97 4.0 SOHC hiccups when accelerating - truck nor driver!

[need a holiday]

I drive a 97 4.0 SOHC here in the UK. Its done 59k miles. All my servicing and repairs are done by the local Ford dealer. About 6 months ago my truck developed a problem the garage has been unable to sort - their favorite saying "Its an American car" :thumbdwn: to them.
The problem is as follows: When the car is in top gear above 40 mph and I press the accelerator the engine hiccups and jerks (with time it has progressed from a mild hiccup to a medium jerk) before then getting down to accelerating. It seems like the engine is taking a short break before deciding to do as I want it to. This does not happen in town at low speed. The garage has hooked it up to all the diagnostics which show no fault. They told me to keep driving til it breaks down or blows up. I think thats a bunch of bull.. and would appreciate any suggestions as to how this problem can be remedied. Thanks!

 

[Rage1973]

maybe your timing is out of wack or it could be a fuel problem, just trying to think what happend when you stomp on the gas.. what is required for the vehicle to respond. I am sorry that I don't have a firm answer, these are some things that I would check. I hope you find the problem.

Laterz

 

[aldive]

Here are a few suggestions:

(1) clean the MAF
(2) clean the TB
(3) run a can of Sea Foam through the intake
(4) check the fuel pressure

When was the fuel filter last changed? The air filter?

Good luck and keep us posted on your resolution.

 

[need a holiday]

aldive and Rage1973 thanks for the quick replies!

At the risk of sounding like a real idiot, I have to ask:
aldive, what is the MAF - I typed it into Google and got Mission Aviation Fellowship (amongst others...thought that was funny; sorry people with small brains are easily amused). I am sure that is NOT what you were referring to?

As all the servicing is done by Ford - after recent experience this is likely to change - I have no idea when they last changed anything.

Promise to keeep you posted.

Cheers

 

[aldive]

There are no dumb questions.

Sorry for the confusion, as you will see, most of us here on the boards are addicted to acronyms and often fail to remember that someone might be totally confused.

Anyway, MAF stands for the Mass Air Flow sensor.

 

[Howard]

Welcome from another British owner. I do all my own servicing as the Ford dealers here don't seem to know anything about explorers at all. Do you get the check engine light come on? Is the air filter clean?

 

[need a holiday]

How right you are Howard!! The guys at my local dealer needed 1 hr to determine the color of my car so that I could buy a tin of touch up paint. And then it took 12 weeks for the stuff to arrive. Whilst I always will regret that the new Explorer ain't on sale in the UK, I am sure the dealer workshops are all very relieved!

The engine light has come on only after a guy who does only car electrics disconnnected something to do with the exhaust. I am seeing him tomorrow and will ask for what exactly he did. I will change the air filter .. bought a Hayes manual last week and maybe the plugs. Do you buy your parts from Ford Uk or on the net? Wonder how many Explorers were sold in the UK and whether there is an owners club. I am sure Ford is beginning to loose interest in Explorers.

Thank you aldive for the translation. You're a true gentlemen.

 

[Howard]

I buy my parts from various sources including www.usautomotive.co.uk and abroad even. Who ever is the cheapest. If you are going to do your own work you will need some tools including a obd2 code reader.

As far as I know Ford sold about 4,500 explorers in the UK over 4 years 1997-2001. They are basically the same 4.0 SOHC auto 4 door with some trim variations. A UK owners club well this is it. We have had two meetings so far and on both occasions 3 of us turned up. But we do have our own section of the board http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=89 so you can see there are a few of us on here.

What part of the UK are you in?

 

[need a holiday]

I don't know whether you are still following this thread Howard. I am in north Essex - Colchester to be precise. The specialist in car electrics has had another look at the car but told me that the fault is not an obvious one and it would take a lot of his time and my money to fix it. Nice honest guy! So I am unfortunately back were I started. I will change the filter - maybe go for the KN job you did. Also the plugs and fuel filter will go in the next week. Keep u posted.

 

[gijoecam]

With only 57K on it, I doubt the plugs are the cause, but it can't hurth anything.

Personally, I'd look at the transmission acting up. Mine did the same exact thing right around the same mileage (58K if I remember correctly) and everyone I talked to said it was engine-related. I went on a hunch and had a local tranmission shop change the transmission fluid and filter, and it's been running flawless ever since.

It couldn't hurt.

