[fetalinjury]

Ok so under load the damn thing misses out kinda bucks

This has got to be a common thing
I have a feeling that others have had the same problem

Its got 111,128 miles idles just fine in park

When i put it in gear it has an erratic idle

no check engine light
no other problems
car has been well maintained


Thanks

 

[spridget]

have the plugs, wires, coil or fuel filter ever been serviced or replaced?

To some people "well maintained" just means the oil has been changed routinely.

 

[jw89sho]

Agree, start with plugs and wires. I had one missing like that , changed the plugs and it got a little better, they were gone. Do a resistance check on your wires, should be 4000-7000 ohms per foot. Also look for discolored ends, esp. the coil pack. This indicated a loose connection and can cause your trouble. As to why it idles fine, it takes less spark energy to fire the plugs in the relatively low cylinder pressures. Consider also that each coil fires two cylinders and you can see how the problem gets out of hand quickly.

 

[fullmetal]

Also look at your coil pack , my 96 did that and it had a big crack underneath the coil pack

 

[fetalinjury]

well im sure its not the plugs or wires, battery, or transmission

i was thinking coil but ive got no codes or lights on the dash
i will take it off & look for any cracks or discoloration

as for well maintained the car is in Grrrrrreat shape. New oil every 3500 miles, Trans fluid & Filter at 45K & 90K, Plugs every 15k & Wires to go with that.
New starter, alternator, and ac compressor, New waterpump

had i not bought this car new i would have stoped fixing it by now!


i feel like everything that could go wrong with it has !


so the coil is next i guess
that being said, im sure that the tps or mass air censors will fail

so let me know


thanks all

 

[BrassDrummer]

well im sure its not the plugs or wires, battery, or transmission

i was thinking coil but ive got no codes or lights on the dash
i will take it off & look for any cracks or discoloration

as for well maintained the car is in Grrrrrreat shape. New oil every 3500 miles, Trans fluid & Filter at 45K & 90K, Plugs every 15k & Wires to go with that.
New starter, alternator, and ac compressor, New waterpump

had i not bought this car new i would have stoped fixing it by now!


i feel like everything that could go wrong with it has !


so the coil is next i guess
that being said, im sure that the tps or mass air censors will fail

so let me know

thanks all
[/b]

Woe lol. its a 2003, your throwing away your money on plugs and wires every 15k. You shouldn't have to change them at least twice that time. 30-50k is good for plugs, especially with how much more advanced they are now.

 

[fetalinjury]

well...... about the plugs and wires


what i didnt mention is that ive been delivering out of this car 5 days a week for 3½ years

this is a workhorse to me, or a workbull?
i deliver pizza on a college campus and beat the sh!t out of it 8 to 15 hours a day, day in and day out
i take far more than 100 deliveries a day
we have a small area, just the campus and neighborhoods immediately surrounding it
i leave the car running the whole time
while im getting my next run while im standing around
thats about 10,000+ hours of run time.

plugs are cheap
so are wires

like i said before i keep this car in tip top shape

the least i can do to insure my income doesnt decrease is maintain that car
i dont want to hear anyone bitch about the waste of gas
or that i should shut it off!
we are the #31 pizza store in the country making over $5.5million a year
we are busy.
if i had to start my car 75 times a night tell me what then........ a new starter every few weeks?
that would be about 1500 starts a month!

Thanks for the smart-ass comment Mr.BrassDrummer when you dont know the whole story dont say something stupid just to see your name pop on the forum

 

[Racer X]

Fetal, calm down.

Without knowing the whole story, or the car's service role in this case, any one of us, myself included, would have told you that a 15k mile interval for plugs and wires was a waste of money.

Now that we know more of the relevant details, I would take a close look at your coil pack to see if it's cracked and leaking spark energy to ground.

 

[fetalinjury]

its in my garage now getting warm

and that's the first thing im gonna check


im sure that's what it is

i just haven't had a chance to look yet

thought id ask here see
what other folks experienced


sorry i raged BrassDrummer
well not really...........

 

[Nidan]

its in my garage now getting warm

and that's the first thing im gonna check


im sure that's what it is

i just haven't had a chance to look yet

thought id ask here see
what other folks experienced


sorry i raged BrassDrummer
well not really...........
[/b]

Brass made a relevant point - 15K is very premature for plugs and wires, even if you drive the car hard. There was no need for you to get upset at him. I also use my car for delivering, and i do tune-ups at normal intervals, being 60K miles, and i've never had a problem in doing that. Today's platinum plugs are up to the task, and so are the wires. I'm not saying you should stop maintaining your car, but you could save yourself some money and effort by leaving the plugs and wires in there longer. Hard driving would mean you'll need to change tranny fluid a lil more often perhaps, and maybe oil changes. Spend your money on good synthetic oil, since you drive so hard. But really, driving hard isn't going to burn out your plugs and wires that fast.

That being said, i agree with checking the coil pack. If you see even the smallest crack in it, you need a new one. Coil packs can fail and cause a misfire without setting a code for a while, depending on how bad the misfire is.

