Think Outside The Box

[Mumbler57028]

1999 ford explorer eb 4.0 sohc v6
Symptoms: Stalls only wile in drive wile giving it gass. sputters, dash light and guages ficker. sometimes sputters a bit and corrects itself but then other times stalls. usualy starts around 2000 rpms. i put it in neutral and restart wile rolling and everything acts fine for a few miles then does it again..
acts like it running out of gas.. no trouble codes no vacume leaks...

Things i replased: maf, tps, dpfe, ect, upper and lower intake gaskets, fuel pump, fuel filter, air filter, iac valve.. theres probly other stuff i havent remembered..

idles awesome.. neutral is awesome... only wile foot on gass pedal.. seems to be worse the more gas i give it..

i just replaced the head gaskets.. so everything from there up should be sound!

Its such a puzzle!

 

[Mumbler57028]

Also wile pressing gas in netral or park there are no symptoms!

02 sensors new also!

 

[Mumbler57028]

It has 114,000 miles on it..
good news is.. i will have a like new vehicle at the end of it!
i sure do love this thing..
i named her burtha cause shes tempramental like a large southern woman!
hahahah

 

[BubbaFL]

When you did the head gaskets, how did you set the camshaft timing?

Did you replace any of the timing components?

 

[2000StreetRod]

dash lights?

. . . Symptoms: Stalls only wile in drive wile giving it gass. sputters, dash light and guages ficker. sometimes sputters a bit and corrects itself but then other times stalls. usualy starts around 2000 rpms. i put it in neutral and restart wile rolling and everything acts fine for a few miles then does it again. . .

By "dash lights" do you mean the backlighting on the instrument panel? According to my 2000 wiring diagrams about the only thing they have in common with the gauges is power.

 

[RomeovilleIL]

Check the fuses in the power distribution box under the hood. There is a fuse which is labeled for the oxygen sensors that also powers the electronic controls in the transmission. Have to look it up but think its 15amp #10 or #13 . Not uncommon for it to get tripped by frayed O2 sensor wire. Will cause exactly the issue you describe: start and revs fine in park or neutral, bogs badly with gas in gear but can be feathered up to speed.

 

[Gadget X]

Also, just as something else to check, check the primary and secondary resistance on the coil pack. When mine was on the way out, I had similar issues. Good luck!

 

[RomeovilleIL]

Did you get the truck fixed? Always appreciate when folks post their outcome so others who look at this site can see if the fix someone tried actually worked or not.

 

[Mumbler57028]

Did you get the truck fixed? Always appreciate when folks post their outcome so others who look at this site can see if the fix someone tried actually worked or not.

no not yet.. it driving me nuts.. its like a puzzle! maybe the shop that did my fuel pump messed up.. I really don't feel like dropping the tank..

 

[RomeovilleIL]

Was the truck acting this way before the fuel pump was replaced?

 

[Mumbler57028]

no. it only started happening after I took a crash coerce in mechanics an did the head gaskets..

 

[Mumbler57028]

it runs amazing sometimes.. does it randomly.. no codes..

 

[RomeovilleIL]

So lets back up and look around the area of the original repair. Its probably safe to assume the issue will be in that area, rather than some new problem such as the fuel pump.

 

[Mumbler57028]

Agreed.

 

[RomeovilleIL]

Since it is random, most likely you are looking for a connection that is loose. Most probably a vaccuum line, possibly electrical if the lights were dimming. Could be a wire got pinched somewhere.

 

[Mumbler57028]

Coil or plug wires? Plugs? Something electric?

 

[Mumbler57028]

Water in the tank?

 

[RomeovilleIL]

I know its a lot of tedious work, but my suggestion would be disassemble back down to the heads then carefully reassemble. Somewhere along the line you will find a connector or hose that is lose or not fully seated.

 

[RomeovilleIL]

Just a quick thought: did you recheck that the spark plug wires where replaced in the correct order? It's not uncommon to get two of them swapped and end up running much like your description.

 

[pzy3339]

check the ground to the engine block