Comments: 1-15, 16-25
Battery died while camping.
The number 4 cylinder started misfiring.
To all,
I have a 98 expedition EB, 77k, 5.4 motor. I was recently on a trip and got the check engine light, flashing, after going over Donner pass, 7,000ft or so. Had the wife look it up and it talked about possible misfire or something with the catalytic converter. The SUV was running OK at the time I thought. After about 15 min the light would go off for a min or so and then would come back. Then it would go on steady. Of course the book says steady could be the gas cap not on tight, etc. After about 20 min I noticed the Ford running rough and could feel the misfire, especially between 1500 and 2000 rpm. We were only three hours into a 7 hour trip so we stopped in Sacramento and holed up for the night since it was Sun and no garages open. I did as much research on the web and armed myself with as much knowledge about the light. I want to say thanks to all who have posted before me, you really helped! In my research I found the following possibilities:
1) If the engine is running rough and smoky exhaust, fuel injector stuck open pouring too much gas in
2) Possible fuel filter dirty or problem with (?) fuel neck
3) Oxygen sensor, water or fuel dripping on it possibly messing with mixture (cold weather and water unfreezing or lots of rain
4) EGR sensor (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) or valve. Related is the DPFE or differential pressure sensor related to EGR operation
5) Fuel tank pressure sensor
6) water in the spark plug
7) a blown fuse
8) vacuum tube leak near intake manifold (we did find one soft PCV (positive crankcase ventilation) tube near it, but don't think this was the cause.)
9) Idle Air Control valve or IAC
10) spark plug or spark plug wires or bad coil or coil pack
11) loose gas cap.
After checking the OBD or on-board diagnostic code we got a P0304 which is #4 cylinder misfire, i.e. #10. Changed both the spark plug and the coil and all was well. Finished the last 500 miles without a hitch. In a lot of postings Autozone was talked about as being able to read your OBD codes for free. This turned out NOT to be the case at the one Autozone I tried. The employee said they weren't allowed to read them in California. Not sure how wide spread this is, but you supposedly can buy one on ebay for approx $45. I think the coil was the prob, the spark plug looked OK, but the coils are advertised to 100k miles, 77k was close. I would recommend calling autozone or other parts stores or garages to see if they will read the code for free. The coil and plug were about 100 bucks plus an hour of labor and change for $184 total. Add in the 116 hotel bill and I got out of it pretty good. I hope this info helps someone else out, I've now read too many "check engine" light horror stories. BTW Bob's Auto Service in Elk Grove, CA did a great job, they specialize w/Ford.
You MUST fix the antifreeze hose located directly above the #4 coil pack, it drip and causes the coil pack to short out! Simply put a second hose clamp on and tighten the original.
Fixed mine!
I had similar symptoms and as a matter of fact I had to replace the #4 coil pack. Doing that, the people at the garage discovered that the intake gasket (?) was broken and needed to be replaced - the #4 spark plug was soaked in anti-freeze.
The bugger is that now, just a couple of weeks after the truck was running as smooth as a panther after replacing the #4 coil pack, the #7 coil pack is messed up. Probably due to the same gasket, even though it's been fixed the coils are still damaged of course.
So at the moment I'm considering whether I should have the #7 coil pack replaced or have them change all the remaining seven to avoid future problems... ;o|
Schtuff happens. I love the Expedition, tho.
Sid - proudly driving one of the few Expeditions in Norway.
I also have a Ford Expedition XLT and have had 3 problems to date:
At 22,651 miles I had a bad coil and spark plug on cylinder #2.
At 23,679 miles I had a bad DPFE sensor.
At 26,825 miles I had a bad coil and spark plug on cylinder
#5.
I love the vehicle, but starting to get concerned about the coil and plug problem, all the work has been under warranty, but ends next month. I am uncertain if I will keep it or trade it in at lease termination. The vehicle is a great family vehicle (I have 5 children!) It rides fantastic, has a great height for visibility and very good crash rating. Fuel consumption isn't horrible considering the size of the vehicle and even with the 2x4 instead of the 4x4 I have had no problems with winter driving.
I decided to have them all changed. It was expensive, but I'd say it was worth it as I don't have to worry about another coil breaking now. It's as good as new now, with more than 60,000 miles on it.
Sid - still extremely happy with this excellent SUV.
I am having a similar problem with my 98 Expediton. The check engine light does not illuminate, but it has a misfire from time to time.
Did not see any signs of coolant on the top surface of any of the coil on plugs. But, did not know that the coil had a life expectancy of 100k miles. Replaced the spark plugs at 82,000 miles and it has now 109,000 miles. May decide to replace all COPs if the computer OBD II reader indicates that any of the 8 may be the root cause of the intermittent misfires.
