Wierd engine miss???

[junehhan]

Hey guys, maybe you can help me out here. For about 400 miles now, my engine seems to be exhibiting a wierd engine miss at 1800rpms, and 2200rpms. At any other rpm above, below, or between, it seems like it's firing normally. When i'm driving, and it hits those rpms, it sounds like not all of the cylinders are firing properly as there is a noticeable gap in the sound of the engine running. I've tried changing fuel, so I know it's not the fuel, but this is puzzling because it's not throwing any type of check engine light either. I'm afraid to go back to the dealer, because they'll probably tell me everything is running alright, when it used to not do this. It's extremely noticeable when the engine is still cold and hasn't warmed up yet as the gap in the engine sound is really noticeable then. It's just wierd that it does it around those 2 rpms, and not anywhere else.

It doesn't seem to do it all the time, but it's starting to do it more and more frequently :(

Oh, and just to test it out, I tried revving the engine while in park by holding the rpms constant, and when it hit both 1800, and 2200, it also made the wierd sound that sounds like not all cylinders were firing, along with a little shaking that I felt.

[woaface]

Yeah, they tell you it's all ok or that everything is wrong and they wanna spend a lot of your time and money on the car.:shake:

No, I have no clue what it could be:D

[junehhan]

What's interesting, is that for a while, my engine was making a tap tap tap tapping noise while idling, and about 400 miles ago, it went away completely..............

[CRUZTAKER]

Take it in anyway and show the tech yourself. Don't be embarrassed, this is what the warranty is for. They hate it when they see me coming. Or atleast they did for the first 6 months.

Could be a bad plug....who knows, but it's worth having them check it out.

[Krytin]

Could be the loose cam bearing caps that some people have had. I have also heard from one Ford Lighting owner about having one spark plug loosen up in one of the heads - it actually blew out! A loose plug could cause the problem you are describing! Only one way to find out - the dealer or you are going to have to put a socket to each plug and see. Good luck and let us know how you make out.

[BADMK8]

hey just to chime in , your discribing an engine miss and the reason your probably feeling at that rpm is because thats when ign misses will show themselves. as far as a solution the dealer has a wds computer , just pop it in drive it and if it does it , its not hard to isolate. if they dont help you just drive down to team ford of marietta and I'll fix it, just ask todd. by the way thats in georgia, bout 8 hours south.

[CRUZTAKER]

... if they dont help you just drive down to team ford of marietta and I'll fix it, just ask todd. by the way thats in georgia, bout 8 hours south.
:lol: It wouldn't take an engine miss to get a buckeye to drive south outta this stinkin' winter!

With all due respect, Rush Lincoln Mercury is closer, in Columbus...that's north:baaa:
You were at the meet last summer weren't you? He said he would take care of us. Plus he's a member here.

[Fourth Horseman]

Please let us know when you find out what it was, junehhan. Odd little engine stutters like that have always seemed puzzling to me. I had an '89 Mustang (4 banger, total P.O.S., but that's beside the point) that had odd engine stumbles and stutters and the dealers could never figure it out. I'd be interested to hear what the techs make of your situation. Good luck and keep us posted!

[TripleTransAm]

Don't forget the possibility of water having gotten under the plug covers. Although I would have thought the miss would happen throughout a bigger range... *shrug* who knows...

[EbonyMarauder03]

Take it to your dealer. They can test it in the bay or hook up a "flight" recorder to it. In either case they can check for firing voltage of the coils. If the miss was over a wider rpm range it would probably trip the engine light since it would show up as excess richness in the exhaust. As for the noise disappearing tell them about that took. Mine needs to go in because when I was at the ATM i had a wall to echo the engine sound and I heard a louder than usual noise in the engine. =-(

[junehhan]

Thanks for your help guys, and thanks for your offer to fix it. Actually, i'm probably the world's most paranoid Marauder owner and I might just be crazy enough to make an 8 hour trek if that meant having a competent dealer work on my car. I'll definately call and make an appointment tomarrow, although I just don't like dealer service departments. The only dealer service department I ever liked, was the Land Rover one because they actually listen to you, take you seriously, offer great service, and will never give you the run-around. My dealer lost a bit of confidence from me after my last visit to them as they really didn't know much about what to do or say. Even when it isn't missing, it still sounds like all the cylinders arn't firing evenly as there are gaps in the engine sound, and weak spots where it sounds like the cylinder barely fired. What ironic, is that performance doesn't seem to be effected as my car feels just as strong as normal, and perhaps even stronger at WOT.


BTW, as far as those Lightnings blowing spark plugs go, it's actually a problem with the heads. If I remember correctly, there are only 4 threads holding the spark plug down which has been remedied sometime in 2003 with a new set of heads with more threads for the spark plugs.

[TripleTransAm]

OBD-II should be able to detect misfires, it's part of their parameters (mandatory too, I believe). If the engine is misfiring in that range, a proper scan tool WILL pick it up.

[CRUZTAKER]

Don't forget the possibility of water having gotten under the plug covers... *shrug* who knows...
This is an easy check. Pull the covers and look at 7 and 8. Just shine a flash light down in the hole if you don't want to pull the plug. If it took water, you'll see corrosion. Mine sure did.

[junehhan]

Well, I took my car to the dealer today since they told me to bring it in anytime I felt like. They hooked it upto a computer and stuff, but they said they couldn't find anything wrong. They did recommend switching to a different brand of gas to see if that does anything, which i've done, and my car hasn't exhibited any type of miss yet all day long. I've been using nothing but Marathon for a long time, and I did try a tank of Amoco which i'll continue for a few tanks to see if anything changes. I've never had any trouble with the gas at Marathon since it's located right next to the BMW dealer which means they always have fresh gas, but i'll give this a try to see if anything changes. While it would be against common sense, I just hope this issue goes and and never bothers me again(wishful! :) )

[junehhan]

Well, this is an old thread, but I figured i'd give an update. Ever since my visit to the dealership for this issue, i've switched and have been using either Shell or Amoco 100% of the time now, while previously Marathon was used 100% of the time. Ever since I switched brands of gas, i've never had a problem with the engine missing since then, so i'll continue to use Shell, or BP/Amoco from now on..............

[TripleTransAm]

Was it Marathon from just one station or pretty much any Marathon gas?

It's best to remember that gas stations are independently owned entities... while I'm in no position to insinuate any wrong-doing, I have personally noted wildly different (but consistent) behaviour between 2 different stations of exactly the same brand. One station gives me great MPG (and, in the past, fantastic ETs) and the other yields horrible mileage even on a Civic. You put 2 and 2 together...

[junehhan]

It was mostly just one Marathon, although I have used other Marathons before. The reason why I always filled up at this Marathon, is because they were convenient, but more importantly because they always have fresh gas. This Marathon has an exclusive contract with the local BMW and Mini dealers. The BMW dealer is just a block away, and the Mini dealer is further down the street. On any given day, there are loads of people from the dealership filling up these cars for test drives, or for prepping them for delivery.