Year long problem still not solved

[BigChinook]

Well, I was hoping to not have to take it to the stealership but I'm running out of ideas. My 2008 Expy is having the following issues.
1. At 65mph, when you hit the gas hard, it sputters, no power, check engine light starts blinking, feels like an injector is not working. Throws a code on cylinder 5, (use to be 4) but now 5..something with the injector. I have replaced all the plugs, coil packs, injectors seem ok. compression check on 5 is good. Had the cats checked and they were good, good exhaust flow. Sometimes when I start it, it misses on cylinder 5 for about 30 seconds then its ok. I can drive the expy around the city just fine, just cant punch it. It's driving me crazy that I can't figure this out. Any thoughts from the experts? Its a 5.4 triton. Also, engine seems to have a whine noise now as well

 

[99WhiteC5Coupe]

Well, I was hoping to not have to take it to the stealership but I'm running out of ideas. My 2008 Expy is having the following issues.
1. At 65mph, when you hit the gas hard, it sputters, no power, check engine light starts blinking, feels like an injector is not working. Throws a code on cylinder 5, (use to be 4) but now 5..something with the injector. I have replaced all the plugs, coil packs, injectors seem ok. compression check on 5 is good. Had the cats checked and they were good, good exhaust flow. Sometimes when I start it, it misses on cylinder 5 for about 30 seconds then its ok. I can drive the expy around the city just fine, just cant punch it. It's driving me crazy that I can't figure this out. Any thoughts from the experts? Its a 5.4 triton. Also, engine seems to have a whine noise now as well

What code(s) were set?

What code(s) are present now?

 

[gixer2000]

I would start by moving the coil to see if the mis moves. Its very possible you got a dead coil or even a junk plug. The SP515 plug was known for having issues out of the box which is why they were replaced with SP546.

If you see no change with either of those and have already done a compression test I would drop the $30 on a new injector

 

[Copper93]

Check the variable timing solenoid. If it is sticking it will cause a misfire and make a stumble.

 

[gixer2000]

Check the variable timing solenoid. If it is sticking it will cause a misfire and make a stumble.

Those typically cause a mis across the entire bank not just 1 cylinder

 

[1955moose]

You might try a new wiring harness for that side. They get corroded or a wire can actually break. We've had a member or two that kept chasing their tail like you, and the replacement harness fixed it. One guy got his from Auto Zone. Something to try, you've tried everything else. The fact that it jumped from #4 to #5 rules out a valve or something mechanical. A jumpy misfire at that high a speed/rpm sounds electrical. Fuel misfires as a rule are softer hitting. Electrical ones are on/off light throwing a wall light switch, and bad enough the vehicle actually bucks like a horse.

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[Habbibie]

Those typically cause a mis across the entire bank not just 1 cylinder

The vct caused my truck to sputter only on cylinder #4 before... I had an identical problem to what the OP stated. It eventually got worst over time and caused the motor to stall too when in reverse and wheel turned all the way in either direction or randomly stalls when sitting in traffic (stopped while in drive)... after replacing both VCT'S it made all three problems disappear

 

[BigChinook]

Well, took it to the dealership here in Columbus and they said it was misfiring on all L side cylinders and the cat on the Left was clogged. Of course they wanted $1500 for the part and $350 to put it on so I picked it up and ordered one from Rockauto. I'm still skeptical if this will fix the problem but we'll see

 

[gixer2000]

Well, took it to the dealership here in Columbus and they said it was misfiring on all L side cylinders and the cat on the Left was clogged. Of course they wanted $1500 for the part and $350 to put it on so I picked it up and ordered one from Rockauto. I'm still skeptical if this will fix the problem but we'll see

If you have an infrared temp gun you can be sure before dropping the money. Drive the car for a few minutes then take a temp on each cat. They should be very close in temp.

 

[bobmbx]

If you have an infrared temp gun you can be sure before dropping the money. Drive the car for a few minutes then take a temp on each cat. They should be very close in temp.

Or get a scanner that can read CAT temps. ODB Fusion is one.

 

[1955moose]

Or door #3, pull the front o2 sensor on that side plug in a back pressure gauge and take a reading. Numbers should be low, below 3 or 4 is ideal.Lower is better, if your readings up there say above 7 or 8 you got a clog.

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[BigChinook]

Well, replaced drivers side cat and whala, it's fixed...runs great again. thanks for all the help, its been a long journey.

 

[1955moose]

Good deal, was it the front cat that was clogged on that side?

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[Copper93]

Glad to hear you have it fixed.

 

[jeff kushner]

" Had the cats checked and they were good, good exhaust flow."

ALWAYS make sure that your initial assessment is correct....then double check. I can't tell you how many times I've made this same mistake.....but really happy for you that all is resolved!!!

jeff