So I drove to Dallas yesterday and put a quarter tank of gas in when I got there...drove around for about an hour or so looking for a spot...hell was probably more than that, and when I finally found a spot and started to parallel park, the damn thing started idling really rough and sputtering (smelled gas) and when I parked it, it just sat there idling rough. I gave it gas to see if it would smooth out and it would after a certain point.

I got back in to start it up and had to keep constant pressure on the gas pedal for it to start and when it did it was rough. Drove it outta there to try and get it home, and it was having problems accelerating past 45-50 - would bog down and start popping out the tailpipe. White smoke coming out... decided to see if I put some STP and $30 worth of premium gas would it clear up and nah.... did manage to get it home w/o being towed. I noticed that it would sometimes smooth out to 65-70 then if I let off the gas and reapplied the pedal to speed back up it would bog down again.

I parked it at the house and let it idle, white smoke and a strong smell of gas is present. Pissing me off! Gonna go get the code read at Autozone. Will update. Hope it's just bad gas (water in there or something)

With the timing of the problems, I would say most likely it is just bad gas. Probably a lot of water in it...

So here are the codes I got:
P0172
P0302
P0196
P0300
P0303

Basically cyls 2&3 are missing, o2 sensor is reading fuel mixture hella rich (duh explains the strong smell of gas) and with the white smoke, it's damn near a certainty I'm burning water in the effing fuel. I'm pissed.

What's worse is if this gas kicker crap I put in the tank don't help me out, I'll have to syphon the gas and replace my plugs. Turns out the plugs on these things run $12 EACH for Autolites. Not a happy camper. Screw you 7-11.

So I decided to replace the o2 sensor before the cat on passenger side since that is where all the codes point to. Fired her up still ran like poo. Turned her off cause I forgot to clear the code, cleared code, then turned her back on...code's gone and seems to stay gone but still running rich with white smoke out the pipe.

Grrr, $100 in the job and still aint fixed, let's see how much more money I gotta throw into this....

Sounds like you either got there right after the tanker left or at the bottom of the tank.

if it is a 5.4 the early 3 valve 5.4s had a problem with injectors leaking and while running will cause an excessive rich condition they also have extended coverage for this problem you very well could have an injector leaking.

yeah I heard about that injector issue... had a problem with it before (or so I thought) hadn't done it in a while.... guess it caught up to me. That might be the situation here. Guess that's the reason why the codes are only on the passenger side...must be where the bad injectors are?

I bet this is what it is... looks like I can get Ford to cover the cost too?

I can see this part of the forums is pretty dead lol

Anyway, so I called up the nearest dealership and it looks like the truck hasn't had the injectors nor the brake booster hose TSBs handled yet. Hope the injectors are the issue or I get hit with a $90 diagnostic fee. It would be a $100 tow (not driving it anymore) too but my roadside coverage will cover that so hey the sun shines on a dog's a$$ sometimes after all haha

let us know how it turns out. hope that's what it is and you get it fixed.

So, got a call from the Service Mgr at the local dealership and yep, there are several bad injectors. They're still running a full diagnostic to see if anything else is up, but definitely has bad injectors and Ford will cover that and the tow charge. Woohoo. Will keep y'all updated...

that's great news.

free new injectors...? That's a sweet deal no matter how you slice it.

Ryan

cool beans

Ok so now they're going to drive it for 75 miles to get it passing the emissions testing for my inspection (it's overdue) - should be ready by Thurs *crosses fingers*

I got my truck this morning and she's driving as good as new. Still smell a little gas in the cab, but I kinda like it lol

Gonna drive it home for lunch (13 miles one way) and then get it inspected...hopefully it'll pass.

Ford's picking up the tab on everything including the tow. Even got an oil change out of it (necessary anyway)

wooo wooooooo!
Free injectors and a free oil change!

Glad it all worked out for the best for ya.

So Charles....did she pass? BTW, smokin hot deal, I would never be lucky enough for a dealership to cover all those charges.

Dallas=emissions=B.S.!
I hate emissions testing!

I haven't gone yet...been stuck at work, and have class tonight. Had to haul butt home to pick up the laptop that I forgot this morning. Checked with a garage to see if they could squeeze me in for an inspection and it would've taken too long. Hope ol' Smokey wont cut me down while I try and find the time to get this crap done with the inspection.

My 78 costs $14 for an inspection (safety only). My 05 costs $40 and some change...what a ripoff!!!!