Are the cats why I have no engine power?

[Prince_Polaris]

It's quite an experience being able to pull a spark plug out of your engine without any tools or disassembly, I just pulled 'er right on out of there, as far as I know the plug is still sitting in the cupholder! At least it came out in one piece...

 

[Adieu]

Well, haha, I think it's the cats. Expy decided he was going to throw one of the rear spark plugs out of itself, so since my insurance came with towing, he's at the mechanic and he'll be seen on Monday. All I did was try to start it, and POP!

One of the downsides of DIY work, or another one of the three stooges mechanics' masterpieces?

 

[Prince_Polaris]

One of the downsides of DIY work, or another one of the three stooges mechanics' masterpieces?

Nope, it wasn't the sparkplug that mechanic #3 had to tie down cause #2 broke the clip! It was one of the rear ones...

 

[CaptOchs]

When I did the exhaust on my 2003 5.4, I replaced the CATs and everything back. It was time. I went with the Walker Exhaust because I don't want to go nuts on an truck that is so old. I want to say parts were like $600-$700 and it was another $350 to put it in. That included an oxygen sensor that snapped off. Performance isthe same. I tow a 7000 lb camper. I looked up the part numbers at their site and ordered them off Amazon or Ebay. http://www.walkerexhaust.com/catalog/walker-exhaust-systems/e-catalog-lookup The cats are "federal EPA" so they are not compliant with California CARB. Not a problem unless you plan on selling your truck to someone in CA someday. NY requires CARB if the vehicle was originally equipped. Most NYS inspection stations don't care. Technically, my truck could fail.

I had a bad passenger side door sensor too. That drove me nuts with the ding and lights coming on. The cheapest sensor I found at the time was $45 for that sensor. I thought the hell with that. I created a jumper wire and bridged the two pins of the harness. I taped it up really good so it didn't fall out. The only downsides are when you open the passenger door the lights don't come on. Also, if the door isn't shut properly it doesn't warn you. Oh well.

 

[Prince_Polaris]

So! Turns out a good bit of my power loss has to do with Cylinder 1 having 50psi of compression instead of 100psi. Anyone got a 2003 5.4L Triton V8 for about $600?


I might as well never buy a car again, I overpaid on a 98 explorer that proceeded to have way-too-expensive-to-fix timing chain problems after a year, and now my expedition, after one year, the fancy vehicle that was supposed to be good, needs a whole new engine that I can certainly afford with the $600 I have saved, right?


What next, I buy a car and it just explodes after 1 year of owning it?

 

[Prince_Polaris]

Y'all know how much a 2003 EB Expy is worth with 7/8 pistons?

 

[the bus]

http://www.car-part.com/mobile/index.htm

This site saved me a few times instead of using a u-pull it lot. You maybe able to find an engine there or any other parts you need.

Or maybe someone knows one of those old school fixes to get the compression up with some snake oil or rebuild in a can. Or higher weight oil??
If you still can go 70 your still good!!

 

[Prince_Polaris]

http://www.car-part.com/mobile/index.htm

This site saved me a few times instead of using a u-pull it lot. You maybe able to find an engine there or any other parts you need.

Or maybe someone knows one of those old school fixes to get the compression up with some snake oil or rebuild in a can. Or higher weight oil??
If you still can go 70 your still good!!

At this point, it seems like I'll never actually be able to go 70 uphill in my expy ever again, lol

And thanks for the site, I'll look at it!

 

[1955moose]

Actually normal compression should be around 140-150 psi for all eight cylinders in your SUV. Sorry to hear your problem is so severe. Bummer buddy. Now you see what I was talking about in my earlier post about cats. Are you having any top end noise? Most common problems are a worn rocker, or stuck lifter. Either way, you or the shop would have to determine if your compression loss is a valve or bad rings. Here's a Hail Mary pass you can try. Pour about 16 oz of Marvel mystery oil in your oil. If you have sticky rings, or something stuck in the top end, it might bust it loose. Again it's very doubtful it will work, but what have you got to lose. You don't have cam phasers or solenoids to worry about, so you'll only be out about $7.00 or so. I had a nagging feeling a year back when you were thinking about this vehicle, that car lot wasn't being honest. Especially at the premium price you paid, but theirs nasty people in this world, and you found one of them!

Sent from my N9131 using Tapatalk

 

[lbv150]

Actually normal compression should be around 140-150 psi for all eight cylinders in your SUV. Sorry to hear your problem is so severe. Bummer buddy. Now you see what I was talking about in my earlier post about cats. Are you having any top end noise? Most common problems are a worn rocker, or stuck lifter. Either way, you or the shop would have to determine if your compression loss is a valve or bad rings. Here's a Hail Mary pass you can try. Pour about 16 oz of Marvel mystery oil in your oil. If you have sticky rings, or something stuck in the top end, it might bust it loose. Again it's very doubtful it will work, but what have you got to lose. You don't have cam phasers or solenoids to worry about, so you'll only be out about $7.00 or so. I had a nagging feeling a year back when you were thinking about this vehicle, that car lot wasn't being honest. Especially at the premium price you paid, but theirs nasty people in this world, and you found one of them!

Sent from my N9131 using Tapatalk

I agree on the Marvel however 16oz is not going to do much. He needs to replace 2 quarts of oil with Marvel, and yes I have had good luck with the stuff in both crank case oil and in the fuel.