V8 running rough - newbie

[vesuvius]

Hello to all,

I am a new user here in case none of you could tell. I have very little knowledge of vehicles other than an occasional do-it-yourself oil change that I pat myself on the back for doing but most of you probably can do it without blinking. Anyway, some stats about my Explorer that a novice can give you:

1999 XLT V8
57,102 miles

I went to a national lube center to get an oil change. When I dropped off the vehicle, the car had a rough idle but nothing too severe. I could not notice it unless I paid a lot of attention to it.

After the oil change, I started up the SUV only to find myself shaking like a 5.2 earthquake (I do not live in California). The check engine light came on and so I strolled back into the lube center.

Inspected by 8 service mechanics and the light disappeared. The reason as I was told was an air flow sensor had been knocked offline and then put it back on thus the end of the check engine light.

Still in a rough idle and tons of oil run-off (a 5x5 block of my city should have been closed off by the rotten egg smell), I questioned the same mechanics only to be told that I probably needed a spark plug and that I could do it myself for very cheap (after reading some forum posts, it seems that is the problem).

I, being a complete cynical *******, took it to an auto shop that seemed very neutral. He mentioned that my V8 was running on only 6 cylinders. I got the classic line, "I would be breaking the law if I allowed you to drive this out of here."

I am currently awaiting a phone call from Mr. Trusty Mechanic and want to know (in your expert opinion)
1. What I should expect to hear.
2. What the actual problem could be.

Those two things will probably differ but I am expecting that it will just be a tune-up.

TIA

 

[james t]

1. the "breaking the law" thing is complete and utter B.S. if it IS in fact firing on only 6 cylinders, it is still not unsafe. just slow. i will tell you this, if it was dead-firing 2 cylinders it would be so sluggish it would barely be drivable. wait and see what he says, but i HIGHLY recommend another mechanic.

2. it could be plugs, but having them go at only 57k miles could be a symptom of another problem.

3. a tune-up very well could solve the problem. new air filter/plugs/plug wires.

4. have your codes read. since it tripped a light when the quicky oil change guys messed with it, it could very well be something else. they prolly did unhook something, but have codes read anyway. sometimes there can be a problem that will show on a scanner that will not trip a check engine light. best to do this FIRST before you replace stuff from an educated guess and then find out later you didnt need it. been there, done that.

 

[vesuvius]

I just talked to the mechanic and he said that the total estimate was $780.00 which breaks down to $350 for parts, $370 for labor and $80 for taxes/fluid disposal.

Playing completely dumb with him, he offered the problem as spark plugs, ingnition wires and other wires. He said that could only be the tip of the iceburg because he had to fix that in order to find any other problems. Kind of like a guess and test methodology.

He scanned the engine codes but nothing came up which he says is because the certain national lube center people had reset them.

I had the car towed to another mechanic only because I am about 40 miles away. When I talked to the guy who actually did the work on the vehicle to let them know that it was being towed away, he was in complete shock when I mention the "illegal to drive out of here" quote that I had recieved from his boss. He said that was strange.

What a waste of my time this has been. I am ready to start an investigative report against this man.

 

[james t]

umm, dont ever go to that place again. i am suprised that he told you " im gonna just start replacin' stuff till it runs right." most rip-off artists will at least come up with a half way believeable fix. its just humorous that he would even tell you the truth. he basically TOLD you he was gonna screw you...

 

[GR899V8]

When my V8 lost a plug wire, it would run really bad, shaking like crazy. Also, the way the ignition is, it actually fires the plug twice, once when it's supposed to (to light the fuel) and another time when the exhaust is getting ready to leave (so it burns whatever is left). Maybe that's why they run so rough when one goes bad (??). Mine showed a fault by illuminating the "check engine" light. I have a code reader, and it shows it was plug wire number 7. I wondered how in the world it would know WHICH plug wire was bad. The computer senses engine speed, and when it notices a slight drop in RPM's, it compares it to which plug is (or actually is NOT) firing at that time.

Tell everyone you know about the bad shop!!
Good luck with the fix, and there are alot of people on this site that know these X's inside and out, so feel free to ask and learn.

dOn

 

[MONMIX]

Hey Vesuvius,

I am also from Maryland , ( Glen Burnie to be exact )
Tell me what shop did this to you so I can drive by there and yell mean things to them.

 

[MINERALGSVT]

I just fixed my 5.0 Eddie Bauer.. it had the same violent shaking that you are talking about. Ford diagnosed that the #3 plug wire was bad..

I replaced the plug and the wire and reset the computer.. No more shake and no more check engine light.

btw.. my 5.0 has 56k miles on it..

Good Luck

 

[Capt Russ]

over 700 for a ign. wire change??? anyone else catch that? i could pick up[ a short block 302 for that!

 

[Jason_25]

Originally posted by Capt Russ
over 700 for a ign. wire change??? anyone else catch that? i could pick up[ a short block 302 for that!

It's amazing what some people will charge.

I got my plugs and wires changed for 40 bucks.