2002 Mountaineer 4.6- Trouble Starting

[JoshInAtlanta]

Hey Guys,

First post for me, but I figured I'd give it a shot and see if anyone has any ideas. Our problem car is 2002 Mountaineer 4.6 (my brother's DD). It has around 178k miles on it.

We changed the spark plugs two weeks ago. Soon after it was misfiring on cylinder two. We replaced the #2 coil and a put in a fresh plug and problem solved. Fast forward to today... he drives it to work, all is well. On his lunch break, the car won't start. The engine is turning over, but it won't fire up. The display would beep and say "Low Oil Pressure." We checked the oil and it appeared quite low. We added a couple quarts (yikes!) and the light went away. Still, no start. With nothing to lose, we tried a little starting fluid directly into the TB. The car fired right up and ran smooth. After about 5 minutes, I shut it off and immediately attempted to restart, but nothing. A little more starting fluid and it fired right up. At first I had to give it gas to keep it running, but after a few minutes it would hold a steady idle. In the process, we got the check engine light.

I decided to take it a few blocks to Auto Zone and get the code checked. It shows up as p0102, which goes back to the MAF sensor (maybe contaminated, faulty). My guess is that the starting fluid may have thrown it off. At this point, we decided to shut the engine off and see if it would crank on its own. We did this numerous times and it fired right up as if everything was normal. I followed him home (about ten miles) and it ran fine.

So, my question is, did we experience a fluke or is there a more serious issue that we need to deal with? Unfortunately, he is not good with maintenance, which doesn't really go well when you have a high-mileage car like this. I told him he needs a fresh oil change immediately, as well as a fresh fuel filter. Is there any other maintenance item I should look at that may cause this?

I appreciate any guidance/suggestions.

Thanks!

 

[swetrid]

Sounds like fuel pump is on its way out. You also could have sticky iac valve causing hard start.

 

[JoshInAtlanta]

In my research I read some about fuel pumps being common problems on these cars. Is that the case?

 

[swetrid]

In my research I read some about fuel pumps being common problems on these cars. Is that the case?

Yes, especially at that mileage.

 

[JoshInAtlanta]

Went back over to his apartment this morning to attempt to get the car started and back here to my place (about 2 miles). No luck, not even with the starting fluid.

Before I tried, I verified that the fuel pump is turning on. I am also getting fuel up at the engine. I yanked the #2 plug (previous problem) to check and it is still good.

Every now and then it sounds like it is about to crank, then it goes back to turning over.

What else could I look at? Is it possible that it could be the starter?

 

[1AJeremyD]

Welcome to the forum! If the starter was on its way out you would not even have the car crank. I would try the fuel filter just for good measure; I know I've changed them on peoples cars and the truck starts right up afterwards. Some place to start at least

 

[JoshInAtlanta]

Thanks!

So we went to check a few more things this morning before we get it towed back to the house for the fuel filter and other things. It fired right up on the first try.

Drove it the few miles back to the house, parked it, and could not get it to crank again. So I did the fuel filter, checked the fuel pressure, replace the PCV and cleaned the hoses, all is well. I checked the individual coilpacks and made sure everything was good and tight. Still nothing

However, when I removed the PCV and had most of the hoses disconnected from the TB, I decided to just try firing it up for the heck of it, and voila... it cranked and ran great. Tried again later and no luck.

I'm running out of ideas. I have the battery charger connected right now juicing it back up, but I am not sure where to look after that.

 

[D Hook]

Fuel pump relay?

 

[JoshInAtlanta]

Fuel pump relay?

Checked it this morning after you suggested, no luck. Also re-checked various fuses and relays and still nothing.

Is there any way the anti-theft system could disable the car? It seems to run great when it runs, but the theft light also flashes when the we're trying to start it, but just sometimes.

Disconnected the battery to let the car sit overnight. Will plug it back up tomorrow and try again.

 

[JoshInAtlanta]

Got the car back from the shop today. Diagnosis was a failing crankshaft position sensor. $180 later, she is back on the road and running as good as ever.

Thanks for all the help and suggestions.

 

[swetrid]

I have never replaced a crankshaft sensor on a V8 Explorer in my 16 years as a tech. Hopefully it is fixed permanently!

 

[JoshInAtlanta]

I have never replaced a crankshaft sensor on a V8 Explorer in my 16 years as a tech. Hopefully it is fixed permanently!

I hope so too!

The car was a commuter in New England for the first 6 years of its life (130k miles). Exposed to all the elements and never washed under the car (or anywhere else really, for that matter). We got a '96 Explorer from the same family member back in '02 (when she upgraded to this Mountaineer) and it had similar problems... parts that became crusty over time.

I'm wondering if it's location and exposure led to the failure. After reading about the symptoms, sounds like that might have been the problem which got us to replace the spark plugs to begin with.