colt4554

Hey guys my 04 Supercrew 5.4 just got out of the shop about a month ago and had phasers and lashers and both camshaft sensors replaced. The truck was running rough and surging and loping at idle. After getting the truck back it had the exact same problems as before and I was told the computer may need to get adjusted and it's been 2 months and still doing it. When first acclerating it bogs down and there's a really loud rattle and then it'll launch and surge then go back to lugging then surge and it does that for a while. But after driving for about 5 minutes it usually stops. It's throwing the codes timing over-advanced, random misfire, and bank 1 and 2 lean. Does anybody have a freakin clue cause I read on another post that the ohms for the VCT solenoid should be between 5 and 15 and mines at 10.6, just checked it but I have this feeling that that may still be the problem. Any thoughts? I mean anything, I'm completely stumped on what else could screw with the timing?

Dave624

having the same issue. Supposed to take it to "ford wizard" next week and see what he thinks. I guess this guy is tech of the century for fords. we'll see and then post if I get results.
Dave

colt4554

Thanks man I'd really appreciate it, I'm telling you, I'm completely out of ideas. What I can't get out of the back of my mind is, when I asked the mechanic at the ford place if he checked top dead center and made sure the chain was on there properly(one tooth off can screw the whole timing of the truck up) he goes well I didn't check it but according to the computer it is...computers are great and all but why did this guy even leave this to chance. Anyway thanks and let me know how it goes. Oh by the way I read a post about how you thought about putting a helmet on and wrapping the thing around a tree and I feel the same way about mine sometimes. If I wasn't in college and knew my insurance wouldn't spike to an impossible level I might do that haha

truck4546969

i have a vct solenoid brand new, dealirship told me it was thatand it ended up being something else

Dave624

colt, That was a while ago. thats how long I have been messing with this thing. I hope I can have some answers for you soon.
Dave

colt4554

I feel ya Dave, I bought this truck in November of last year and started having problems in December. What really gets me is it's a super nice truck and doesn't need to run crappy, plus the fact that I'm a full time college student paying $200 a month for it and really don't have all the time in the world to work on it(thankfully it's summer)...and thank God I bought and paid off a DRZ motorcycle my senior year of high school or I'd be SOL, but thanks Dave, I hope you do too for the sake of both of us

Dave624

well I have changed the coil on number 5 cylinder like he said and did the plugs tonite. I only broke two plugs but thanks to the last time I did this I learned something. It only took me two hours this time. last time I did it it took me 20 hours because I thought the left over piece would fall into the motor. So I chipped away very carfully. now i know it won't, I just hacked away at it and was golden.now the bad news. it seems to be worse. not sure why. I'm gonna try to see if I can get it back to "ford guy" over the weekend. I think its electrical some where and not mechenical but I'm not ford guy. we'll see what happens.

colt4554

Thanks for the update man, yea I think it's electrical as well cause mine is too intermittent to be mechanical. I'm going home this weekend and me and my dad are going to spend some time probing wires making sure all the connections are good and making sure there are no bad wires. Thanks again and let me know if you find anything.

Dave624

Bad news Colt, I won't be able to help you with your truck problem. I know whats wrong with my truck now. I blew it up today on the way home. No more guessing. Worse news, its a 3000 or so for a new rebuild. CRAP!!!!!

xJimbos

Even though your VCT solenoids are reading correctly on resistance, they may have sludge buildup around them restricting the flow of oil through the passages that set the camshaft timing and the sludge may not be affecting the resistance. I would go to ford and buy 2 VCT solenoid covers (because when you pull up the ones on there now to look inside at the solenoids they won't want to seal as well if you put the originals back onto the cover). They should be pretty cheap, but the dealership will probably have to order them. When you get the new covers, pull the solenoids out and look at them. (In case you don't know, you can get them out without pulling the valve covers, just make sure when you loosen the bolt that holds the solenoids down that you apply pressure downward onto the bolt while pulling the solenoids up so that you do not drop the bolt into the engine. That would suck.) This does seem like a cam-timing issue, but:

Other ideas:
What is the condition of your fuel injectors? You could have a leaking one...?
What is the condition of your plugs (but a "random misfire" code does not sound like a plug issue)
What is the condition of your ignition coils? If you get some time one day go buy some dielectric compound and pull all of your coils and clean them and squirt some dielectric into them and replace them onto the engine. But I don't think it is the coils. This really sounds like a cam-timing issue. Good luck!