My good old Ford F150 has been a bit ill lately. I’ve had a persistent but not constant misfire in the #4 cylinder that’s been giving me fits for the last couple months.
Spark plugs and wires have been changed in the recent past, and a local shop even replaced a computer they said was faulty, along with an ignition coil. That seemed to fix the problem for about a week, and then the misfire came back.
So today was truck fix’n day.
Some guys on a Ford F150 forum suggested that I check the heater hoses that carry hot coolant out of the heater core. If those hoses had a leak, it could drip right down onto the #4 spark plug and cause a short in the plug well.
So today I checked that. No drips from the hoses, and considering the temperature outside, the hoses weren’t even perspiring; I wish I could say the same for myself.
As a last ditch effort, I pulled the #4 spark plug out and replaced it with a spare I had sitting on the shelf. Voila that seemed to fix it.
A good test drive down the highway revealed no evidence of a misfire, so I’m slightly relieved. If I can go several days without a problem, I’ll just assume it was a bad plug.
Money Saved?
I vowed that if I couldn’t find the problem today, I’d make an appointment at Ford for a quality diagnosis. I’ve taken the truck to my local mechanic, and while I thought he fixed the problem, it showed back up less than a week later. That was after he spent nearly $700 in parts (the computer, plugs, wires, etc) to fix the problem.
The local Ford dealer will charge me at least $75 for a diagnosis (refundable if I have them do the work to fix the problem) and while I have a high level of confidence they’d find the problem and fix it, it will surely cost me a fortune!
So the fix really cost me about $8 for the spare spark plug I already had, and a half days worth of my time.
Not bad for being a tightwad, do-it-yourselfer…
Perhaps if my current career hits the skids, I could go on to be a mechanic… but only if truck driving school doesn’t work out!
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Frugal Living, General
auto repair, Ford F150, saving money