Skipping and power loss especially uphill | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Skipping and power loss especially uphill

pharrout

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Joined
July 26, 2007
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City, State
western North Carolina mountains, Franklin
Year, Model & Trim Level
98 Explorer XLT AWD
I have a 98 Explorer XLT AWD 4.0 SOHC. It just recently began skipping and its power has just fell in the gutter. All of this happened pretty much in one swift motion, it didnt gradually get this way. So far I have slapped some new plugs and wires in it but no go for fixing the problem. Ive searched thre forums and the "fixes" vary from one end of the spectrum to the other. I was hoping someone may see this that works on these things and knows the magic cure. There are no strange noises comming from the truck and no codes. No warning lights are lit and all seems well.....except its not *cry*. Oh yeah, I restarted the computer and that produced no results either. This is all begining to eat away at my sanity. Im not about to spend piles of money for someone to put new parts on it until BINGO! There has to be an answer out there somewhere and Im going to find it.....I hope.....maybe...... :confused:
 



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Two things I would check:

Test the resistance of the coil pack. I had a miss that would only happen on uphills or when towing my trailer. It turned out to be high resistance on the secondary side of the coil pack. Make sure to test, not just replace because the coil pack costs > $120.

Test the fuel pressure and flow. You might have a fuel pump that is failing, a restriction because of a clogged filter or pickup or a problem with the FPR (fuel pressure regulator).


I think the coil pack is a more gradual problem, but I mentioned it because I had similar symptoms when mine was bad

The fuel problem could be more immediate, especially if its a broken FPR or clog in the system.
 






Bah!! I knew I would miss mentioning something. I kinda made certain to rule out any fuel issue by having the pump and filter done earlier. Most people I speak with are leaning towards electrical although there is one other real odd thing that happened the second the "miss and power loss" started and that is.....The brakes started acting ver strange as if I dont have full power brakes anymore. Could there be a vacuum leak of some kind??? I do hear something similar to a vacuumish like noise but its so hard to pinpoint any of that crap. This whole thing sucks and is driving me up a damned wall.. :(
 






One trick to pinpoint a vacuum leak:

Get a propane torch. Do not light the torch. With the truck idling, open the valve on the torch and pass it over the areas where you suspect that you could have a vacuum leak. If the propane gets sucked into the intake, there will be a momentary rise in the idle speed, so you can pinpoint the source of the leak.

The other way to find a vac leak is to use an ultrasonic device that is especially made for "sniffing" out vac leaks. They are a couple of hundred bucks last time I looked. You might be able to find one to rent, or bite the bullet and take it to a shop that has that capability.

Also, I will repeat my suggestion to check the coil pack if you haven't already done that.
 


















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