No power up hill/Wont shift uphill... I tried everything!!!

[Bummed Out]

Hello everyone Im brand new to this site, I joined because mechanics have taken almost $1,000 from me and I have the same problem, and in hopes that someone here can help me.

I have an '02 Mountaineer, 8 cyl, 4.6, AWD.

When I drive and go uphills I loose power and wont really go faster than 50MPH, but runs alright on flat and down. Ive had that problem awhile but had no money to fix it but it kept getting worse and worse and then eventually it got to the point where when it was just idling at a stop sign it would just pudder out and die (unless id put my foot on the brake and give a steady amount of gas). Also when going up hills the "check engine" light would flash, and often the indicator would read something like "loss of poer" and then sometng else about the "transmission". Also, after driving a long time, regardless if would have power or not it would all of the sudden within just 1 or 2 minutes go from cold to 100% hot and die, but i always had water and oil...

I took it to the shop, they said I had 2 cylinder misfires and a random misfire (I think the latter is associated with the former), for a few hundred bucks they ended up replacing the PCV valve and that fixed the issue of it just dying on me, but I still have no power on hills. They never fixed the actual issue connected with the codes!!!! I called them they said that its my catalytic converts.

So I go to the cat guy, hes super legit and says my cats are done and he can fix them but they will just turn to crap unless I get the misfire taken care of (because that was the reason my cats went out in the first place). So I decided to take it to someone who is like "gold certified" (or something like that) to accurately diagnose the issue. I told this new guy I must know the issue cause i cant keep shooting from the hips, he assured me he would figure out the issue.

The new guy, after my $140 diagnosis, said I needed a new intake manifold. He said that I needed the entire manifold cause somewhere it was leaking and getting into those two cylinders and screwing them up. That guy wanted 1,100 out the door for everything, so I just bought the Manifold and new plugs and had a cheaper guy do it.

So I picked it up today, and I have the same issues. It has no power uphills, in fact it has less! Now the check engine light isnt on but "Service engine soon" and "change oil", so I put oil in at least for that. Also, when I go up a hill it wont even really shift - so now it not only has no power but wont shift!!!!! I got back and checked the codes and it said "PO355 (pd) Ignition Coil E". So I checked popped the hood and the closest one to me on the right side (as my belly is on the grill with the driver side to my right) had a super super loose harness that goes to the coil, so I "secured" it with a zip tie for now.

All that to say, whats the problem here?!!!! The new codes arent saying about anything cylinder misfires anymore, but the same problem is there! Plus I wonder if it has anything to do with the transmission, but nobody yet has said anything about the transmission (and I cant check the fluid cause I dont have $120 bucks)... So what do you guys think? Is it my transmission? (Im sure the two mechanics who both "diagnosed" it would have checked the fuel pressure, fuel delivery, fuel pump, coils, 02 sensors... but I dont know with these guys).

I wish I knew what the hell I was doing, but I dont so I have to pay these guys, but it seems they dont either.

Any Help anybody?

 

[Sedition]

I would check the TPS (Throttle Position Sensor) Sounds like your ECM and your tranny don't know where abouts the gas peddle is.

Do you have a multimeter and do you know how to use it to take resistance readings?

Anyway attach the probes to the pins on the TPS and as you open the throttle the resistance should increase in a linear fashion. It will probably start at 1ohm at closed and increase to 5ohms when fully open. Those figures may not be accurate but at least you know what to look for, a steady increase in electrical resistance as the throotle plate is opened.

Good luck. Oh and on a personal note, I wouldn't trust a mechanic as far as I could throw him, no matter how "Gold certified" he thinks he is.

 

[JoshMcMadMac]

If it makes you feel better, it does indeed sound like the manifold needed replaced. They get old and leak, allowing the coolant to pool around coils and ruin them. The bad news is that if it was driven like this for awhile, it very well might have ruined the catalytic converters and that could be your current issue. However, since you are still throwing an ignition fault you should start by checking the coils and more importantly all of the harness going to it. From what I understand of the P0355 fault is that it references the connection to the coils, not the coils themselves.

 

[Bummed Out]

Josh and Sedition - thanks so much!

