Ford F-150 - 1997-2003 :: Engine Just Died While Pulling A Boat At Highway Speed
May 20, 2014
I have a '97 4.6L 4x4. I've had a few issues recently and am at wits end.
Symptoms: while pulling a boat at highway speed, the engine engine just died. After waiting about 20 minutes for a buddy to show up with a tow rope, it started up and ran fine...until I got home (10 miles). I parked and after approx 5 minutes of idling it died again. No CEL, and found no codes when scanned. 15 minutes pass, it fires up and works fine.
The next day, I hook the boat up again, dive to the lake, go fishing, drive home. Everything was fine. I unhook the boat and drive to work. Half way there my voltage gauge starts falling and 5 miles later all of my gauges end electric stuff dies. I drive two more miles to work and strange beep starts coming from under the dash on the passenger side (I think). After my 12 hour shift it starts and I start my 10 mile commute. Half way through I lose electrical power again but make it home. Now it doesn't have the juice to turn over.
Are these problems related, and what are the possible causes and cures? On an unrelated note, what's the easiest way to replace a rear leaf spring shackle?
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My 2000, F150, 4X4, 4.6V8, five speed manual idles great and sounds great and throwing no codes. It doesn't have a lot of zip, but it really never has, at least since I bought it at almost 60K miles.
I've never towed much of anything with it until recently. I started towing a 6 1/2' X 10' trailer with a 1,600 pound side by side or a 1,300 pound mower with a large grass collector. Both of these loads have lots of wind resistance.
The lack of power is REALLY showing up pulling these loads at highway speed. Sometimes, even on pretty flat ground, the cruise control will hold the throttle on the floor at 60 or 65 MPH and it can't pick up speed.
I have maintained the truck well, but there is something amiss. It is due a fuel filter, so I will change that. I've never replaced the O2 sensors, so I'm considering replacing the front ones.
I am thinking about using a vacuum gauge to see if I can detect plugged cats. As I recall, there are two on each bank. I have a scanner, so I was thinking about monitoring front and rear O2 sensors and see if I can get the 100 degree difference that indicates a properly functioning converter.
I'm thinking of cleaning the throttle body.
Something else that is odd about this truck. Being a stick shift, it does not want to go all the way back down to idle speed unless the vehicle is stopped. For illustration of what I'm saying, you can kick the transmission in neutral and coast, and it will stay above idle speed until the vehicle stops, THEN it will idle down normally. I have always thought that this might be because so few manual transmission trucks were built that this is something in the chip for an automatic that they didn't take out for the manual.
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I have a 2001, 2wd, XLT, Super Crew with 4.6L and 180000Kms. I am the 2nd owner and have owned it for roughly 6 years. Since owning it I have towed the following: a 1500 Boat, 1000lb full utility trailer, a 2700lb boat, and most recently (Last summer) a 3500lb dry weight/4000lb full 22 foot camper trailer. None of these items ever caused me any problems til mis summer with the camper.
I have always got check engine lights for the stupid coil packs. It seems like I would replace one and a different one would go. I was camping one weekend a short hour distance from my home when I pulled onto the main highway and began to accelerate up to highway speed but it was feeling sluggish picking up to 100kph. When I merged onto the highway it was not a flat piece of ground and was a small grade of a hill, but nothing big. Before getting to the top I started to hear a strange noise, almost like a rattling, and the check engine light started to flash. After breaching the hill, it picked up speed, the light went out, and everything seemed fine.
This happened twice last summer with no other problems. At the end of the summer I once again had a check engine come on...I had blown out a plug, had it fixed and replaced 2 more COPs but still had codes showing for CC, M, F, O, OH, C, E and EV. My reader also said Freeze Frame, and MIL on. I had the truck in in Nov/Dec for an emissions test and it was given a conditional pass due to codes reading but no Check Engine light at this time.
