2003 losing power plese help!!

[justin]

Hi all,

I recently got a 2003 expedition Xlt. When I got i t the previous owner thought it had a bad trans. But as it turned out the second cat on the passenger side broke loose and was restricting exhaust flow not letting it shift.
I removed the cat to see if it helped and it did. The truck ran good but not top notch.
It seemed to lack a little power. But however recently it has very little power. It takes forever to get to 35 mph and on hills forget it!
I cut loose the exhaust and moved it to the side to see if the muffler may have plugged up due to the bad cat i removed with no luck.
When I bought it it had no check engine light or anything. Recently the check engine light came on and was flashing. I had the codes read and it said there was a misfire on cyl. 7, something about the a/c (wich works fine), and something about the pats system ( wich works fine obviously because it starts). But I shut it off and the next time i started the truck the check engine light was off. When it was on it was running kind of rough but is no longer doning that since it shut off.
I dont expect a sports car out of it but it cant get out of its own way!!!
Can someone plese help me!!! I love this truck! But dont want to spend a fortune fixing it. I am kinda handy when it comes to cars so if i can id like to fix it myself if at all possible.
If any other info may help please ask!
Thanks,
Justin

 

[mic_1011]

sound like a misfire issue. try replacing the coil packs, maybe even a spark plug change since you're in there. but be careful because your model year, after 50k miles the spark plugs break off in the cylinder, then you need a special tool to get them out. i have a 98 and one day i was on the highway with complete power loss suddenly. check engine started flashing but i managed to make it home. when i checked the code it was a misfire on cylinder #. changed that one coil pack and it was back to normal. so you can either replace that one or do all 8. probably better off just one and see if that helps. then i would change all 8

 

[justin]

I changed the plugs at about 65k. It currently has 69k on it. I guess I got lucky, all 8 came out w/ ease. Would'nt I have a check engine light though if it was a coil pack going bad? Also should I use any perticuular kind? What I was possibly thinking about doing is buying the ones on ebay (all 8 for $90 shipped) to see if that works. If it does then buy msd or accel. Or are the msd and accel ones not worth the money?

 

[justin]

Update: I took it to ford and as it turn out all 4 of the catalytic converters are bad. I didnt know they were covered by the 8 year 80 k warranty. I was told i voided the warranty by removing the one that was broken loose. They will cover the 2 on the driver side but not the passenger (the one I cut). DAMN THAT SUCKS

 

[ELVATO]

His sparkplugs should be fine, unless he has the 3V engine. In 03, they had the 4.6 and 5.4 2V. I think in 04 the 3V was an option, along with the 2V ones, and in 05-06, only the 5.4 3V was available. It's the 3V that has the sparkplug breakage problems.

As for the coil, it could be possible that it's on it's way out, though I'd wait until after the cats are replaced. If you need COPs, you can get them off ebay (search forum).

 

[justin]

I ordered the passenger one from www.rockauto.com . Eastern catalytic it costed 312.00 shipped with the coupon code I found using google . Sure beat the hell out of the 900.00 per side they quoted me for after market at the dealer (using Ford ones was like 3500.00). Then they tried to tell me the right side may have caused the left side to go bad because I cut out that cat so they cant warranty either. Fred Martin Ford in Austintown Ohio can kiss my a$$. They are lying thieves. I called a more reputable dealer in the area and told them what was goning on. They told me to buy the right side and they will warranty the left. Fair compromise in my opinion!

 

[justin]

Any brand coils better than others? I was thinking about just doing all 8.