My new to me sport trac

[cadman777]

STFT's look decent.
But LTFT's are really high.
Did you ever fix a vacuum leak recently?
If so, can you reset the FT's on your Innova?

Also, how old are your fuel injectors?
Have you ever cleaned them?
What about fuel additive, have you ever used it?
It removes carbon in the cylinders and on the valve stems, so it's important to do that once a year.
I use BG44K and Jectron.
Techron used to be good, but now it sucks, since the EPG got involved a number of years ago.
Incidentally, contrary to sales hype and other misconceptions, fuel additive doesn't clean injectors.
In fact, if it breaks loose junk in the fuel system, that'll clog injectors (the small screens inside).
And induction cleaning isn't that effective either, esp. if you have PCV oil saturation issues, as many vehicles do today.
So if your fuel injectors are not delivering enough fuel, then it'll screw with your computer and you'll get strange readings that seem like vacuum leaks.
Or, if your fuel pressure on the rail is low, you get the same sort of low delivery issues (weak fuel pump, clogged fuel filter, bad fuel regulator, etc.).
Another possible leak point could be the IAC valve.
And if the throttle body isn't working right, then it'll throw off the computer too.
If it's dirty, then that'll give you fits as well, but usually related to idle.

 

[mcarroll02]

All vacuum leaks were repaired. I replaced the intake gaskets, valve cover gaskets, pcv valve and elbow, dpfe sensor and hoses, as well as whatever the big vacuum line tha comes off the intake and connects to something under the battery, i believe that goes back to the charcoal canister. All that was replaced about 2 years ago. Yes i can reset and clear any codes with my scan tool. I already did that the last time it acted up. As far as i know injectors are factory. I have a can of seafoam in the tank atm. Usually run it or lucas fuel injector cleaner about once or twice a year. I dont have a fuel pressure gauge to check that atm, but i replaced pump and filter, which was also the next to last oil change so maybe about 8k ago believe it was last year. Throttle body is clean, usually remove and clean it once or twice per year. I only put about 50-60 miles per week on the truck...benefit of only living 2.5 miles from work.

 

[cadman777]

All vacuum leaks were repaired. I replaced the intake gaskets, valve cover gaskets, pcv valve and elbow, dpfe sensor and hoses, as well as whatever the big vacuum line tha comes off the intake and connects to something under the battery, i believe that goes back to the charcoal canister. All that was replaced about 2 years ago. Yes i can reset and clear any codes with my scan tool. I already did that the last time it acted up. As far as i know injectors are factory. I have a can of seafoam in the tank atm. Usually run it or lucas fuel injector cleaner about once or twice a year. I dont have a fuel pressure gauge to check that atm, but i replaced pump and filter, which was also the next to last oil change so maybe about 8k ago believe it was last year. Throttle body is clean, usually remove and clean it once or twice per year. I only put about 50-60 miles per week on the truck...benefit of only living 2.5 miles from work.

