New Member with some ?'s

[weebeasty]

Hi All,

New member with a 2001 XLT. I have a couple of questions. The expy has been fantastic with the exception of 2 minor things.

1. I have had a "clunk" sound from my rear end whenever I drive over a bump. The dealer has looked at this a few dozen times (OK...maybe 4 or 5 times) and finds nothing wrong. He can't even hear it when he takes it out on his test drive, although he hears it when I drive with him . I have had my rear shocks replaced last year and the clunking noise went away for a short time and now tada! its back. Any ideas?

2. The dealer got really upset when I put a K&N filter on the truck. He says that Ford was warning the dealers about that. Any truth to that story? Anyone with K&N filters on their 5.4L?

Thanks for the help and the site looks awesome.

Rick

 

[pronstar]

Not sure about the clunk.

The K&N can be a problem because many people over-oil them, and this fouls the MAF element which then causes all sorts of niggling problems. Sometimes they are over-oiled from the factory.

Either don't over-oil it (they only need a tiny bit of oil), or use an AEM Dry-flow filter.

 

[weebeasty]

Thanks pronstar...Just spoke to the actual mechanic that works on the trucks. He basically said that the butterfly valve on the throttle body was just getting dirty. He asked me did it just start in the last week (since we finally started getting actual winter temps around here) and that was exactly when it started. Its not a big deal right now, but the throttle body should be replaced in the next 6 months or so because it can't be cleaned. He didn't say anything about the K&N filter and I've been very careful about oiling it. Do you have any experience with the AEM filters?

We took it out for a ride and he heard the "clunk" in the rear suspension. He thinks it may the some of the rear bushings starting to go. He'll check them out in a couple of days.

WBK

 

[pronstar]

I'd try cleaning the TB anyways. You technically aren't supposed to clean it for some reason, but many people have, including me.

If you set aside a few hours, you can do it in your driveway...and you can clean the EGR ports while you are at it, since these commonly get clogged as these trucks get older.

Here's a great how-to that someone posted:
http://www.fordf150.net/howto/throttlebodyclean.php

The only trouble I had was that I broke a bolt that holds the EGR on. I was able to finally turn it with vice-grips. It's like a $2 bolt, you might want to grab one from the dealership before you start, as I've read a few posts from others stating that they did the same thing.

This is all pretty straight forward...or you can ask your mechanic to try cleaning the throttle body anyways. I mean, if he recommends replacing it, what have you got to lose if he tries to clean it first?

 

[JUST4FUN]

could the clunk be a loose bolt on a shock?

 

[weebeasty]

Probably not a loose bolt. The mechanic checked the connections and everything seemed OK. He's leaning towards bushings. They're looking at it again tomorrow.

Rick

 

[mustangrfast88]

the reason they say not to clean the throttle body is there is a coating on it and the cleaner eats it off and makes for turbulant air going into the engine

i would recomond a dry oil type of filter i had a k&n in my truck and it seemed to hurt the performance so i went back to a reg fram filter tell i buy the cold air setup

does your truck have a tow hitch on it check it and make sure all is tight on it that might be where the noise is coming from or possible in the rear driver side panels where the rear ac and heat is sometrhing might be loose in there

 

[pronstar]

Originally posted by mustangrfast88
the reason they say not to clean the throttle body is there is a coating on it and the cleaner eats it off and makes for turbulant air going into the engine

True enough about the coating, but it's actually there to help prevent buildup.
So we have a coating that is made to prevent builup.
But the coating is now covered in buildup.
So what good is it at this point anyways?

This is just my opinion, but you have nothing to lose by cleaning it to see if things clear up. Just keep in mind that without the coating, you may need to clean the t-body more frequently.

They actually make cleaners that are safe for this coating now (supposedly), I think the stuff I use of from CRC but I don't have the can in front of me.

The Intake Snake also uses a solvent htat is supposedly safe for the coating:
http://www.run-rite.com/industry/products01d.htm

Let us know how things go.
Good luck!

 

[weebeasty]

The dealer fixed the "clunk" . Turns out the lower shock bolts were loose. No clunking as of today.

I'll look into the cleaner pronstar. Thanks guys! Don't know why it took so long to find this place.

Rick