There are just some days I wish I didn't turn wrenches

[OR VietVet]

Upcoming: 2009 Charger that a shop gave a large estimate/quote to the owner for front and rear brakes. Have not talked to her yet, so I have no idea what "large" is yet. A good friend at the AL knows her and told her to contact me about an inspection and quote from me but my "question and answer" initial contact needs done first. She is in her 30's and does Karaoke KJ work, so may be ditzy as hell. I would have thought that I would have heard from her yesterday, call from my friend yesterday at 2:30, but who knows. I have made it clear to anyone I talk to, "Don't waste my time. If you have a problem, let's figure it out, but don't drag it out because I schedule work asap". For all I know it is just a squeak noise and the pedal feels fine. Dealing with young people is a PITA sometimes and I dread it most of the time.

All the parts came in for the 2010 FJ Cruiser and are delivered to the shop. The owner is going to do the timing chain kit, plugs, ignition coils as well and now has added doing ALL fluids while in the shop. Owner bought used and got no paperwork when bought it. He is going to get all ignition and fluids to square one and know moving forward the age of all of it. Likely last he will do because he is 83 and is very sharp but his physical limitations seem to be creeping up on him.

He is a very famous, in the knife industry, for his custom built knives and sells all over the world. If any of you are familiar with this industry, his name is Ron Lake.

 

[OR VietVet]

The 2013 Acura RDX was dropped off at 5:30 yesterday and was gonna do the rear shock replacement this morning when cool. I decided to do it last night because of another friend of a friend girl that has a 2009 Charger and a tire store told her she needed brakes all around to the tune of almost $1300. She had been hearing a scraping/grinding noise at the right front, intermittently and I expected a metal on metal. So, I did the rear shocks, pretty straight forward and road tested and rear klunk noise is gone. he is happy. I called the Indian girl. Little Bear is what she goes by, and set up her inspection for this morning between 9 and 10.

Well, the young Indian girl texted me yesterday and then we talked and she was coming here between 9 and 10. Then I got a text at 5:30 am and she said she had food poisoning and could not come and wanted to reschedule. She works Karaoke and last night being Friday, I am sure she has the "brown bottle flu" and that is why she did not show. I texted her back and told her I would let her know when I have an opening. I can tell you, that will be never. When I deal with the AL people or anyone they recommend to me, it is a 50/50 crap shoot. Therefore, they get put off and charged more.

No worries, my neighbor across the street has a 2006 F150 4x4 I am involved with as of right now. Separate story in next post.

 

[OR VietVet]

2006 F150 crew cab 4x4 with 5.4 engine. He wants a full inspection and do what is needed because he is going to keep the truck. Has approximately 137k miles on it and he tows a 24 foot long travel trailer with it sometimes. He does not tow in O/D and he has all paperwork since he bought it. All paperwork from dealer and Jiffy Lube.
Plugs done 101695 miles. Same mileage: coolant flush and left valve cover replaced for pcv problem. Front and rear brakes done at 60k and 70k miles. At 73k miles had IWE solenoid replaced for a 4x4 problem. Transmission fluid looks clean and full and had transfer case fluid changed and fuel filter changed at 111k miles. Has been doing f/f every 15k miles.

Known problems now: Park brake shows the dash/cluster light on but brake is completely released. Has a green tint to brake fluid and that supposedly means a copper line problem causing a contamination. Dirty air filter. Power steering fluid change. Differential fluids changed. Possible front and rear brakes based off of last mileage replacement and will know more when inspect. Ignition coils are OE. Serpentine belt is glazed but no cracks yet.