OK, wow! you did a lotta work on it...all good.
I would still get the fuel pressure gauge and test the pressure at the rail.
If you have high LTFT it means your PCM is adding fuel b/c it's sensing lean mixture.
So the question is, what is causing the PCM to 'see' lean?
If you smoke test the intake system, you will know if there are any leaks or if none.
Assuming no VISIBLE vacuum leaks, then you have to look for HIDDEN vacuum leaks or air induction.
One possible source of hidden vacuum leak is EVAP system (if you can disconnect the EVAP and see if the LTFT drops, that may work to eliminate the EVAP).
Another source is the EGR valve (forget if it has one??).
Another source of hidden vacuum leak is the fuel pressure regulator, if it has a vacuum line connected to it.
Usually you can see 'wetness' in that vacuum hose if it's leaking, b/c it pulls gas into it from the fuel rail through the FPR.
I forget if your truck has that kind of FPR.
A source of air induction is an Aux Air Injection system.
Don't know if yours has one.
Mine doesn't.
I just fixed a VW Jetta that had that problem (amongst others).
Any SYSTEM that's connected to the intake plenum for vacuum is a potential Hidden source of vacuum leak.
If no Visible or Hidden vacuum leaks, then you may have fuel starvation.
One source of that would be low fuel pressure.
That could be caused by the fuel pump (probably not due to being just replaced).
Other sources could be:
- a clogged fuel filter (assume it too was recently replaced).
- a clogged fuel supply or return line (never saw that on any vehicle yet, even very rusted lines, but it's possible).
- a bad fuel pressure regulator.
- partially or totally clogged injectors.
For injectors, the way I test them is to connect the fuel pressure gauge, and then use the scanner to dump the fuel on one injector at a time and watch the gauge and record the pressure drop. They should all be w/in a couple psi of of highest to lowest. If you see a really bad one, you'll know it's one of the culprits. Thing about that is, you can't do it more than once or you can cause ENGINE 'HYDRO' LOCK-UP which you don't want! So I usually do a couple, then start the engine. Then do the KOEO and do a couple more, then start and stop, till they're all done.
Another test you can do that's easy is use a scanner and with KOER, shut off one injector at a time to see if it makes the RPM drop substantially. If not, then you know it's a bad injector, or cylinder problem of some sort.
You can also do a quick test for spark at the distributor by disconnecting one at a time to see if the RPM drops. But when you do that, you MUST use a fat ground wire to catch the spark from the distributor and direct it to 'ground' so the distributor doesn't get 'tracked up' inside or so you don't get coil damage from feedback.
Or, if your scanner can turn off spark to one cylinder at a time (don't recall if that's possible on this YMM), then you can do it that way which is much easier.
But if I'm thinking about this correctly, then you have an issue with TOO MUCH AIR that's sending wrong signals to the PCM, so it's compensating and reporting back what it's seeing. You just have to find out were the source is, whether TOO MUCH AIR or TOO LITTLE FUEL.
It also can be something else, mechanical or otherwise, which is why I usually do a cylinder pressure test and leak-down after doing a smoke test and a few other easy tests.
I also test for vacuum to make sure it's within proper limits, b/c it's easy to hook up a vacuum gauge and look at it.
There are many ways to go about this.
That's my 'old school' method, so it may not be the best.
But maybe something I say will 'trigger' something for you to see what you need to do to find the cause of the problem
Hope that helps.

 

[mcarroll02]

I will be picking up a fuel pressure test rig at the harbor freight this week. Don't have a way to do a smoke test. I have a spark tester, just been to busy working on my cabin to mess with it. Plus it has rained constantly. Fuel filter replaced at next to last oil change so about 8000 miles ago. The 4.0 sohc engine doesnt have a pressure regulator. Pressure is controled by the ecm and fuel pump. It does have a pulse dampner. Im using a $300 innova scan tool, i dont think it has injector dump. Cant turn off spark to 1 cylinder. Has 1- 6 tower coil pack. And only 4 wires so it must fire 2 cylinders at a time. Same as the old 2 tower coil packs on the old i4 and v6 gm cars. Im gonna check fuel pressure and apark and if it aint one of those its going to the shop. I wish i hadnt let that mountaineer slip through my fingers a former coworker had. I would have straight up swapped the 5.0, trans, computer amd wiring harness over. Actually if i was gonna drop a 5.0 in it i would buy an early 90s 150 with the 5.0 and 5spd and throw on a set of gt40 heads, frpp b303 cam, edelbrock performer intake with an edelbrock 650 4bbl on it and do away with the computer crap.