 

[fetalinjury]

I Disagree
60k is ridiculous

when you drive like i do let me know
oh and let me know where your car breaks down

what and who do you deliver for ?
below your name & profile pic it says "Senior Ford Technician"

im sure if i only took 20 deliveries a day it wouldn't be a big deal
if i slow down ill loose that many runs a night
that the difference between me making $300 and breaking $400 a day

lol 60k
wow
my car would come to life and kick my ass if i neglected it like that !
that would put me on my 2nd set of plugs since i bought it LOL


give me you address in Canada ill send you a set of F u c ked up plugs to prove you wrong

sorry man, but 60K.......................

 

[BrassDrummer]

i disagree
60k is ridiculous

when you drive like i do let me know
also let me know where your car breaks down
[/b]

Ok cool throw away your money then.

I drive at least 80 miles a day, and havn't changed my plugs for 20K, had the car for a year, and they still look fine. Your cars not gonna die if you don't change them. and wires last just as long as plugs. I think you need to educate yourself in the durability of todays products compared to what your father may have taught you. ITs a whole new world. Notice how the 80's vehicles are covered with vacuum lines. Guess what there all replaced with... COMPUTERS. woot. now that your on one... learn yourself something usefull.

 

[Racer X]

Wow.

I want to say I'm shocked at your response, Fetal.

But, well, I can't.

Good luck with your car.

 

[animex2]

Im trying to hold back, but I cant...

Even if you do 100+ deliveries a day, unless your car has many problems, running rich or hot, the spark plugs should keep on plugging. I agree for what your doing 60k is too much, but 15k is way too early, id say 30-40k would be a good interval.

And if your making 400+ a day in deliveries, why are you driving a Taurus? That comes to ~100k a year. ###### school, show me where you work if I can make that much!

And 100+ deliveries a day even in a 10-12 hour shift, thats 1 delivery ~every 5-6 min. Not saying thats not possible, just intense.

I'm sure people with their SHO's drive their cars much harder daily and still don't do their plugs for ~50-60k.

 

[elgoathead]

This discussion piqued my curiosity, so I dusted off my owner's guide and had a look.

Interestingly, it suggests that I replace the plugs at 60K in both Schedule A: Severe Service and Schedule B: Normal (gentle?) Service, for the Vulcan engine.

Now, my car is much older than a 2003, but I would think that the service interval would be at least that long for a newer vehicle.

Curiously, for the Essex engine (what my car has), it recommends a 30K replacement interval for both Severe and Normal Service.

My cars have been subjected to stop-and-go delivery type abuse for the past 21 years, and I haven't noticed undue wear/deposits on the plugs. I don't generally lean on my cars very hard, but constant stop/go/idling can be tough on them as well. Many times I merely check and adjust the gap and reinstall them for continued service. Some may say that is false economy; I'm tight with my $$. I have replaced wires only once... and even that turned out to be completely unnecessary.

What I do focus on, however (regarding preventive maintenance) is servicing the engine oil and tranny fluid and filters as well as flushing the PS and brake fluid. They do degrade more quickly in such a harsh environment. The coolant seems to hold up OK. As recommended by another poster, the use of good synthetic lubricants is money well spent.

Also, stuff like brakes, suspension components and particularly engine/tranny mounts are much more prone to wear/failure. But then again, I deal with that stuff only when it breaks, or indicates that it may.

Regards... Mike

 

[blackmagic3920]

Wow man you have some serious cash with all those deliverys. What pizza store do you work for? My drivers at the hut drive mostly old ass civics and they keep their car in good shape. Maybe you should look into that. I had my factory plugs and wires since a couple of months ago and its still running.

 

[Nidan]

I Disagree
60k is ridiculous

when you drive like i do let me know
oh and let me know where your car breaks down

what and who do you deliver for ?
below your name & profile pic it says "Senior Ford Technician"

im sure if i only took 20 deliveries a day it wouldn't be a big deal
if i slow down ill loose that many runs a night
that the difference between me making $300 and breaking $400 a day

lol 60k
wow
my car would come to life and kick my ass if i neglected it like that !
that would put me on my 2nd set of plugs since i bought it LOL


give me you address in Canada ill send you a set of F u c ked up plugs to prove you wrong

sorry man, but 60K.......................
[/b]

As goathead posted, 60K is the recommended service interval for normal and severe service, so don't say it's ridiculous just cuz you seem to think it is. Platinum plugs are designed to last 60k, and usually last even longer unless there's been something to cause them to fail sooner (ie - engine running rich or lean, oil buildup, etc). And how do you know i don't drive like you do? Just because i'm a senior ford tech doesn't mean i can't work two jobs, and it doesn't mean i don't drive my car hard. It does mean that i know when i should be changing my plugs, and anything else i should be doing, so don't insinuate that i'm neglecting my car just because i don't waste money on it like you do with yours.

 

[fonicsmonkey]

I can't figure out why he's replaced the plugs and wires that many times over but not the coil pack even once?? I mean...following his theory on how fast ignition components fail and require replacing :blink:

 

[Grease Monkey]

*DOUGH !!*