I suspect that the PCM was calling for a downshift, momentarily interrupting the power to make the shift less abrupt, but the transmission was failing to respond properly. Fresh fluid seemed to do the trick, and I figured that with that kind of mileage on it, it was due anyhow.

-Joe

 

[Howard]

Yes I am still following this. An auto gearbox filter and nice new fluid could be the answer as could checking the fuel pressure. If I think of anything else I'll post it.

 

[compdoc777]

Had the same thing happening to my 95 EB 4.0. If you have not replaced the fuel filter you could do that, but it may be your fuel pump going out. Mine did not go out until 150,000 miles. Yet it started to jerk on higher speeds.

Also, you may have a leaking head gasket. Which I have right now that makes the truck jerk at higher speeds depending on how much it's leaking into the cylinder. Mine does not seem to be leaking into the oil.

I think my problem started with a overheating back in 2000 caused from a bad heater core leaking all my coolent in the truck.

Check your oil for liquid also check your coolent level if it gradually goes down to nothing in the bottle. You have a head gasket leak or heater core. It takes mine about 2-3 weeks to deplete it's self then I have to refill the bottle. So now I just check every fill up where the level is and fill it.

Just wait until to you get the coolant leak from the front heater core that's an ass pain!

 

[Rhett]

The problem is as follows: When the car is in top gear above 40 mph and I press the accelerator the engine hiccups and jerks (with time it has progressed from a mild hiccup to a medium jerk) before then getting down to accelerating.

I would replace the plug wires. (And plugs too). I have seen this problem before, and one cause was bad plug wires. That's not to say it was the ONLY cause, but it's a simple matter to change plugs and wires.

 

[gijoecam]

Yeah, that's the thing about this problem: There are about a dozen different things that can cause it, making it almost impossible to troubleshoot it. If it dies completely, that would almost be easier.

Fuel supply issues can be caused by the pump going bad, filter being plugged, bad wiring to the sending unit, poor, corroded connections, etc. Unfortunately they can also be caused by the engine not calling for the proper amount of fuel, which, in turn, can be caused by any number of sensors malfunctioning and reading out of whack.

In the immortal words of Al Kaline, "That's a Tuffy!"

-Joe

 

[need a holiday]

gijoecam, the transmission theory is very interesting. That was my first thought and I got a transmission specialist to check it out. I told him change fluid and filter. He had the car for 2 days and said it was broken but the fault was not with the transmission.

After all the helpful advice I will do the following in the next 10 days
a) change air and fuel filter
b) change plugs
c) change trannny fluid and filter
d)Give it two and if it doesn' t work change plug wire.
e) report back to you guys

 

[94explorer2x4]

gijoecam is probably right what you need to do is look at the tach while you try to accelerate over 40 and if the rpm's jump high and then when it jerks they jump back down it is probably almost positivly a transmission concern as gijoecam already said flush the fluid (if this is the case) and replace the transmission pan filter while you are in their feel free to take the magnet that is in the pan and wipe off the cluch and band material. It builds up here better on the magnet then in some other place in the trans that's why it is their and that might solve your problem although it could be a stiking accumulator spring the flush could losen it up but no promises Good luck

 

[gijoecam]

FWIW, mine wouldn't rev like a slipping trans or anything like that, it would, quite literally, hiccup. I asked about it on this board a couple years back when it started doing it, and if I dig long enough, I could probably find the thread, but the short version is that the fluid and filter change solved it for me.

It sounds like you've got a pretty good plan of attack though. Start with the relatively cheap and simple stuff and move up from there.

-Joe

 

[Quakecom]

I had a similar problem. Turns out that my spark plugs were totally shot and needed to be replaced. Some animal took a big bite out of them. No engine stuttering since.

Quakecom

 

[need a holiday]

I am smiling!!!! I changed the plugs and presto the problem is fixed! I still find it hard to believe that the old plugs were the cause. I bought fuel and air filter. Will change those anyway.

Just to say from this side of the Atantic to all those affected by Katrina our thoughts are with you.

My wife and I have made a donation to help. Go here http://www.redcross.org.uk/standard.asp?id=49121 and show your solidarity/humanity.

It is time for the (western) world to unite and show that they appreciate the countless efforts and sacrifices the American people have made in the past - from WWII to Bosnia to Iraq.

It is not the time for gloating or apportioning blame!

 

[Rhett]

It is time for the (western) world to unite and show that they appreciate the countless efforts and sacrifices the American people have made in the past - from WWII to Bosnia to Iraq.

I wish more people on that side of the pond felt that way.