 

[mcarroll02]

I know a guy that carbed his 5.8 in his f250 like mine, and his fuel economy went from around 11 to around 18. Fairly easy to do. And if ya dont wanna wire up an ignition box, then just replace the dizzy with an hei unit with integral coil

 

[cadman777]

I will be picking up a fuel pressure test rig at the harbor freight this week. Don't have a way to do a smoke test. I have a spark tester, just been to busy working on my cabin to mess with it. Plus it has rained constantly. Fuel filter replaced at next to last oil change so about 8000 miles ago. The 4.0 sohc engine doesnt have a pressure regulator. Pressure is controled by the ecm and fuel pump. It does have a pulse dampner. Im using a $300 innova scan tool, i dont think it has injector dump. Cant turn off spark to 1 cylinder. Has 1- 6 tower coil pack. And only 4 wires so it must fire 2 cylinders at a time. Same as the old 2 tower coil packs on the old i4 and v6 gm cars. Im gonna check fuel pressure and apark and if it aint one of those its going to the shop. I wish i hadnt let that mountaineer slip through my fingers a former coworker had. I would have straight up swapped the 5.0, trans, computer amd wiring harness over. Actually if i was gonna drop a 5.0 in it i would buy an early 90s 150 with the 5.0 and 5spd and through a set of gt40 heads, frpp b303 cam, edelbrock performer intake with an edelbrock 650 4bbl on it and do away with the computer crap.

OK, good you're gonna get a fuel pressure tester.
Can't go wrong with one b/c you'll always use it diagnosing.

You can make your own smoke tester for around 50 bux.
Let me find a YT video of how you can do it.
I made mine out of a paint can, but it may be better to use PVC fittings for the body.
Haven't done it yet, but will soon enough.
You have to regulate the pressure to very low in order to use it (around 1-2psi).

Anyway, I hear ya...too many irons in the fire.

My neighbor has a Ford F150 from the early 90's with about 90k miles on it.
The body and frame are rusted out and he's gonna sell it.
It has dual tanks too.
Very nice truck if it wasn't so rusty!

OK, good to know about the components.
The coil is 'waste spark', meaning it feeds + into 3 wires and - into 3 wires.
You can check for spark using a heavy ground cable very easily.
Today I did that with a 2011 Nissan Altima.
It was running like crap, so I first tested for spark.
It's got COP coils.
So I let it idle and then pulled off the coil feed wire one at a time.
I found one cylinder that didn't make any RPM difference.
So then I swapped coils with the nearest cylinder.
Then did the same test, and found the dead cylinder changed to where I swapped the coils.
So, in 10 minutes of testing I found a bad coil.
You can do that with a fat ground wire and pulling wires off the distributor.
You just have to 'sneak' the ground wire onto the distributor connection at the same time you remove the wire so you don't 'cook' anything.
If you loosen all the wires on the dist. tower, then they're easy to remove, one at a time.
Can't take you more than 10 minutes to do it.
Find the dead cylinder and swap wires.
If it moves with the wires, then you know the one wire is bad.
If not, then you may have a bad plug (or distributor).
I've seen a lot of bad plugs, but they still work somewhat.
The insulator separates so the electrode is not making contact with the wire.
Never saw that with older engines from the 50's to 80's.
Anyway, SPARK & FUEL.

You can use your scanner to turn off each injector, one at a time.
Same test as spark plugs, only you're testing for gas in the cylinders.
Only takes a few minutes to do.

Let me know how it goes!

 

[cadman777]

I will be picking up a fuel pressure test rig at the harbor freight this week. Don't have a way to do a smoke test. I have a spark tester, just been to busy working on my cabin to mess with it. Plus it has rained constantly. Fuel filter replaced at next to last oil change so about 8000 miles ago. The 4.0 sohc engine doesnt have a pressure regulator. Pressure is controled by the ecm and fuel pump. It does have a pulse dampner. Im using a $300 innova scan tool, i dont think it has injector dump. Cant turn off spark to 1 cylinder. Has 1- 6 tower coil pack. And only 4 wires so it must fire 2 cylinders at a time. Same as the old 2 tower coil packs on the old i4 and v6 gm cars. Im gonna check fuel pressure and apark and if it aint one of those its going to the shop. I wish i hadnt let that mountaineer slip through my fingers a former coworker had. I would have straight up swapped the 5.0, trans, computer amd wiring harness over. Actually if i was gonna drop a 5.0 in it i would buy an early 90s 150 with the 5.0 and 5spd and through a set of gt40 heads, frpp b303 cam, edelbrock performer intake with an edelbrock 650 4bbl on it and do away with the computer crap.

