5.4L runs rough and exhaust smells

[BaggedExpy]

Drove the expy to work yesterday. She drove and ran fine.. drove her home after work and ran rough and exhaust smells horrible.. check engine light came on blinking. Got home cleared light. It was misfire cylinder 7 Waited till it cooled down then fixed cylinder 7 then started it.. once cooled and cleared. She started and ran like she was before all this started.. this morning back to running rough and exhaust smells.

Im thinking coil or plug is bad or clogged cats... but im not 100% positive so im asking for help

 

[Big Brian]

what did you do to fix #7???

 

[swagfu]

Probably the catalytic converter. The bad smell is usually the sign of one going bad.

 

[Dewayne]

Swap ign.coil with another cylinder and see if misfire follows the coil

 

[docraymund]

You could be leaking coolant in the combustion chamber. Check if there are water droplets coming out of the tailpipe when you start er up one morning.

 

[BaggedExpy]

what did you do to fix #7???

Coil 7 wasnt bolted down. It popped out. I had to wedge something to hold it down.. the previous owner over tightened the bolt and broke head off

 

[BaggedExpy]

Probably the catalytic converter. The bad smell is usually the sign of one going bad.

Thats what i thought too.. but didnt do it after work today

 

[BaggedExpy]

You could be leaking coolant in the combustion chamber. Check if there are water droplets coming out of the tailpipe when you start er up one morning.

Ill check when i start the truck in morning

The truck started and ran fine after work today. No smell no lights no rough running.. hopefully this gremlin took off to someone elses car lol

 

[BaggedExpy]

Started the truck this morning. Nothing out of the exhaust. By the time i got to work it was running rough again and exhaust smelled. After work today shes getting coils switched to see if misfire goes away and hopefully thatll cure exhaust smell too

 

[jaytron]

Does it run rough under load or just idle? if more so idle then I would check the PCV line first for a vacuum leak. these are notorious for getting dry rot and loosing vacuum especially in the older tritons. just take some break cleaner and spray in the area of the hose when in rough idle.....if engines picks up to normal then chances are you have a leak in the line or need a new PCV valve a together(cheap)....can replace with high temp rubber hose(same size) and clamps...the reason why it starts fine is because it takes time for the hose to heat up enough to collapse

 

[kythri]

You could be leaking coolant in the combustion chamber. Check if there are water droplets coming out of the tailpipe when you start er up one morning.

Isn't this indicative of normal catalytic converter operation until the exhaust system fully heats up?

 

[BaggedExpy]

I fixed it by switching coils 5 w/ 7 and no lights no rough running

 

[1955moose]

What do you mean. If you just switched coil #5 to #7, your problem would still be there, it would just switch cylinders. Or did you buy a new coil/coils for the two cylinders. A non firing coil, will definitely not only give the rough idle, but the jerkyness when driving, especially after 40 mph. It would also account for fuel smell, due to filling of cylinder and not firing. If you've got a failing cat you would have a horrible egg smell all the time it was running. The smell shouldn't stop. It will be worse under load. Ever been behind someone on a grade that's stinking up the joint. It's usually a catalytic going out.


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[BaggedExpy]

Number 7 hold down bolt was broking. Previous owner must have broke it.. i didnt notice it till switching coils around to see if coil was bad.. no fuel smell no egg smell anymore.. runs good so far

 

[1955moose]

Glad you had an easy fix. Not all are that lucky. Keep your fingers crossed that one bank took care of your problem!


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