I want to keep this truck...I will be towing the camper again, buit I'm considering getting a different truck. As it is I know I already have to have air bags installed in the rear to level out the load when towing. Hopefully that will cut back on some of the acceleration drag. At present time I have a check engine on...I'll check it again and post what its reading but most likely the same stuff.
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My truck is a 2002 F-150 4.2l standard trans. I noticed it was lacking a little power one day and the next day a little more so,Then the third day I was heading out to the Doctor (50 miles away) I noticed the truck was slowly and gradually getting worse to where it was hard to even do the speed limit on the highway and the light started blinking so I headed straight to the nearest Advance and had them pull the codes and it gave us 172 bank 1 too rich and 174 bank 2 too lean I replaced the two top o2 sensors (advance sold me)same thing....... plugs, wires, coil, air and fuel filters are all new... checked the PCV hoses all look good, I'm a cancer patient and need my truck for Dr's and treatments and no money to randomly buy parts, I have seen people pointing to intake gaskets and isolator bolts... Does this motor have a track record of this being a common problem?
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While pulling onto the highway and pulling pretty hard lost engine power all boost then engine truned off. Top of engine is covered in oil..... What happened?
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So i drive a 2001 F150 4.6L and over the last couple of years it has started pulling down and shaking heavily. I have taken it to mechanics and it always gave a code as a miss. well we replaced the coils and the plugs and of course it still has the problem. finally we did a compression test and it shows that #3 and #5 have no compression and the mechanic said it was either a blown head gasket, a valve or a cracked head. it has 230K miles on it so i was wondering what your thoughts on it were and also if it would be cheaper just to swap the motor.
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Resealed HPOP, reinstalled, started right up, ran for good half hr, shut it down, started it next day, ran for 15 min. Revved it up, n all that, good to go, took it for a spin around block, died as pulling into driveway. At crank Dashcmd shows 200 psi on HPOP. I'm double checking the gear bolt right now. When I installed the pump I seated the gear by hand n torqued bolt to spec, so idk...
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A friend has a 2003 6.0,around 200000kms well maintained just had new injectors,filters etc. This truck is his bread and butter so anything that needs to be addressed gets it, pretty much touble free until now. Just out of the blue last week at driving @60kms/hr pulling an empty trailer it died no surge or sputter. Full fuel,oil etc,they tried to get it running and it would not fire up. His local auto shop pretty much gave up on it and it now sits at our Ford dealership. Thoughts are leaning to fuel delivery to electrical can we ball park some things that he can put forward to the dealer to get him in and out sooner.
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I have a 1997 Oldsmobile 88 (174K miles, owned only by my father-in-law and then me) with which I am experiencing a hesitation problem from time to time at highway speed. My mechanic has taken the car on several highway test drives throughout the last two days, and he has been unable to reproduce the problem. Furthermore, he has done a full diagnostic test and found no problems with the fuel system, ignition system, or anything else.
Here are the conditions under which the problem occurs:
---Attempting to accelerate gradually at highway speed (usually from 50-60 mph), but WITHOUT pushing the gas pedal down so far as to cause the transmission to downshift
---Engine fully warmed up (temp gauge at 200 F or just below)
---Occurs more often when I have been driving for at least 1-2 hours
The condition is as follows:
---Car lurches/surges noticeably and does not accelerate
---Speedometer needle reflects the lurching by fluctuating up and down about 1 to 2 mph
---Accelerates well if I step down hard enough to cause the transmission to downshift, or stops surging if I lift off the gas pedal
---NO Check Engine light at any time
Some history on the car and corrective actions taken:
---June 2009: My mother-in-law was driving the car about 6 hours into our trip and it consistently hesitated between 50 and 55 mph with the Check Engine light on for the last 30 miles or so of our trip. The next day, we took the car to the dealer where my in-laws had their cars serviced (note the past tense here), where they told us that "there's probably something wrong inside the transmission" and suggested that we replace the transmission with a new one. This transmission is the second new one the car has had (replaced the first time at 95K miles), meaning that this transmission had less than 80K miles at the time. We took the car to a local shop at the referral of a friend, and this mechanic suggested we try flushing the transmission fluid and replacing the filter to see if that would fix the problem before we started talking about replacing the whole transmission. This worked, and we were glad that we did not have to get rid of the car. Did not notice any more problems with this for over a year.
