressure (between half and 3/4 on the meter). That being said he tells me I shouldn't have any issues for a while and to not worry.


Here's where things get screwy. The light came back on today, I take it to auto zone and it is the same issue. I call the previous owner of the car and he has no idea why other than that when he rebuilt the 4WD that his mechanic told him there were some scorched wires by the transmission on the passenger's side but as long as there weren't any issues that they didn't need to be fixed. He believes at this point that if the VCT wires run though there then that could be causing the issue.

Well as I'm talking to a buddy of mine trying to figure out what is going on with the clunking he asks me "do you get stuck?". My answer was simple, no it is just a clunk. Right as I say that the devil himself steps in front of me. There is a louder than usual clunk and something is different. Usually when you idle and take your foot off the break at a stop light you will inch forward. This was not the case for me, I took off the breaks and just as soon as I did it felt like I hadn't. I wasn't moving forward at all, now when I went to accelerate it didn't go immediately, this was new, it didn't move forward when I applied the gas. It didn't move until I got to "x" amount of gas applied. This new issue didn't happen every time I stopped, but it was more often than before. One thing that may not have been new but I did notice was that when I accelerated to the point at which I started moving again it made a lesser clunk but it was new.

My friend that I am on the phone with tells me something along the lines of the transmission was crapping out and it could be sensors or pressure somewhere or something like that. He tells me to not worry about the p0012 as long as nothing is driving weird.

Well I call back the guy that I got the car from and he tells me that it is the "break caliper". Things start to add up with this too as I wasn't able to stop when it snowed and then the sticking issue. However things also add up for the transmission with the trans fault code and stressing it with the extra weight. Do keep in mind that the issue was happening for about a month before I drove with the extra weight.

He also told me that the main transmission wiring harness is the one that was scorched. It caused him to get the same error code about the transmission that I got because it wasn't plugged in tight enough. I was told that this could be the issue for the p0012 if the VCT runs through this harness.


Alright guys I told you all that I know, everything that I can and it was a wall of text. I hope I didn't leave anything out but please let me know. I've gotten bad news on bad news and I don't want to try to blindly fix this.

 

Yep that was a mouthful. It sound like you have a lot of issues. First theres something wrong with your master brake cylinder and or your ABS system. Very expensive fix. Second your transmission has some possible issues. You need to get it serviced asap, full drain filter and torque converter drained. The T-case needs to be serviced as well. That could be your "clunk noise" I can tell you, you should have ALL the fluids changed in the axles and driveline if you haven't already.As far as the P0012 code is concerned, you'll know when you have a real problem. Ford has had issues with the VTC solenoids in the 10 gen. motors for a very long time.
To wrap it up, a truck with 200K miles will need constant repair and will make noises in weird ways. Most of what I drive has over 150K miles, some 300K. I enjoy the challange and the work. Hopefully you do too. Good luck

 

Thanks for the response. Could it also be the calipers? Seems to be what I was told mostly on the other thread. I just changed the T- Fluid and got the filter replaced. I was told it drove great.

I am not good with cars... at all. What did you mean by the t-case? I don't plan to do any of this work myself but I have a friend that will do it with little labor cost. What all are we talking here when it comes to cost...?


As of right now if I can get these sorted out the KBB is $9800.. and that's what I paid, it also has quite a few extras on it like new stereo, custom wheels, 3" leveling kit, Locking Bed cover... ETC. I know I just got this but I may want to save up a bit and get something with a lot less miles if it seems like It will be one thing after the other?

 

Brakes can always an issue but in the case of a caliper, they usually get stuck in the compression mode, wearing out your pads and rotors. Good news is that it's and easy inspection and repair that takes about $200 to $300 in parts at the most. A T-Case is a transfer case at the back of the transmission that allows you to operate the 4 wheel drive.
Not everyone can be a mechanic, but you're asking the right questions. Only you can decide how much you want to invest in your truck. Good luck with your repairs.

 

that makes sense. I'm getting everything looked at this weekend or early next week. After driving yesterday I felt a slight grinding? I don't know how to word it other tjan that the breaks were on very very lightly. I will say that the last few weeks when I would big my bud up on the way to school there has been a burning smell. Almost like plastic. I always thought it smelled odd but figured it was because he walked in front of the car and dragged the engine smell with him.


Another thing I found out. The previous owner had a mechanic rebuild the 4wd because he couldn't lock into 4wd. The issue turned out to be a few 10 dollar valves that has gone bad. A friend of mine was riding home and said he had the same sound and it was because of the 4wd being stuck on. Seeing as though this started with me driving in 4wd it could be locking into 4wd from time to time? The other night when it wouldn't idle forward matches if I were to be driving in 4wd. The clunking could be the car switching once it slows down enough to shift.

I'll pass everything I'm told on to the guy who will look at it and I can check the pads myself this weekend to see if any are wore down past the others.

 

OK. Now that you've mentioned some 10 dollar valves.... those are check valves for your vaccum lines. Gave your mechanic check those. Aldo check your solenoid to make sure its the updated ones. Its the iwe solenoid on the firewall behind the battery. Should have a raincover over it. If those check out, then have the mechanic check the actuators for vaccum leaks. The previous owner could have installed dome things wrong. Also have him check the springs in the actuators themselves. They can sometimes get weak. Look to see if your brake calipers are leaking. Also your brake line could be collapsing cause the brakes not to function correctly. As far as the scorched lines, either replace the harness or wrap them up to protect them . Lastly, have the mechanic hook up a PC to the truck and see what the output is on the torque converter. Sounds like it might be trying to crap out on you.

 

I'll let him know. I'll also check out those valves and get some to him, they're not pricey for a possible simple fix. You guys know better than me so I'll listen to all that you say and that way if something doesn't hit his mind, one of these will give something to check out. Seems like one way or the other I'll get this sorted out. Hopefully these aren't too pricey.

The torque converter, what would some signs of this be and what would it mean of it was going bad? $$$.... what are some other signs of any issues that if you told me I might be able to say "well actually now that you mention it I've had that happen"?


Thanks for all of the help too!