Author Topic: Ford peculiarities and hypothesis... am I right? (Read 1514 times)

BattleRifleG3 · « **on:** February 01, 2004, 06:23:42 PM »

I have a Bronco II 4x4 that has many more miles behind it than ahead of it. A main current problem is engine tapping. It has plenty of power starting out or at lower speeds, but when it's on the highway and gets up to speed, it loses acceleration, sometimes slowing down 5 or 10mph even on cruise control. Engine is a meager 2.9L V6, with a 5spd tranny. It can get a little hot too sometimes.

Well it's too late for my Bronco II, I'll just have to go easy on it and not take any day for granted. But I'm thinking about how to prevent this from happening again. Those who have experience with trucks tend to say that Chevies will run forever but their bodies will rust away. Fords, on the other hand, have much stronger bodies, but the internals won't last as long.

Well I have a crazy theory about why, and how to fix it. From personal experience and reading factory specs, Ford has their maximum torque at lower engine speeds. This explains why they're better at heavy duty work but not as good at just plain lasting. Their engines are running faster than they should on the highway.

So here's my idea: When buying a Ford, get the bigger engine option. Then make some accomodation for larger wheels, which will decrease the engine speed for a given road speed. You would lose acceleration over what you'd normally have with the larger engine, but hopefully have what you would with the normal engine. Based on observation, loss in fuel efficiency doesn't seem to be proportional to increase in engine power, since a more powerful engine goes to less effort.

Basically I'm talking about converting towing capacity into using a lower engine speed for highway travel. This would presumably decrease high speed engine wear and hopefully improve fuel efficiency just a tad.

So am I onto something here? Or am I just a dum engineering student who knows a few things about physics and ignores the rest of it that normal people know by experience, not equations?

BattleRifleG3 · « **Reply #1 on:** February 02, 2004, 04:54:30 PM »

EGR valve = ?

I was thinking the larger tires would be an simpler way to change the gear ratio than replacing the rear end. Towing for me would generally be secondary to rough terrain and interior cargo carrying. A 1/2 ton would probably do whatever I needed, but the 3/4 ton costs a little less and combines options I'd want (crew cab + long bed). So I'd have a bit of a margin to play with.

lakota · « **Reply #2 on:** February 03, 2004, 04:37:04 PM »

I would say EGR Valve too. I had a 1994 4 cyl Ranger with a similar driveabilty problem. I wound up replacing the valve itself as well as the vacuum control sensor. I got a little over 200K out of that 4 Cyl.

IMHO if you want a motor to last change the oil, use a good quality oil and filter, and keep an eye on the oil level between changes.

Shorty · « **Reply #3 on:** February 08, 2004, 12:00:11 PM »

It was your "gets a little hot, too, sometimes" that struck me as headgasket leak. That would cause a power drain, and back-pressure on your coolant flow. :cry:

OTTOMATIC · « **Reply #4 on:** February 09, 2004, 04:51:05 AM »

Get rid of catalytic converter. If it still has one......................OTTO

BattleRifleG3 · « **Reply #5 on:** February 09, 2004, 05:26:54 AM »

So a headgasket leak would result in high temps, increases coolant pressure, and may explain why my coolant keeps needing to be replaced?

338 · « **Reply #6 on:** February 10, 2004, 06:54:54 AM »

Sure does sound like your head gasket. I just rebuilt a 95 Dodge neon that had the same symptoms you are describing, and it had a blown head gasket. Bought the car for $200.00, and put $1300.00 in parts into it. Mechanically it is a new car. It is now insured as my daily driver, even though I have a 2004 Chevy 2500HD Ext. cab Duramax/Allison. I can have both vehicles insured for what would be the cost of my insurance on just the truck alone, as a daily driver. By the way, my drive to work is 1hr each way.

If your lucky, the cylinder head won't be warped from overheating(Just put on a new gasket). I wouldn't keep driving it until you figure out whats wrong with it for sure. Overheating does terrible things to an engine.

BattleRifleG3 · « **Reply #7 on:** February 10, 2004, 09:40:56 AM »

I have periodically checked the dipstick and no cottage cheese there. When changing my oil, it seemed like normal used oil. I'm not exactly sure what too look for as "cottage cheese", but there is occasionally some light colored crud on the oil cap.

As far as overheating goes, I've always been able to keep it under the halfway mark.

What would a head gasket repair generally cost?

338 · « **Reply #8 on:** February 11, 2004, 12:29:33 AM »

Do you regularly have to add coolant? If not, it still may be your EGR valve. If there is collant in your oil, it will be cream colored, possibly cream colored swirles.

I don't know about cost to repair your vehicle. C130E's cost seem pretty accurate if your NOT doing the repairs yourself. I would think you could do it a tad bit cheaper youself. But I don't reccomend it if you don't have the proper tools. That price that I gave for the car I rebuilt inclded, new headgasket(my head wasn't warped, so no machining costs), hoses,belts, coolant, oil, brakes, rotors, calipers, tires, and 4 wheel alignment. I did everything myself except the tires and alignment, so it saved me alot of extra costs.

BattleRifleG3 · « **Reply #9 on:** February 11, 2004, 07:57:57 PM »

I do regularly have to add coolant. I do have some light colored deposits on the oil cap, but when changing the oil and checking the dipstick, the oil seems normal.

338 · « **Reply #10 on:** February 12, 2004, 01:38:55 AM »

Its definitly your head gasket if your replacing that much coolant regularly.
You may NOT notice it in your oil because it is getting burned off in your exhaust port in your cylinder head. What this means is that the gasket is bad between a coolant port and an exhaust port, NOT the intake port and coolant port. If you watch your exhaust once the vehicle is up to temperature you'll probally notice it doesn't look right when you take off from a stop due to the coolant its burning in the exhaust. This definitly explains you higher than normal operating temps. Your coolant is flowing out through your exhast port instead of back through your engine to cool the block. If you let this problem persist you will eventually cook the motor. Plus spend a fortune in coolant.
I hope I was of some help to you.

Later, John (338)

bgjohn · « **Reply #11 on:** February 12, 2004, 01:46:49 AM »

Take it to FORD. Let them diagnose the problem.
JM

BattleRifleG3 · « **Reply #12 on:** February 12, 2004, 01:50:29 PM »

Then I'm up against the dilemma of preserving an old car vs getting another, if indeed the repair will approach a grand.

Nightrain52 · « **Reply #13 on:** February 23, 2004, 09:46:28 AM »

Not really recomended but get a good can of radiator stopleak and see if this stops your coolant loss. This is just a temporary fix and may buy you some more time. I would also check the catylitic converter as it can cause the same problems, overheating, loss of power, loss of coolant from getting too hot.