---May 2010: Experienced engine misfire, had spark plug wires replaced. Problem solved.
---March 2011: First noticed my current problem. Had fuel filter replaced (it was probably a little overdue) and had the mechanics do a fuel system cleaning.
---April 2011: Problem still occurs.
---Had throttle body thoroughly cleaned, which fixed a slight sticking in the gas pedal.
---Replaced spark plugs myself. Car running more smoothly overall, but the hesitation still occurs.
---Inspected all three ignition coil packs myself. Top coil pack had some rust on the poles, which caused the resistance to measure as zero. Cleaned most of the rust off the poles, after which all three packs bench tested at 6.23 (with 20000 ohm setting on multimeter). Car runs even more smoothly overall, but hesitation persists.
At this point, my mechanic and I are both stumped as to what could be causing the hesitation problem. My only thought right now is to try replacing the one coil pack that had rust on it, since a pack with a fault I can see may have others inside that I can't see, and maybe something like this is flaking out on an intermittent basis.
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Yesterday, i bumped into the curb as I got home, and today when I went to work the car is pulling very hard to the right, and makes a squeeling sound when I get up to speed. The ball joint looks bad, but can that cause this problem?
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I was driving on highway about 55MPH when I lost power suddenly. I was able to pull off, but did not have power brakes or power steering. Gas tank was near 1/4 gallon on the gauge, but sometimes my gauge is wrong, as I've run out 2x when I should have still had a few gallons in it.
At first I thought CPS, but I didn't have a spare with me to swap. Well, after an hour or so, I cranked it, and it would turn over but not even try to start. I floored the gas pedal and it fired up and I was able to get home.
During the no start issue, there was no oil pressure reading on the gauge and the tach was not moving, even though it was turning strong. There was no white smoke that I could see either.
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We have an early model 460 with carburetor (circa 1976) in a boat. We need to exchange motors and have a line on a 1994 460 engine, fuel injected. Will the carburetor manifold we have fit in place of the fuel injected manifold and just run a carbureted manifold? Since this is for a boat there is no computer, no port for the exhaust sensor, and no sensor for the speed control. Its a plain and simple carburated motor.
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I was driving down the highway when I lost all oil pressure soon after I lost power steering and the engine died. I have checked the radiator and it is still full of fluid pulled the starter off and try to crank it it still turns the cannot get the engine to turn over it clicks but wont turn over there are no oil leaks underneath the vehicle that I can see. I'm just not sure where to go or what to do from here
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I have an 03 F350 4x4 dually. Was pulling hard left at low speed when braking (front). Replaced pads, calipers, rotors, hoses and tires. Still the same problem. You can feel the abs activate right before it almost locks up the left front brake (basically will pull the steering wheel out of my hand). BTW the abs light does not come on.
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Last night when i left work I noticed my fuel pressure was running about 77 psi, it normally runs about 68psi. today I took my daughter to practice and it was around 83psi, on the way home it was up to 95psi, so I parked it and took another truck to work.
About a week and a half ago I lost fuel pressure going down the highway and the truck died, finally decided my pick-up foot must have come off and had my sister in law bring me some diesel and it has drove fine ever since. (it was right at a quarter tank).
I have the FRX from riffraff and am thinking some pieces of that foot have got into the fuel bowl and plugging up the return. Things to check? Could it be a problem with the fuel gauge or wiring, and how to test them. It is an autometer gauge from riffraff.
It will probably be a few weeks before I can do much more than clean out the fuel bowl. I don't have anywhere inside to work on it and it's been rain/sleet/freezing rain/snow for the last 10 days. I have most of the stuff to do the hutch mod and its next on the list but was hoping to put it off till spring.