OK, good. You can make your own smoke tester for around 50 bux.
Here's a YT video of how you can do it.
I made my out of an old paint can, but it may be better to use PVC fittings.
I can't live without my smoke tester.

 

[mcarroll02]

I already know how to find a dead coil in a c.o.p engine. I had a 97 f150 with the 5.4 triton and that's how i would find the bad coil. Anyways, i have an inline spark tester now. Going to hft in the am and get a fuel pressure tester. May swing by the parts store and grab a fuel filter as a just in case. Ill test fuel and spark tomorow weather permitting. If fuel and spark test good ill replace filter. If that dont fix it ill put new injectors. If that dont fix it going to the shop. Or it may get a new engine. Ill cross that bridge when i get there. Atleast if i go with a new engine i wouldnt have to fart around with replacing the timing cassettes.

 

[cadman777]

I already know how to find a dead coil in a c.o.p engine. I had a 97 f150 with the 5.4 triton and that's how i would find the bad coil. Anyways, i have an inline spark tester now. Going to hft in the am and get a fuel pressure tester. May swing by the parts store and grab a fuel filter as a just in case. Ill test fuel and spark tomorow weather permitting. If fuel and spark test good ill replace filter. If that dont fix it ill put new injectors. If that dont fix it going to the shop. Or it may get a new engine. Ill cross that bridge when i get there. Atleast if i go with a new engine i wouldnt have to fart around with replacing the timing cassettes.

Right, COPs are easy to diagnose compared to what you have.
But I like the 'pull it and ground it' method best, b/c it's easy and quick compared to using an inline spark tester.
But let me know how it works for you.

 

[mcarroll02]

I think i may have bought a bad fuel pressure tester. Needle doesnt move. Even with engine running fine. Unless the ford adapter isnt pushing in far enough on Schrader valve. Or the valve core may not be long enough. Kit came with some valve cores, but said nothing about having to use them...i dunno. Frankly im at the point im ready to just give up.

 

[mcarroll02]

Ok i pulled valve core crom schrader valve. Installed the ford adapter, then the pressure guage. Still nothing. Bu i know that has to be wrong as i hear the pump running, and it cranks and runs fine.

 

[mcarroll02]

Not the pressure tester. Carried it in barn and hooked to air compressor set at 40 psi and thats what the gauge shows. Hooked back up with just hose no gauge and nothing. Something screwy goin on. I know some fuel is getting into hose, when i unhook it a tiny bit of fuel comes out.

 

[mcarroll02]

Going to try the fuel filter first. Makes no sense, even with the fuel test port uncapped with no core in it all i got was just a tiny tiny little bit of fuel that barely even dribbled out. Maybe a shot glass worth at most. I dont understand if thats all the fuel its getting how the heck is it idling let alone running up to the 3k limiter in park. Running quite rough though. Had to put it in 4low to climb up the ramps so i can get my big butt under there....

 

[mcarroll02]

Replaced fuel filter. Running much smoother now. Idles fairly smooth for a v6. Think im gonna check fuel pressure now.

 

[mcarroll02]

Well out of curiosity i did hook fuel pressure tester up...i got fuel spraying while connecting. But something isnt working right down in that adapter thing. Cause its running great and not showing any pressure at all. I think ill take it back this weekend and get a different one.

 

[mcarroll02]

Current live data. Ect 167°F idle

 

[mcarroll02]

I blew the the old filter out reverse, man all the black crap that came out. Cleared all dtc and waiting to see if anymore come up. If not i may try and drive it to work the rest of the week and see how it goes.

 

[cadman777]

Excellent progress!
Good job!
'Getting ready to quit' always happens on these tough ones...I feel ya!
Thanks for the update.