Now, for the BIG problem. He has a transmission concern and maybe engine driveability concern. I hope @NickTransmissions and @rockola1971 and any other Ford drivers can kick in with info. I went for road test with him. After engine gets half way warm and all the way warm, when in O/D and accel like you are gonna pass someone or accel up a grade, there is a hard jerky feeling, that feels like a mount problem or a bad misfire. Can feel the hard jerk in seat of pants and notice the misfire feel with the engine power/running. Can also do out of O/D but not as pronounced. Came back to my driveway and I wanted to torque engine to check motor mounts. When in either reverse or drive and pop the accelerator, the engine acts like a severe misfire is going on. If in Park or neutral and pop the accelerator, it will act like a misfire but not as pronounced as when in gear, and then the accel rpm's smooth out before releasing gas pedal. The misfire feeling seems to be same as was when we did the road test. Again, when there is a load condition, the misfire feeling is more pronounced than when in Park or neutral. When idling in Park, the engine has a subdued rattle noise that sounds like is coming from inside the air cleaner housing on top of engine and sounds like a very noisey injector pulse or a "sewing machine" sound. The strange thing is this: No CEL and No codes. I don't want to open up and use the "parts cannon" on my neighbor's truck and don't want him to keep a truck that may have major problems for major $.

My initial thoughts are cleaning the throttle body and the MAF and know that maybe, just maybe, the ignition coils could be breaking down but the NO CEL is worrying me.

I should also say that the engine idles smooth as silk.

 

[NickTransmissions]

@OR VietVet - are you saying truck falling out of overdrive or shuddering real bad while in OD?

Did you have a bi directional scanner on it while on the test drive? If so, what, if anything, in the data looked off?

Cant speak to potential engine issues and would need to learn more about the suspected transmissiom drivability symptoms...maybe @rockola1971 or @swathdiver has seen this sort of behavior before and can shed some light.

He should have a 4R75E or W trans...

 

[OR VietVet]

@OR VietVet - are you saying truck falling out of overdrive or shuddering real bad while in OD?

Did you have a bi directional scanner on it while on the test drive? If so, what, if anything, in the data looked off?

Cant speak to potential engine issues and would need to learn more about the suspected transmissiom drivability symptoms...maybe @rockola1971 or @swathdiver has seen this sort of behavior before and can shed some light.

He should have a 4R75E or W trans...

It happens worse in O/D but does happen with O/D turned off. When accel, like to pass someone or up a hill/grade, there is a jerk/miss feel in the seat of the pants that can happen about 1-3 cycles and when it does it, it is easily felt. He stated before roadtest that he thought was a transmission concern, but when I got it back to my driveway and snap accel in reverse or drive and O/D the initial tip of the accel, you can see an engine shake and feel a misfire and can also feel it when in Park or Neutral and accel quickly, like when checking mounts. I am not convinced it is transmission related and feel it is engine misfire but there is no CEL. I have no bi directional scanner. Just a code reader.

 

[NickTransmissions]

@OR VietVet - Agree. I dont think it's transmisson either based on your above and a re-read of your first post on the F150.

Surprised you dont have something like a Snap on Solis/Modis, etc. Would be a great investment for you - im not sure where id be without mine....

How is fuel pressure and engine vacuum?

 

[rockola1971]

I would ohm ignition coils primaries and secondaries cold then hot and compare. See if one has a value drop like a rock when its hot. That would mean the windings are shorting (notice i did not say shorted to ground) and will eventually burn themselves up due to too much power dissipation from a wire that is not rated for that kind of current. Ohms law....If voltage stays the same and resistance (coils) goes down then current goes up. So if a 100 ohm coil windings melted together and the resistance dropped to 50 ohms, the current would be twice the normal amount. Power is equal to voltage times current (E x I) and if the current doubled and voltage stayed the same then power just shot up. The coil windings are sized to current that will be flowing and can only handle so much current (power) before melting or burning open like a fuse.

 

[OR VietVet]

I appreciate the help from @NickTransmissions and @rockola1971, and I have arranged a use of a bi directional scanner on Monday and I have this truck for another week if I want it. I would like to dig in there and do all that testing on the coils, but, gonna wait on scanner and the owner wants new coils anyway.

 

[OR VietVet]

Before I shut down this evening I did the rest of my inspection on the 2006 F150. Found very even wear on the front and rear brake pads and can still see the lube used on the hardware by previous brake work. No leaks at all under the vehicle. I had fixed an oil drain plug leak last year. So, below is a copy and paste of what I plan to do and I appear to have found a repair for the park brake light staying on at dash cluster when is not applied.

