Gremlin in my 4.0?

Nhaz · Apr 14, 2009

Last Thursday at 4 pm in the afternoon. 1 hour before the long weekend. the truck decided that it was Obviously going to take the weekend off. and refused to start.

It would crank over but wouldn't fire. This was 10 minutes after I had shut it off running perfectly normally prior to that point.

So without tools I checked wires and plugs, all appeared normal. Yet the engine cranked over and refused to fire. Idiot lights appeared to function normally.

So I called the tow truck and had it hauled off to my mechanic. who didn't look at it. Due to the fact it was late in the day, and Hes very catholic and this Wasn't a weekend he was going to be working on anything. Being Easter and all.

Today 5 days later he calls and asks me why the truck is there, It appears over the long week end the truck fixed itself, and starts and runs just fine tyvm. I drove it around the block a few times to get it warmed up and started and stopped it at least a dozen times trying to get the truck to break again. its refusing.

so. with that long verbose story. anyone have a clue? I really don't need a mystery problem that's going to bite me in the ass at a later date. :annoyed:

rangerrager · Apr 15, 2009

every two months or so my truck will do the same thing .you will shut the truck off try to start it bak up and it will just crank not start.let it sit for a hour or so and it starts runs fine..only has this problem once every two monthss.
any ideas

sittenHIGHon35s · Apr 15, 2009

i am srry to say this but its a ford thing my dads truck does the same thing every few months

Earl43P · Apr 15, 2009

When it fails to start, LISTEN for the fuel pump.
At the very least, see if fuel sprays from the fuel rail schraeder valve.

BlackBII · Apr 15, 2009

Earl43P said:
When it fails to start, LISTEN for the fuel pump.
At the very least, see if fuel sprays from the fuel rail schraeder valve.

Yes, do that.

And if there is fuel, check for spark at the plugs.

Ranger#1 · Apr 15, 2009

bad fuell pump ima sorry im going through the same thing now 64$ from napa its the cheapest

fastpakr · Apr 15, 2009

Ranger#1 said:
bad fuell pump ima sorry im going through the same thing now 64$ from napa its the cheapest

You have absolutely ZERO confirmation that this is the OP's problem.

AllanD · Apr 15, 2009

Let me guess, the first few warm days of spring?

Vapor lock.

"winter mix" gasoline by federal law contains quite a bit of butane
(yeah the same stuff as in disposable lighters) which boils at -0.5degC

If you sit there and cycle the key a couple dozen times WITHOUT
actually cranking the engine you can "correct" the problem be
circulating enough cool fuel through the rail to cool it down enough
to fire the engine.

the tell is that the problem occours after runnig for a while then making a stop at say the post office, run inside stand on line run back ot and you get a crank/no start....

I am prepared, I have a premade "jumper" wire to "Hotwire" the
switched contacts of the relay which lets the pump run continuously.

Let the pump run for the length of a song on the radio then start the truck.

The permanant fix? go to a local U-pull-it junkyard and buy the lower intake
manifold off of a '95-up 4.0 and your local auto parts store an get a manifold
gasket set for a '95-up 4.0

The '95-up lower intake is designed to allow a 1/4" thick plastic isolator between the lower intake and the cast aluminum injector rail.

This was done for the 1995's to accomodate new federal fuel regulations that allowed the butane that is causing your problem.

AD

Nhaz · Apr 15, 2009

AllanD Thanks a ton for this info. you nailed the post office thing on the head btw I really was heading into the post office and standing in line => it was just starting to get warmer but early march was also warm then it got cold again.

I will have to look into the fuel thing due to the fact im in Canada not the states. so at this time I don't know if the same rules apply and from reading up on this board there are some Definite law differences between where you guys are and where I am. I am looking it up just as soon as I finish this post.

Oh and I was listening for the fuel pump. I could barely hear it over the traffic but im pretty sure i heard it.

this is a definite plus +1

Nhaz · Apr 15, 2009

man. trying to find a breakdown of wtf im burning for fuel here isn't easy.

http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache...e+in+Canadian+fuel?&cd=17&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca

down on page 6 is the only reference I can find to butane in Canadian fuels. It the page is dealing with the environmental effects and whatnot but it does say " most common uses" and lists butane as a fuel additive.

So anyways. If the trucks only going to do this once a year or so. im going to ignore it and carry a jumper cable. unless I have the intake off for another reason its not really economical.

Far too many other problems that Actually need fixing I need to get ontop of. Mostly due to the previous owner not staying ontop of maintenance.

Like why the damn computer won't turn the IAC on. It works.. ive tested it off the truck. The computer doesn't send the voltage to it as far as I can tell.

AllanD · Apr 16, 2009

You don't need a "jumper cable"

what you need is a 2" piece of 14ga wire with a 1/4" male slip terminal
on each end of it.

I keep mine actually inside the load center under the hood of my truck.
It's USUALLY jumpering the A/C-WOT cutout relay.

I have ONE annoying electrical bug in my 4.0 conversion
IF the WOT cutout relay trips for any reason
(cranking the engine with the AC switch "on")
the relay will NEVER drop back to normal operation
until it's literally pulled from the socket.

Butane is added to fuel in winter months because of it's high boiling point and the fact that "Catalytic cracking" of heavier hydrocarbons to increase the yield of Gasoline, Jet fuel and Diesel
produces a surplus of Propane and Butane.

Propane is more useful and so they literally look to putting the surplus in gasoline as a way to dispose of the excess.

Just after hurricane Katrina one of the first responses to the disaster was allowing the petroleum companies to switch to "winter mix" 45 days earlier than normal to increase the available supply of gasoline.

The stuff really does aid vaporization in the cold months, but on a hot engine... I plan on swapping out my lower intake before my next trip to wyoming.

I've already got a cleaned up '95-up lower ready for installation.

I just need a saturday with nice weather and some ambition to swap it over.

AD

Ranger#1 · Jun 23, 2009

ima gonna jack me a thread here and say here in havasu where in the summer like now it can reach 122 for weeks at a time and go up to 132 witch is the record on file right now its 112 outside and if i wait at a stoplight long enough my truck will vapor lock leaving me stranded for a bit not fun could i just get longer studs on the lower mani and still use that plastic heat isolator gasket

AllanD · Jun 23, 2009

Ranger#1 said:
ima gonna jack me a thread here and say here in havasu where in the summer like now it can reach 122 for weeks at a time and go up to 132 witch is the record on file right now its 112 outside and if i wait at a stoplight long enough my truck will vapor lock leaving me stranded for a bit not fun could i just get longer studs on the lower mani and still use that plastic heat isolator gasket

No, because the injectors will fall out of the fuel rail.

I really haven't had time to look REAL close and see what
exactly is different but I suspect that the fuel rail is the same and the injector bores in the lower just aren't drilled as deep....

But the 5/16" clearnace created by that spacer must be "absorbed" somewhere.

AD

Ranger#1 · Jun 24, 2009

maby the lower mani is just decked a 1/4 inch how much was what you all neded and it was lower mani and fuellrail thats it right

Gremlin in my 4.0?

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