Blinking CEL

[Max Trax]

Hi guys,



I hope you guys can help me figure this out. In the afternoon, I started up my truck for the first time today, and drove to my destination. After about a mile, I realized that it's idling rough and noticeably louder at the front end. I became even more concerned when I saw that the check engine light was blinking which I almost never see. At the same time, my throttle response was poor, it needed more pedal just to move 40 mph. So I pull over and check my oil-it looked like there's enough, and coolant looked good. My temp gauges also looked ok, and my oil pressure looked ok. But my truck was not OK. After driving back a mile to my home, I noticed some burning smell at the engine bay, but good thing my engine temp stayed within normal range. I saw a little white smoke come out of the rear of the engine. After letting it cool, I decided to drive it to a repair shop ( a mile away), they found out that the error is P0300, a random misfire. At the same time, I found some oil leaking from the engine to the floor, so do I have a serious problem on my hands? My question for the gearheads out there is, what could be causing the misfire, oil leak and smoke to occur at the same time? And will this repair be expensive? What do you guys think should the repair be? Thanks so much. I hope you guys can help me save money.



Some notes:

A 130K job2 2001, with everything stock except for open cone air intake.

A week ago, i had an oil change used a frame filter HM2 with castrol edge synthetic

It had it's tune up done at 100k, about 2 years ago.

However, the timing chain service has never been done, nor had its intake gasket replaced.

Finally, i've changed the PVC elbow at about 100K.

 

[Ed C]

Where's the oil leaking from? I'm no expert but, if the oil and coolant look good (No discoloration), it might be a loose PCV hose or leaky PCV valve. The white smoke might be oil splattering on the hot exhaust.

 

[swshawaii]

You're probably aware of the FAQ code listing.

Did you check the EGR valve? GL

 

[doug brandin]

My '01 did this several years ago; Friday evening; everything (dealer) closed for the weekend; I nursed it home, disconnected the battery for about an hour, started it up and followed the manual's procedure to reprogram, VIOLA ! everything worked like it should. (I think it's known as the Sport Trac gremlin)

 

[Ed C]

I agree with the EGR...it's the oil leak and smoke that made me think of the PCV valve. Could be 2 non related problems...Bad EGR and oil leak you just noticed.

 

[DaninVa]

Blinking CEL means to stop immediately. Ususally means what you discovered; cylinder misfire. That is pumping raw, unburned fuel through the exhaust. That can fry your very expensive Cat system. :cry: Make sure you have addressed the misfire problem before you continue to drive.

 

[Max Trax]

The compression test turned out negative, he found it was OK. He said the EGR was OK. Well the biggest concern is that there is a clunking noise in the engine itself. The mechanic will check the timing chain and make sure nothing needs servicing. As for the oil leak, he will replace the oil pan gasket. He recommended a general tune up which would replace spark plugs, wires, etc but that doesn't address the clunking noise. I should know more by today, after he checks the timing chain. Does anyone know how much it is to get a timing chain service kit? The million dollar question is if all the symptoms are related or just coincidental? Thanks for all the helpful suggestions.

 

[Eric Brandon]

After u get truck fixed. Dont ever use a fram oil filter again. A friend of mine had an engine issue due to the carboard stuff collapsing. Dont know the whole story behind it though

 

[scott degroot]

As others have stated the blinking cel is a catalyst damaging misfire. The clunking noise and misifre happening at the same time is the concern here. Could be a few things and a timing chain wouldn't be an unreasonable assumption but should also be VERY easy to diagnose. Whatever it turns out to be do not get any of the leaks fixed until you are 100% sure on the casue of the misfire and clunk. If it is a timing chain issue be prepared to dig deep into the piggy bank to fix it, your mechanic also needs to be aware that he needs the special tools to set up the timing chains, 3 of them, on this engine...there is no way around it. When I do timing chains on these engine I pull the engine, it makes things alot easier when it comes to doing the chain on the rear of the engine.

 

[Max Trax]

update:



The trucks rear engine's timing chain tensioner will be replaced, but without removing the engine. Has anyone attempted to remove the rear tensioner this way? I'd like some thoughts on the matter. Thanks.

 

[scott degroot]

The rear tensioner is easy to replace, takes about 15 minutes. A faulty timing chain tensioner usually causes a rattle type noise and not a clunk. Has the sourse of the misfire been found yet? If the vehicle started misfiring all of a sudden then chances are that a "general tune up" is not going to solve your issue.

 

[Max Trax]

L1tech,



The noise sounds more like a rattle like marbles in a jar being shaken than a clunking. As I understand it, this can ruin an engine, which can set off all sorts of check engine codes. I am guessing that's the source of the misfiring. Once, we've corrected the rattle by replacing rear timing chain tensioner and replaced the valve cover gasket along with the tune up, we're guessing that should fix the problems. As for the oil leak, I will put that off and see if the above repairs are sufficient.

 

[scott degroot]

Typically if the tensioner is bad it casues the chain to rattle which sounds like what you are experiencing however I don't think that I have ever seen a loose chain on one of these engines cause a misfire unless it has jumped time and it worries me that yours started to rattle "all of a sudden". Also if it were me I would like to know the exact casue of the misfire before I spent money on a "tune up" that realistically may not solve the misfire issue it developed "all of a sudden". I realize that the tune up may be needed as a maintenance standpoint but I don't feel comfortable having it done while trying to solve a misfire unless it has been proven that the misfire is a direct result of a faulty plug or wire....just trying to help, I have seen to many of my customers taken for rides in this type of scenario by shops that they used to go to.

 

[Max Trax]

update:

You won't believe this, but the engine will come out to repair the timing chain problem. So we will take a look at what components will need to be replaced, for the front and the rear. Does anyone know the part no for the Ford timing chain service kit and how much they go for both left and right. Also, do you know if replacing the head gaskets at the same time would be a time saver, if the engine is out of the truck and timing chain are being replaced? Thanks.

 

[scott degroot]

If you are going to replace any of the timing chain components you replace them all, there is no other proper way to do it. As far as the heads go, if you are going to pull them off send them to the machine shoped to be pressure checked and make sure every gasket and seal that is on the engine gets repalced while it's out, it will cost you more now but will save you $$ down the road.



I picked up a used ST about 6 months ago that had blown head gaskets and by the time I had the heads resurfaced, all the timing chain components replaced and the rest of the gaskets and seals, oil pump, plugs and wires, fluids...etc I think I was into it for about $1000 in parts my cost not including the labor. You can find complete timing kits on Ebay for around $100 but on my engines I only use OEM parts



I can't stress enough to make sure that your mechanic has the tools to set up the timing chains on these engines. I have seen mechanics try to just mark everything before they take it apart but being that none of the cam gears are keyed it is impossible to do it this way. The tool set that is needed can be had at various places on the net for about $275