03 ST 4.0 - Goin on 4 longblocks!!!!

[dbailey]

Well Dahmer was able to get another engine from their supplier. Said that the result of the independent inspection resulted in validation that the noise is there in the front of the engine and that the engine running rough. Said it could be the cassette but that that is an 8-9 hour job so they just decided to send out another engine. Am hoping that that engine doesn't come from the same lot that the other 2 came from! Now I have the AutoZone District Manager going back on Dahmer to have them eat the entire labor costs to flip the engine since they have yet to send a good one instead of the $50 and hour they said they would send. Waiting on a response from AutoZone.

 

[dbailey]

Well got it back and engine #4 has a misfire in #4 cylinder. Will it ever end! Any ideas on what to check first on a #4 misfire? Going back to dealer Monday for them to make sure they seated everything and its all tight before I go back to the rebuilder AGAIN and wind up having to pay a diagnostics fee. Am on a parts only warranty now no matter how painful it is. Thanks guys!

 

[Galactica]

That's just insane man... I'd sue them buggers for all the crap they've put you through..

 

[dbailey]

That's just insane man... I'd sue them buggers for all the crap they've put you through..

I'm about to! Hell I go out there this morning and checked around and found the coolant recovery tank bone dry and the radiator a few inches below full! Filled it back up and drove it around and it didn't suck that up. Miss is still there though. Still gonna take it back to the dealer today and drop it off for them to verify that the tech reinstalled the engine COMPLETELY. Wonder what their excuse will be for that! Am sure they'll blame it on the engine and not their tech failing to burp it completely including WITH the heater on that could have done it. Hell no!

 

[dbailey]

Hoping its just something simple like the coil. Looks like I can get a Motorcraft coil for around $50-80 on eBay and Rock Auto if that's what is causing the misfire. Happens especially on a slight incline under a small load.

 

[FLTRAC]

Sorry to hear about all your bad luck, my engine turned out to be the front and rear tensioners. Your misfire could be from a plug, bad wire or the coil. Good luck with everything, all parties involved should be kissing your butt to make sure everything works for you.

 

[dbailey]

Sorry to hear about all your bad luck, my engine turned out to be the front and rear tensioners. Your misfire could be from a plug, bad wire or the coil. Good luck with everything, all parties involved should be kissing your butt to make sure everything works for you.

I hope it's the coil, too. Bought a brand new Motorcraft coil on eBay for $50. Will put it on either way. Truck has 269,000 miles on it so coil is probably worn out. Thanks.

 

[99XLT-Explorer]

that misfire sounds like a ping to be which could be caused by improper cam timing. not saying that the coil pack wont fix the problem but these motors are tricky to time correctly and are easy to mess up.

 

[dbailey]

that misfire sounds like a ping to be which could be caused by improper cam timing. not saying that the coil pack wont fix the problem but these motors are tricky to time correctly and are easy to mess up.

You know I heard that very thing from the tranny guy that put his reader on it and told me it had a #4 misfire.

If coil doesn't fix it, how labor intensive is it to retime the cams?

I'm now on a parts only warranty but maybe, just maybe I can get the rebuilder to eat the labor to retime it. Any way to know after its built if its the cams out of time? Thanks for the info!

 

[boominXplorer]

If I had to guess I would say its as simple as a plug or a plug wire. The wires have only been taken off and put back on probably 10 times now.

 

[dbailey]

If I had to guess I would say its as simple as a plug or a plug wire. The wires have only been taken off and put back on probably 10 times now.

Possibly. The wires are brand new Motorcrafts. Put them on at engine change #3 .

 

[dbailey]

Put brand new coil on and miss was gone for a few days but is back worse than ever. Put another new coil on and no change. Gonna put a fuel pressure gage on it next I guess to see what that reflects. Any other suggestions? Put it on a high dollar Snap On analyzer and while on the cylinder contribution test the cylinders were all over the place with #4 being the worst.

 

[kevinspann]

Compression and leak down test.

 

[4pullingGM]

Is this a constant miss now? Compression and leak down test will verify that the base engine is good and timing are correct. Since replacing the coil fixed it for a short while, I would make sure that it's connector is secure, and make sure that all of the pins are secure inside the shell. Make sure that the connector/pins for the fuel injector are secure. You can also swap the injector to a different cylinder, just to rule it out.

 

[dbailey]

Is this a constant miss now? Compression and leak down test will verify that the base engine is good and timing are correct. Since replacing the coil fixed it for a short while, I would make sure that it's connector is secure, and make sure that all of the pins are secure inside the shell. Make sure that the connector/pins for the fuel injector are secure. You can also swap the injector to a different cylinder, just to rule it out.

Not a constant miss. Intermittent and most often when under a load or when stopped at a light. The scanner read the cylinder contribution as having 5 of the 6 cylinders jumping all over the place especially #4 and #1 .

Gonna take it to a shop tomorrow for a compression test and hopefully fuel pressure test.

Hard to swap injectors since you gotta pull the plenum to get to them. Never done that before but the destructions I have doesn't make it look TOO bad of a job.

The little clip on top of the connector that goes into the side of the coil and holds it in got broken off by probably the first mechanic that installed engine #1 but the connector feels like its in there good and tight.

Thanks much for your info and suggestions. If you or anybody can suggest anything else, I'm all ears!

 

[Galactica]

Drive the mothersmurfer off a cliff and start over....I have never seen someone have so many issues with so many engines for so long and still try to fix it. You have infinitely more patience than I would ever have, brother. My hat's off to you and I wish you all the best. It's just utter insanity!

 

[Vitamin_D]

Drive the mothersmurfer off a cliff and start over....I have never seen someone have so many issues with so many engines for so long and still try to fix it. You have infinitely more patience than I would ever have, brother. My hat's off to you and I wish you all the best. It's just utter insanity!

For real. I don't even know how I would react with all those problems. Probably by burning it to the ground.

 

[dbailey]

Believe me if it wasn't for the truck being my wife's I would do more than burn it to the ground!!

Let this be a lesson to anyone that reads this thread, NEVER buy an engine or tranny with a cap on the labor or parts! NEVER! That's part of what this has been about not to mention not buying it from the dealer. As much as I HATE going to the dealer for the crazy prices they charge, THIS is for sure one that I would ONLY ever go to in the future. Found it would have cost me an extra $500 with a 3 yr/36,000 mile warranty with no cap on either. Would have been WELL worth it!

We'll see what the compression check and fuel pressure check reveal.