P0304 error means Cyl-4 has detected a miss-fire (P030X = Miss-fire and the 4 means #4 cylinder). It will flash the "Service Engine" light when a code is thrown and if the light comes on and stays, it means that it has shut down fuel injection to #4 to allow one to limp the vehicle in for service. 97-98 Expeditions had a very tight space above the the engine as it sets so far back and under the firewall. This "lack of space" fails to allow for room for the poor assembly line worker to tighten the hose clamp appropriately on the coolant hose directly above the #4 coil. It drips anti-freeze on the coil constantly and eventually shorts out the $140.00 coil - thus the miss-fire. Many times the evidence of the anti-freeze is so subtle to the casual observer, it gets overlooked. HOW TO FIX: Remove #4 coil and spark plug (both are now bad) and replace them. Also tighten the hose clamp that caused the mess in the first place. Lastly - you will need to clear code P0304 so it restores fuel injection to #4. I did this with my Super Chips Computer as you can read/clear codes with it. Ford fixed the clearance issue after 1998 by dropping the engine down about 4 inches to allow the workers to do their job. NOTE: If you smell anti-freeze when you turn on the ac or heat, it may be leaking it on #4 - take appropriate action. I learned of this from my Ford Mechanic friend who has done many of these repairs Believe me, the dealership pokes your eyes out if you pay the going rate to have this done. Good thing my mechanic friend likes Budweiser! Good Luck! (MAS).
I also own a 1997 Expedition had a problem with the coil packs going down on me as well. Took it to the dealer and they replaced two bad coils, can't remember the numbers to the cylinders, but they also said fuel injection system was clogged and I had a dirty air filter. I know that was not dirty and the also said I needed spark plugs. I know I did need plugs because they were changed 1 week prior to the breakdown. Two weeks later I had another 2 coil packs go bad. So I decided to change all of them. So shouldn't have any problems, but I did. Found out that you should only use coil packs from the dealer. If you ever run into a problem with no heat in your SUV more than likely it is your water pump and make sure they cover your coil or you'll have to replace it like I had to.
I have an 2001 Expedition XLT, and I had a problem with my EGR valve. My check engine light was coming on and staying on. So the next thing I know, it's the #6 and #7 cylinder misfiring.I had to change the plugs and the coil packs. Now the SUV has plenty of horsepower again.
Do not wash under the hood of a V8 Ford with coil on plug ignition system!!! You will forever more be replacing coil packs.
A few months ago the engine began misfiring, no engine light came on. My mechanic informed me that problem was the coil in one of the plugs. He told me that these coils develop hairline cracks. Since these have never been replaced I asked him to replaced them all and put new plugs. Since then, I had to take the care back 3 times because of engine misfiring (engine light on) and so far we had to change 3 of these new coils again.
I am a bit frustrated because twice, the symptoms showed after long trips (300mi), I can’t think of a connection, but my mechanic is saying that because these are electric parts that is the ‘nature of the beast’ that these coils could go bad years after or months. I told him that I cannot understand why these plug where there for 10 years with no problem and once I replaced them they are now acting up like this… The three times that I took the truck back was for different coils, I don’t know what is going on. He now tells me that the coils are originally installed in a ‘clean’ environment, which I know is true, but, I don’t thik that it would be expected to have a clean environment when replacing these parts and no car manufacturer would expect that.
Has anyone heard of persistent issues with these coils?
Thanks in advance for any information.
I also have a 2000 Expedition Eddie Bauer with the 5.4 ltr. engine. I didn't have any problems until 125,000 miles when I went to the car wash and washed the engine. Big Mistake! It immediately popped number 4 and 8 coils (the 2 rear ones). I went ahead a replaced all 8 spark plugs while I was replacing those 2 coils. That turned out to be quite a mess. The bolts that hold the coils in are threaded into a nut that is pressed into the plastic intake manifold. Well, several of those little 7mm bolts were seized in their respective nuts and striped out the intake manifold that they were pressed into. I ended up breaking the coils to get them out, then I had to mix some JB WELD and "glue" the nuts back into the intake manifold. I'm not sure if this is the correct method of repair, but so far it has worked.
2 nights ago I went to leave and it was running very badly. Upon visual examination under the hood, I heard the PCV valve making some obnoxious noise. Replaced it and it ran great all night. The very next morning started misfiring real bad again. Went to Autozone for a free scan. The guy said #7 cylinder was misfiring. I bought yet another coil and replaced it. IT ran great all last night. This morning got up to leave and was Misfiring real bad again. I went back to Autozone for another scan. This time they said the EGR has restricted flow so I guess in the morning I'll be running back to Autozone for a EGR Pressure sensor.