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i have a 1997 f150 2wd and it has a 4.6 litre v8, it runs good but it seems to have no power when pulling a trailer anymore, it has 321,465 miles on it, original motor and transmission, it uses about a half a quart of oil every 2500 to 2800 miles between oil changes, the trailer i pull is just a small car trailer i have always pulled it with the truck, what could be causing it to lose power?
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I am having issues with my 2003 F150 4.6L truck. It just happened today when driving home. It started fine and then when I increased the speed and the rpms went up to about 2000rpms, the engine seemed to slip into neutral. I stepped on the gas but the truck would not accelerate, it was just coasting. I pulled over to the side of the road and came to a stop, but didn't shut off the engine.
After a few seconds, I proceeded to give it some gas, and it engaged in gear and accelerated...until I got to about 25mph & rpms increased to about 2000 again. It did the same exact thing....seemed to shift back to neutral so that I could not accelerate. I had to keep pulling over to come to a stop, and then slowly proceed again. I wasn't too far from home & I made it. What this issue could be?
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I just got a 99 Ford f150 with the 4.6. I am having problems getting the four wheel drive to engage. I turn the on the dash and the lights come on for four high and for four low. I have a 00 four by four and it works fine, so I know how to work it. In the 99 I can hear the transfer case engaging and everything clicks just fine just like it's going into fourwheel drive, but the front end is not pulling. The front drive shaft is turning but still the front end is not engaged. What the problem may be?
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I have a 2001 f150 4x4 with the 4.6 Triton motor, the front axle is not pulling in when I switch the selector on the dash, I know the transfer case is switching so that part is ok. I know there are 2 solenoids on the fire wall, my question is which one is which ? every store I call says one has the nub at 9 o' clock and one at 6 o' clock which one of these does the front axle, don't want to order the wrong one ? I checked the vacuum and the blue line going to the axle always has vacuum and as I read the diagram the blue line is 2 wd and the red line is 4 wd so is the 2wd solenoid stuck and preventing the 4wd one from pulling in or is the 4wd one bad ?
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My 2007 Saturn Vue Hybrid died on Sunday while driving down the highway. The car has 101,500 miles and a brand new (November) battery. It was -5 degrees out at the time. Different engine lights started coming on, one at a time (the check engine light, the traction control light, the oil change light, then the seatbelt light) and then all of a sudden the entire dashboard went dark and the driving lights went out (it was close to sunset so we had the lights on). My fiance barely managed to steer the car over to the shoulder before it completely died. The hazard lights wouldn't even worked. My mechanic got it jump started yesterday and was able to drive it and said no engine lights are on, and everything looks fine. He does not think it was the alternator. What this could be?
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Went to start my truck up about 3 hours ago to take my ol' lady to work. Turned it over and acted like the usual cold start. Well soon as I thought it was good to let the engine spin, it got to about 300-400 RPM and then died. So I shut the vent off and turned my head lights off (turned them on soon as I thought it was good), spun the engine again and when it hesitated once again I gave it some gas like you would on a carb (not pumping just gave it half throttle or so) brought up the engine to about 3K and it ran just fine.
I'm not sure if its the fuel filter (when the last time my dad even bothered to change it since he has done most of the work on it in the time we've had it) or if the fuel pump is going out for the 3rd time in the last 10 years. The last time the fuel pump went it was a bad Walker fuel pump. It was promptly replaced with a Bosch and has been going strong for the last 8 years or so.
If it is the fuel pump, my guess is either my dad is going to junk it or fix it. With it getting close to 260K miles its becoming warn out and showing its age. Been pretty dependable and will do just about anything you ask and it'll do it even if it takes a long time to get going.
The fuel lines are pretty rusty so if its the filter chances are we'll have to put in a new section of fuel line in. Its probably running close to 135K miles on it since it was last done. I've only started doing maintenance on it the last 6 years or so for the most part.
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