Ford Repair: 2001 F-150 engine miss, motorcraft ford, empty wallet

Question
Steve:

After driving through some high water, my truck (2001, F-150, Crew,
4.6l, 130,000+ miles) has a severe miss at low RPMs. In addition to the
miss at low RPMs, it seems to severely lose power on inclines.

The check engine light has been on (steady) since about 95,000 miles,
but my regular mechanic said it was nothing to worry too much about --
something about a carbon sensor. Now, the check engine light flashes on
inclines when the engine seems to be losing power.

I have a friend that has the same truck that said his engine got
flooded and was acting similarly and that it went away after about a week of
driving. It's been 2+ weeks with no improvement. Any thoughts?

Thanks.


Answer
Hello Steve,
            The check engine light flashes when there is a catalyst-damaging misfire currently happening. If that is the case on that particular engine with coil-over-plug ignition, that ign. coil on the cylinder that is misfiring WILL NEED TO BE REPLACED if the primary connection(2-wire) is not corroded and is intact. Take the connector loose on which ever cylinder the computer spits a code for(P030_) and inspect for corrosion, etc. Those coils fail all the time, especially when there is moisture involved. Replace the plug at the same time, and I don't recommend any other plug than Motorcraft (Ford genuine replacement #SP-432). There is chance that any other(esp. autolite plat)will blow out of the cyl. head, taking the threads with it, costing alot of headache and empty wallet syndrome. A proper tune-up on that engine is costly, and if not done correctly, will need to be done again soon after. Good luck, and I hope you can use this! Shaun