It seems that now with 135,000 miles its starting to fall apart, but to anyone else out there who reads this you should know that the Triton engines look very intimadating to work on, but its actually a lot easier that it looks!
I have a 2000 Expedition, I have had to replace 4 coil packs and only have 89,000 miles on the truck. I love the truck and it rides great, but the damn coil packs are killing me. I agree with the earlier post, don't wash under the hood, although on the previous 3 I had never done that. The check engine light didn't come on except for the first time. I had to tell the dealership what the problem was and it was as I suspected. The last incident and my expedition is still in the shop as I type is the #8 is bad. I usually can minor work, but I was afraid to tackle this one for fear of making the problem worst. I will certainly look for any anti-freeze leaks.
My wife's 2000 exp has 147k miles. I have been fighting #4 cylinder misfire P304 for months. I replaced all of the plugs and coil packs on cyls 4 and 6, 6 was a problem at first. I swapped the injectors around to see if the problem followed the injector. Stayed at #4. Will look into the leaking hose line of troubleshooting.
I had the repeated code for EGR low flow, replaced the egr and still have the code show up after 15 minutes of drive time. Have looked at other sites that recommend cleaning the ports on the manifold. Will try that.
I just bought a 97 5.4L expedition and I love it. it's an eddie bauer in great shape (it was driven by an old man, gotta love it). as soon as I got it, literally the same day, I had to replace the #2 and #3 coils and plugs. it drove fine for a few weeks, then yesterday I started having the same problem. I scanned and found cylinder 4 misfire. figuring it was the coil and plug once again, started the grueling process. but when I went to take out the plug, the socket wouldn't go all the way into the cylinder, it felt like something was stuck in there. I messed around a little and stuck a screwdriver down into there to see if I could catch it on something, and when I pulled it out the end was covered in moisture and dirt/sand type crap. I'm not the most brilliant guy when it comes to cars, but I know that you're not supposed to have those things in your engine. what should I do to fix it, or should I just take it back to the guy and get my refund?
I have a 1998 Expedition with 175K miles on it. Your problems with the P0304 code (4th coil pack misfire) are the same as others have experienced. Here are some answers to your questions based on my own experience in servicing my truck:
1. The gunk didn't originate from within the spark plug cavity. Oil and dirt (aka 'gunk') have to collect somewhere, so it collects right around the head of the coil pack. Because of the awkward and tight positioning of this plug, I'm sure that you scraped your screw driver in some of the outer gunk. BTW - next time use something plastic or plastic coated - you could damage your spark plug threads within the cavity.
2. Right above this 4th plug you'll see a coolant tube coming from the engine, connecting to a rubber hose. You 'may' experience leakage from this connection, so you can a. remove the clamp, cut the hose 1/4" to 1/2", and reinstall it or b. add another screw clamp to it.
3. Now that you've taken care of the drip and you've identified your gunk issue, here's the remaining issue - the wire connector that plugs into the coil pack. The old coil pack may not have been bad (or maybe it was), but the connector probably was corroded slightly. You wouldn't be able to see it, but I created a test light our of some computer parts and a battery and inserted into my old connector. When I ran the engine - nothing. But if I wiggled it around then it would start flashing (indicating that firing was in process).
To repair:
REMEMBER - Safety first. Wear glasses, wear gloves (I like to have my knuckles covered but my finger tips out), have good light, remove battery cables, apply the parking break, chock the back tires, get clear access to the area by carefully removing obstructions...)
A. mark one of the wires (let's say... the one closest to the firewall).
B. Get a new "coil pack connector (maybe referred to as a pig tail) " from dealer or auto parts store.
C. Get some wire connectors. There are two types - squeezable or heatable. Be sure to get a pack with about six or so in it, because you'll error a few times before getting it right. I used tried the crimp ones then switched to the heatable ones.
CAUTION - beware of using flames while working on a vehicle. This procedure occurs within inches of the Fuel Line rail.
D. Now you have all of your equipment. Make sure you take a good look at the new connector (pig tail) to know what you're dealing with. Cut off the old pig tail just beyond the connector. You'll find that there is not a lot of slack coming from the wiring harness, so be patient and do it slowly.
E. Now install the new connector.
CAUTION - beware of using flames while working on a vehicle. This procedure occurs within inches of the Fuel Line rail.
F. Reinstall the plug carefully (thread it in first with a short piece of hose, then tighten to specs).
G. Reinstall the coil pack and plug in the pigtail.
H. The remaining installation steps are the revers of removal.
Test it and if you still have a P0304 misfire, you may have not properly connected the pig tail.
I learned all of this through testing, trial and error so save a buck and have fun!!!