"Known problems now: Park brake shows the dash/cluster light on but brake is completely released. Has a green tint to brake fluid and that supposedly means a copper line problem causing a contamination. Dirty air filter. Power steering fluid change. Differential fluids changed. Possible front and rear brakes based off of last mileage replacement and will know more when inspect. Ignition coils are OE. Serpentine belt is glazed but no cracks yet."

During my inspection for the misfire I did the MAF sensor cleaning and unplugged all three harness connectors at the PCM. Inspected for discoloration and cleanliness and all looked good. I blew everything out and reinstalled them.

I plan to try and address the park brake light problem tomorrow, Sunday. The rest of my list will be addressed after the misfire find and repair decision. I need to order some parts in from RA and go ahead and do the fluids changes while waiting for the belt, ignition coils and air filter.

 

[OR VietVet]

Ok, in the pictures below I am showing you where I was after the lower trim removal and the upper cluster surround trim cover are removed. The problem, as I stated above, is that even with the park brake off, the park brake light on the dash would stay lit all the time. The harness connector in the pic is where the problem is. I did not unplug it but I just flexed it forward and back and left and right. The sweet spot is pushing it back, toward the engine, and toward the driver's side and the light went out and stayed out. If I flexed it the opposite way, I can turn the light back on.

I also road tested the truck this morning and was able to load/accel the engine and make it misfire any time I wanted and for as long as I wanted. It does feel like a torque converter locking and unlocking but I still believe it is a misfire for two reasons: I heard a small backfire this morning and I can accel hard when in Park or Neutral and feel the misfire but not as bad because I am not pulling the truck weight, like when driving.

See pics, all taken with engine running:

 

[iamdub]

Is this one of those engines with the funky spark plugs that get stuck and falls apart? (Or whatever it is that requires the special removal tools)

Missing under load could be from a weak spark. Weak spark could be from a failed/failing plug.

 

[Fless]

Ok, in the pictures below I am showing you where I was after the lower trim removal and the upper cluster surround trim cover are removed. The problem, as I stated above, is that even with the park brake off, the park brake light on the dash would stay lit all the time. The harness connector in the pic is where the problem is. I did not unplug it but I just flexed it forward and back and left and right. The sweet spot is pushing it back, toward the engine, and toward the driver's side and the light went out and stayed out. If I flexed it the opposite way, I can turn the light back on.

I also road tested the truck this morning and was able to load/accel the engine and make it misfire any time I wanted and for as long as I wanted. It does feel like a torque converter locking and unlocking but I still believe it is a misfire for two reasons: I heard a small backfire this morning and I can accel hard when in Park or Neutral and feel the misfire but not as bad because I am not pulling the truck weight, like when driving.

See pics, all taken with engine running:

View attachment 406493View attachment 406494View attachment 406495

Seeing as how that connector base appears to be connected to a circuit board, you might see if there are any cracked solder joints on the pins that attach to the circuit board. If you can get at it with the cluster pulled.

 

[Fless]

Is this one of those engines with the funky spark plugs that get stuck and falls apart? (Or whatever it is that requires the special removal tools)

Missing under load could be from a weak spark. Weak spark could be from a failed/failing plug.

High probability. If pulling plugs you'll need the Lisle or OTC tool handy and be ready to pull a head if those steps fail.

 

[OR VietVet]

Is this one of those engines with the funky spark plugs that get stuck and falls apart? (Or whatever it is that requires the special removal tools)

Missing under load could be from a weak spark. Weak spark could be from a failed/failing plug.

Seeing as how that connector base appears to be connected to a circuit board, you might see if there are any cracked solder joints on the pins that attach to the circuit board. If you can get at it with the cluster pulled.

High probability. If pulling plugs you'll need the Lisle or OTC tool handy and be ready to pull a head if those steps fail.

@iamdub & @Fless , It is one of those engines that is involved with the spark plug problems but fortunately the dealer did replace the plugs at 101695 miles and it now has 136698 miles on it. If I do end up doing the ignition coils, about 95% sure I am, I hope that when I pull them up and unplug the coils, the plugs stay in the hole and I will look do in there to see if I see anything obvious. I do not have the special tools required for that problem and don't want to be involved.

