2005 Explorer stalling out after heavy rain

[Chris^]

Hey everyone. I just purchased this truck 2 weeks ago for really cheap. Its a v8 4.6 I started to get everything fixed last week. Almost everything was fixed, the intake gasket was leaking water but it was replaced. I was told the little bit of shaking when idling and at low speeds would go away after a day or so of driving. That there might be a little bit of water still around. Which was 2 days ago. So yesterday I was driving in heavy rain. It started to shake a lot more when idle and at low speeds. So I went home and parked my car in the street. Later that night the rain was much worse. I'm guessing water got into something causing more problems. Now today, Whenever i put it in D or R. It starts shaking tremendously. When i push on the gas it stalls out after it moves a foot or so. It also has no power at all. I have to push the pedal almost all the way down for it to even move that foot or so. Anyone have any idea what i can try to get this thing to move? My mechanic can't come till tomorrow afternoon and I have to move my car in the morning due to these retarded NYC street rules or I will get a parking ticket. I'm about to go to autozone to see if this water remover additive will help me move this truck.

 

[zerodevil]

this almost sounds like water got into your FUEL. is there any odd sounds coming from the vehicle? does it idle ok in P and N? or is the shuttering constant? what was wrong with it in the first place that needed to be fixed?

 

[Chris^]

It shutters alittle in P and N, it does make weird sounds but not anything that wasn't there before this happened. Its shutters 10 times more in D and R. I just got the water remover, I'm going to put it in and see if it helps in a moment.

 

[zerodevil]

can you try and describe the sounds and their locations? also what were the origional problems you had fixed?

 

[Chris^]

My mechanic put in a new passenger brake hose, it was leaking fluid. He also changed the spark plugs, 2 ignition coils, intake gasket. I think he also changed something else but I don't remember at the moment. I didn't have him fix anything that the scanner wasn't showing a code for since I'm on a budget. I haven't gotten a chance to go out there and try to the water remover yet. I'm going to try in the morning. When i go out there I'll record a video of the engine and the noises the truck is making and post it on here. I also see the engine is little jumpy. I don't know much about cars so its best I don't try to describe it.

 

[zerodevil]

do you have any codes right now? im sure we can be of a little more help once we hear what its doing. what product did you end up using? i use a bottle of Iso-heat with every fill up in my rig.

 

[Chris^]

I got 2 bottles of Valvoline Water Remover. The AutoZone employee recommended it. It was the only product they had for water at that location. I haven't tried it yet. I'll check tomorrow to see if i get anymore codes. The last code i got was for the Fuel Injector but we changed it right after.

 

[Chris^]

I was able to move very slowly after adding both bottles of water remover. I had to push the gas pedal all the way down for it to even move. It was enough to move my car to the right side of the street. I also recorded the video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_afcNSCet8&feature=channel

 

[zerodevil]

im going to go out on a limb and say you have got a lot of water in your fuel tank. because there was an improvement with the additive. that engine sounds fine to me, these 4.6's "click" a little, or was i missing somthing else?

 

[Chris^]

I checked the codes P0113 P0171 P0174 P0203

 

[Chris^]

I checked out what the codes meant at Auto Zone, 3 of them said that the MAF sensor is possibly the problem. I bought a new one and put it in and it didn't change anything. The codes are also saying that it could be the fuel injector #3 which is the one I replaced the other day and it was running fine. So I don't think thats the problem. Its probably just clogged with water I'm thinking.

 

[zerodevil]

p0113 - IAT Sensor Circuit High Input
p0171 - Bank one too lean
P0174 - Bank two too lean
p0203 - Injector Circuit Malfunction - Cylinder 3

Im not sure wtf is going on here man, you have an electrical gremlin from hell. id seek a mechanic out on this one.

 

[Chris^]

Yeah I have a mechanic thats going to work on it tomorrow but he is also having problems figuring out exactly what the problem is. He checked it out today when he tried a new MAF sensor but he didn't have enough time to keep working on it.

 

[Chris^]

The spark plugs were filled with water, we removed the water and changed the spark plugs. Now no service engine light or codes. Everything is running perfect. I had no idea water can mess up a car like that....

 

[Rofocowboy84]

Lol, yeah, engines don't like water too much. Glad to hear you got everything figured out!

 

[Limited02]

I have a P0113 code today after all the flipping rain we had, guess it's not such a great idea to hit puddles and splash people! I'm going to change the plugs before buying new COPS, which could be the next problem! Drove fine to work, then after it was shaking like someone stuck some big ass cams in it, only it drove worse than chit!!! So glad to hear yours worked out and hopefully mine will too.

 

[Limited02]

Well it worked perfect!!! Changed the plugs and she runs better than ever!!! Now that I saved some money from not buying any COPS, guess I'll get something for the Ex that she deserves

 

[xTOM153x]

Hey just wondering I'm experiencing some rumble in the truck i thought it was a broken motor mount but its only when Im not moving when i start driving the rumble goes away. Just wondering if you were experiencing something like this

 

[Chris^]

Hey just wondering I'm experiencing some rumble in the truck i thought it was a broken motor mount but its only when Im not moving when i start driving the rumble goes away. Just wondering if you were experiencing something like this

Yeah, I was experiencing a lot of rumble. You could even have noticed it from outside of the truck. Even now I still do have a tiny rumble even after fixing everything but its not really that noticeable. It only rumbles when I'm not going foward, it use to rumble more when moving in reserve.

 

[jakedrew]

are intake gaskets even a issue on these motors? I never heard of them going bad on the v8's.