Well, I have the exact same problem still (no power up hills)! So I took it to the mechanic, who I paid 140, as opposed to the usual 90, because I made sure he would tell me exactly what the issue is. So as soon as I walked up he was poised ofr battle with me, he had a *****y tone abd everything, he said "whats up?", i said the exact same issue. he then said that he didnt do the work so he cant know, but i said you said the manifold was the issue and had it fixed... The he said "fine, what do you want me to do?", I said just check it and diagnose it like you said. So he read the code and it was misfire in seven, and he said that it was either the coils or the harnest, then he looked at the coil on 7 and said "o you need new harness this was has a kink it", turns out that wasnet even cylinder 7 he was pointing at, and the harnest checked out fine (when i had a friend check it)!!!! Anyways, im thinking that it might be the cat as its totally clogged (i had a guy test it and he said it maxed out his tool and hes suprised it even runs)...

So my question is:
1. Should I pay the 230 for the rear cat (and then maybe another 230 for the front rt and 23 for the frnt lft)? but if so, that still doesnt fix the misfire is 7, or does it? that is, could it be so backed up that it causes a misfire there?
2. What should I do about this mechanic? I want my 140 bucks back because i still have the same issue (except now its 1 misfire rather than 2).

Thanks guys!
jason

 

[JoshMcMadMac]

Josh and Sedition - thanks so much!

Well, I have the exact same problem still (no power up hills)! So I took it to the mechanic, who I paid 140, as opposed to the usual 90, because I made sure he would tell me exactly what the issue is. So as soon as I walked up he was poised ofr battle with me, he had a *****y tone abd everything, he said "whats up?", i said the exact same issue. he then said that he didnt do the work so he cant know, but i said you said the manifold was the issue and had it fixed... The he said "fine, what do you want me to do?", I said just check it and diagnose it like you said. So he read the code and it was misfire in seven, and he said that it was either the coils or the harnest, then he looked at the coil on 7 and said "o you need new harness this was has a kink it", turns out that wasnet even cylinder 7 he was pointing at, and the harnest checked out fine (when i had a friend check it)!!!! Anyways, im thinking that it might be the cat as its totally clogged (i had a guy test it and he said it maxed out his tool and hes suprised it even runs)...

So my question is:
1. Should I pay the 230 for the rear cat (and then maybe another 230 for the front rt and 23 for the frnt lft)? but if so, that still doesnt fix the misfire is 7, or does it? that is, could it be so backed up that it causes a misfire there?
2. What should I do about this mechanic? I want my 140 bucks back because i still have the same issue (except now its 1 misfire rather than 2).

Thanks guys!
jason

Jason, it sounds like you need to verify the codes. If it is a misfire on a cylinder specifically, you need to remedy that. I am also curious to know how your guy is checking the catalytic, but that should be fixed after you resolve the issues upstream.

 

[waskly]

sounds like a cat.

 

[Bummed Out]

waskly - what makes you think my cylinder misfire is connect ed with the cat? i mean, i know by cats are bad, but how would the cat cause misfire?

johnmc... - indeed the code reads misfire in 7, and i know i need to remedy that, but i just dont know what else to do... as for how he checked the cats, he drilled a whole and checked the pressure, and you can actually hear it...

thanks friends!!!!

 

[tmaher]

a cylinder not firing will spew raw gas into the CAT and ruin it. The right way to test a CAT is to measure the temp before and after the CAT there should be a huge delta in temp. Hotter after the CAT for sure.

So, fix the cause of the problem or your bad CAT symptom will just reappear down the road.

 

[waskly]

waskly - what makes you think my cylinder misfire is connect ed with the cat? i mean, i know by cats are bad, but how would the cat cause misfire?

johnmc... - indeed the code reads misfire in 7, and i know i need to remedy that, but i just dont know what else to do... as for how he checked the cats, he drilled a whole and checked the pressure, and you can actually hear it...

thanks friends!!!!

I'm going to agree with the first two people you saw, a misfire will dump raw fuel into the exhaust, which will deterioration the cat. and or clog it.

if you really want to make sure, get a back pressure gauge take the upstream o2 out, and see how much resistance is in the cat.

cel flashing normally is a missifre cat over temp.

fix the miss if its still fixable not a washed cylinder. if the miss is not fixed first no reason to fix anything else.