Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My above vehicle has been a one owner truck which a family member gave to me. It has been maintained in a timely manner. It has recently begun to have slow up take on highway driving, it pops, or spits like backfires. I took it to the Goodyear repair shop near here. They replaced all spark plugs and put rubber tips of some kind on them, changed gas filter, charged me $500 total. Truck still runs rough and doing the same thing. I am not pleased. They gave me a diagnostic ($100) but I cannot read it. They said would need truck for couple of days to figure out what is wrong??? I have the name of a new and reliable mechanic shop but my funds are low. Please help. I am an elderly senior citizen on fixed income..I need the truck for work. Thanks!
Sorry, V-8 Triton...first year for it. Kennesaw, GA
There are two engines. The 4.6 and the 5.4. Both are triton engines. I suspect it is a coil pack. Diagnostics should be able to tell which pack went is bad.
Find a different shop. The coil packs go bad from time to time. No need to replace all of them, just the one that isn't working.
The packs are not that expensive. The labor and access to back packs can be tricky. Also, while they are at, the shop should look inside the cylinder to make sure there's no coolant. That is an indication of a bad intake gasket. It is another easy fix.
I would two things. First I would have them explain the diagnostic and point out what codes came up. Next I would be chatting with the manager about the price. That year engine 5.4 or 4.6 is a straight forward spark plug change. You do not have the 5.4 with the multi-piece plugs that are a major headache to change. These simply screw out like the old time plugs do. That should be a 30 minute job on your truck. Labor shouldn't be over 75 bucks. Parts retail, maybe as much as 100 bucks. The rubber is probably the insulator on the end of the plug wire if it is a 4.6 or the rubber boot on the Coil on Plug if you have a 5.4. Neither are expensive. You may want to note that the year model Triton you own is a problem child for spark plug threads in the heads. They are far too short for the aluminum head and it's common for the heads to have stripped threads if the moron putting them in either tightened them too tight or left them too loose. They MUST be torqued to 28 lbs ONLY. From your description, it sounds like that's the issue. If they did damage the heads, accept ONLY a TIMECERT fix. DO NOT accept a Helicoil as that is temporary at best. Best of luck with it.
Another FWIW, if they used any plug other than a Motorcraft or Autolite, the engine has the wrong plugs in it. The Tritons are real picky about plugs, PCV, and any electronics.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
