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2002 econoline, 5.4L Triton V-8, new radiator now it has no power???
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RandyJ2007
New User
Dec 29, 2011, 8:02 PM
Post #1 of 2
(2355 views)
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2002 econoline, 5.4L Triton V-8, new radiator now it has no power???
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I've been working on cars & trucks all of my life. Mostly shade tree type stuff but almost never have hired anything done. I'll be 60 my next birthday and was raised in my dad's garage... but never spent a day in any type of auto repair school... all learned by experience and reading on my own. BUT, I've rarely ever worked on a Ford. So, here goes...
This is my son's work van. It seems to have been nothing but trouble since he got it. At first it was brakes... alternator, starter, battery. Then it was the transmission that had to be rebuilt. It has about 90,000 miles on it and supposedly has been serviced regularly. He has owned it for about 5 years. About 1 1/2 years ago the radiator top cracked then it ran hot. He couldn't afford to keep it running so parked it and ultimately quit the job. (Now he's living with me and working with me... we're plumbers/handymen.) The van sat up at his mom's for about a year when he finally put in a new radiator then let it sit there a few more months before we got it started and drove it to my house. It started right up but had so little power it hardly would pull out of it's tracks. I thought about old gas so put about 5 gal of new gas in it. On the way to my house the catalytic converter got red/orange HOT. It caught the mounting rubber on fire. We put it out with a fire extinguiser. Long story short.... still no power. Acts to me like clogged exhaust. I disconnected the cat. converter (no change, just louder exhaust). It shows no trouble codes when scanned. I'm so ignorant about these engines that I couldn't even find the spark plugs. It was my intention to check compression and look for cracked head or blown head gasket. Somebody please help me figure out what's going on? Fuel? Water/condensation in gas? WTF?
According to my son the van would run fine when he had to move it before putting on the new radiator. It has been setting up for several months since then before we went to pick it up... (no need to buy tag or insurance if not driving it...)... I got so frustrated with it today because there is just no room to get to anything and I still have not figure out how to get the caps(coils) off the spark plugs... and I don't know the names of all the new things they've got on late model vehicles. So, you might have to explain what some things are and what they do...
Links from Ford forum removed
(This post was edited by Hammer Time on Dec 29, 2011, 8:11 PM)
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Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Dec 29, 2011, 8:32 PM
Post #2 of 2
(2320 views)
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Re: 2002 econoline, 5.4L Triton V-8, new radiator now it has no power???
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Well obviously you have a severe misfire going on. The misfire is being caused by either the ignition system, fuel not being properly burned, or a mechanical problem in the engine itself. The reason I typed that is because your converter substrate was overheating. Wouldn't be surprised if the substrate has melted and it now causing a restriction in the exhaust system.
Like hitting the oxygen on a cutting torch the unburnt fuel from the misfiring cylinders is what overheats the converter.
If the fuel in the tank is bad, adding good gas doesn't make bad gas good. You just have good and bad gas mixed together. If the fuel was bad in the tank, the tank needs to be drained and cleaned. The fuel lines and rail need to be purged along with the replacement of the fuel filter.
Probably wouldn't be a bad idea to do a compression check of the engine. Disable the fuel pump and engine computer by pulling the fuses or relays for those items. Make sure the battery is fully charged and the starter is cranking the engine fast enough. Record your readings and post them in here.
Do your compression check first and then square away the fuel system. Once you know that stuff is good you can move onto checking the ignition system and exhaust.
Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.
(This post was edited by Discretesignals on Dec 29, 2011, 8:33 PM)
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