Sorry for the saga...

2005 F-150 FX4, Triton 5.4 3V, 230k

Within a few hundred miles, my wife's F150 has transitioned from a dependable truck into a driveway decoration that's hard to start and randomly shuts off while underway. The symptoms listed below appeared almost simultaneously and nothing I've tried has worked so I'm resigned to having it towed in. Still, I'd like to know what's going on before handing over the key and would appreciate any comments.

CEL w/ Check Gas Cap warning, EVAP leak codes of P0442 & P0457. The original gas cap did have a broken-off piece of plastic rattling around and I put on a new one. Also found the PCV hose disconnected, why or when idk.

Gas gauge pegged below E w/ Low Fuel warning. Discovered fuel vent hose had a hole half its size chewed by a rodent. No clue if that happened recently or 10 years ago. Wife also reported truck running roughly at times and CEL on again.

Scanner showed the popular P0022(Camshaft Position Retarded Bank 2). Hoping the parts cannon would hit something, I changed out the VVT solenoids. Missed, P0022 returned.

Replacing the vent hose isn't a problem but getting hands on it is a big one. I've seen four possibilities: (1)dropping the tank (2)lifting the bed (3)dropping the drive shaft (4)cutting out part of the floorboard. There's four things I've never done and will never try to do.

Into the shop reporting three issues: vent hose, fuel gauge, P0022. They dropped the tank and replaced hose($365). Said fuel sender was bad but, because it's part of the fuel pump, it would be $600+ to fix. I declined. Finally, they said they can't work on P0022-type problems. The code is gone because of disconnecting the battery but I have a scanner report from when it was there.

Drove home, truck ran ok and started each time I tried. Gauge still below E. Next day it wouldn't start all day, cranking but no run. CE light on when ignition on but not while cranking. No codes. Next day it did start but shut off while I was road testing. Hard to restart but did so after a few minutes. Tried driving a couple more times and it shut off each try.

Based on my inexperience, this acts like a fuel system issue. If it's the fuel pump, I'm sol because I can't get to it and will have to get the truck towed in to a new, more capable shop. So, gambling that the problem was something I can fix, replaced the fuel pump driver module. Yeah, nah. Another $100 shot from the parts cannon that didn't hit anything.

Assuming anyone reads this far, I have scanner reports from several points along the way but not much understanding of what they mean. From that data and my long-winded explanation, is there any way to determine what the actual issues are? Is it the P0022, fuel pump, both or neither?

 

Was the evap purge valve ever replaced ?

 

How much money do you want to put into this truck?

230K miles is a darn good run. But, 3V Tritons have a track record and P0012/P0022 codes cost lots of money to fix, ultimately, if a solenoid swap didn’t work.

Generally, those codes are from the timing not staying within spec. No shop will want to do a phaser and timing job on an engine that long in the tooth-too much wear in various spots at this point. Think: remanned engine.

 

True story, the oil pressure makes the phasers work
Low pressure and they do not work
Same as the tensioners
I'd replace the longblock at your mileage

 

P0022 as pointed out is a timing issue, but it's not what's causing the crank no start.
since you've replaced the FPDM I would suggest having a look at the crankshaft position sensor as a possible cause of stalling and no starting. Does your scanner have the ability to monitor live data? If so monitor fuel pressure when it's not starting or when it stalls, this should help confirm it rule out fuel pump as an issue. (You should see ~45 psi while running)

 

Forgot to mention that the truck has had that 'diesel clicking' sound since forever. The purge valve looks to be original although the hoses are more recent.

Ignition on when it wouldn't start, the fuel rail pressure was 0. Ignition on when it was starting ok, FRP = 39.3psi. Idling, FRP = 39.1. No scans from the times it shut down while on the road. If there's reason to suspect the crankshaft sensor is flaky, I'll replace it. It's probably original too.

I greatly appreciate the responses because there's so much going on here that I can't separate the causes from the effects. If replacing the engine is the way to keep this truck running well for another 40k miles or so, I'll probably have it done. That'll cost several $k but a bargain compared to a newer F150 that I'm not familiar with.

 

The 2005 had throttle body issues. Check out this thread: https://www.f150forum.com/f2/2005-f1...driving-28440/

 

Well I can say with some certainty that you should have fuel pressure when you turn the key to on. (I went and tested this on my own truck and got the same 39 psi, if I cycle it a couple more times it would read momentarily as high as 70 psi and then settle at 45 ish psi.
So you need to figure out why you are not getting pressure and then go from there.
The #1 thing to check is the fpdm mounted on the frame just above and fwd of the spare tire, make sure it's not corroded and falling apart.
The engine might need a timing job, or you may get lucky and get away with just a flush and some thicker oil, but resolve the fuel pressure first so it stays running.

 

Earlier, I replaced the fpdm even though the original didn't show any visible damage. No improvement, just wishful thinking, hoping for something I could fix myself and not the fuel pump.

 

If the problem reappears I would check for voltage and ground at the fpdm. It's conceivable that the fuel gage and the pump cut out because of a fault in the wiring. Besides the ground near the FPDM there is a connection on the frame rail under the driver's seat behind a plastic cover, if it gets full of mud and corrosion it can cause both stalling and I would assume fuel sender circuit issues.

Or it could be the fuel pump on its way out.
Seems the choices are to either diagnose while it's acting up or load the part canon and pray.