96 4.0 efi no get up & go

[thor4602]

Hi everyone
Bought a new exploder for my mom. its a 96 4.0 efi with only 79800. The guy I bought it from bought it brand new off the lot. its in awesome condition, at least the interior & exterior. he said it probably had another 10,000 miles from towing with a RV (even has some metal thing in front to hook up to the rv. HERES THE PROBLEM!!! It never has had much of a get and and go (unlike my 97 4.0sohc) last night going into town. the check engine lite came on and I was losing speed even though I had it to the floor. granted took it home and grabbed my other exploder which has never left me stranded) it had a full tank of gas when we bought it and we ran it til check gauge came on. could the fuel filter be clogged???? and is the 4.0L efi the same thing as the 4.0 pushrod v6 and 4.0L ohc. im a little confused. thanks any info would help. having my sons dad pull the codes tomorrow when he picks up the boy, just wondering if anyone else has had similar incident transfer case is borg warner 4405 not really sure which tranny, couldn't read the tag

 

[koda2000]

the 4.0L EFI OHV and the 4.0L SOHC are not the same engine. the OHV engine makes quite a bit less horse power than the SOHC engine.

running the gas tank near empty has no effect on the fuel filter as fuel is always drawn from the extreme bottom of the tank.

the lack of power could be caused by many things. does the CEL work? is it on? if it's on get the codes scanned (free at most auto parts stores). the fuel filter could need to be changed. Ford recommends changing it every 30,000 miles.

at 80K (while very low miles for a '96) it's about time for a tune-up. plugs, wires, filters, fluid changes. it could be a dirty MAF sensor, lack of fuel pressure, clogged catalytic converter or muffler. usually you will get a CEL with sensor related issues. sometimes sellers will disconnect the battery to turn the CEL off, but the codes remain stored in the PCM unless cleared. It can take a while for the CEL to come back on.

i'd start by getting the codes scanned.

 

[deweyville65]

I have a 96 4.0 OHV. Says EFI on the upper intake manifold. Don't think the OHC came out till 97. If you have been driving on old gas, you should drain the tank, replace fuel filter and run your favorite additive to help clean the fuel lines and injectors. I run StarTron. From what I have read, the 4.0 OHC has more power than the 4.0 OHV. I am quite happy with the performance of mine. But I don't try to drive it like a race vehicle either. And,I am glad mine is NOT the OHC engine. Just going from what I have read on here.

 

[lobo411]

It never has had much of a get and and go (unlike my 97 4.0sohc)

The 4.0 is a pushrod engine, and it has 160 HP vs 210 for the SOHC. Never going to be a racecar, but on the other hand, the OHV gets great MPG and it's basically bulletproof.