@Fless, At this point, all he wants to do is know what to do to keep the light out and it will set and turn on and off when the park brake is set and released. He is still not 100% sure he is keeping and I showed him this set up this morning when I had the covers off. For now it is staying out and if need to go back in again, to get to where it is in the pics, is no more than 10 minutes.

 

[Fless]

Clusterf...ix if you ever do one.

Simple Fix for 2004 through 2008 F-150 Brake Light

Soldering iron and a screwdriver can help finally turn off your the brake light in your 2004 through 2008 Ford F-150 pickup.

www.ford-trucks.com

I'd probably touch up the solder connections where the connector base meets the circuit board. Looks like those also use twist-in bulbs and it might be wise to change them out while it's apart.

 

[OR VietVet]

@Fless, I did watch a video about the spark plug problems and see how it can turn into a nightmare. It looks like Lisle makes the best design removal tool #65600. The video poster said that the best way to prep and hopefully keep the plugs from breaking. is to run a can of Seafoam in a 1/4 gallon tank of fuel for about 1/8th tank and then work on a warm, not hot, engine to allow the aluminum to expand slightly around the plug. The Seafoam breaks down the carbon that builds up on the bottom of the plug and causes the old design plugs to break. The new design Motorcraft spark plug is part #SP515. I read the truck owner's dealer paperwork about when the plugs were replaced. The tech had to remove two broken plugs and he used the new design plugs when he put the new ones in.

 

[OR VietVet]

Ok, OK, Ok....I caved and the Karaoke girl that made the lame no show excuse about having food poisoning and begging off the appointment I made for her to look at her brakes.......turns out she is like me, she does not drink. I have her on the way for a brake inspection this morning. I know her boss, that I know personally, is likely doing white powder but that does not mean the BRAKES girl is doing the same. She was recommended by a close friend of mine from the AL Post, but he is kind of a "Horn Dog" so I don't know what is going on there. I told her, "cash up front" and if do work, some of that inspection fee cash is put toward the brakes labor work, if I do it. We shall see. She calls herself, Little Bear. Maybe something in a weird diet gave her food poisoning, hell I don't know.


Headed to my friend's shop this afternoon, with the F150, to attach to his Snap On scanner and hope to get some definitive info about the misfire.

 

[OR VietVet]

No brakes needed on 09 Charger. Can hear a slight rub noise up front and if slow from a fast speed hard enough, can feel a very minor pulsation. Had a surface rust built up at the rotor outer edges that was causing the noise. I filed them slightly and road test before leaving, had no noise. The pads still had about 30% left and were completely even all the way around, inner and outer pads. Rear pads slightly thinner. I would say at 103k miles the front pads had likely been done before, since they were a little thicker than the rear pads. Front and rear pads were approximately 3/16" away from rotors to squealers. Park brake worked fine. Did remind her of plugs and ignition coils needed, instead of brakes, for now. Collected my fee and sent her on the way. Saved her over $1200 from the local rip off tire shop.

 

[OR VietVet]

I drove the F150 to my friend's shop in J.C. and during that drive I experienced many severe misfires and actually got it to throw a CEL one time. Found numerous misfire counts on cylinder #3 and the code was a P0303. Also had misfire counts on #7 and #5 but very random and low. He then told me something that I had never heard before. The #3 and #7 cylinders/ign. coils are directly under the cowling water trough at back of hood. Water gathers there and will drip down and directly below that are the ignition coils for #3 and #7 cylinders. When looked at the coils, there was signs of dried up water/dirt mixture that gathered all around those coils. I was gonna replace the coils anyway, so ordered them today from RA. The new design plugs had been changed 30k miles ago but will look at plugs at #3 and #7.

Gonna try and sell the 65 Mustang on Wednesday.

 

[OR VietVet]

FJ getting dropped off in the morning.

I ordered parts and fluids for the F150 and all supposed to be here no later than Tuesday from RA. Then I got a big job ahead of me.