Originally posted by dbbubba:
No, it definitely didn't overheat.
The hose broke just as I pulled into a parking lot.
The hose had 165K on it!
I know what a leaking head gasket is like and this isn't like that (I've seen it happen to three cars before.)
Besides, there would probebly be water in the oil (which there isn't) and the engine would overheat.
It is the same regardless how long the car is driven.
I have driven it 70 miles per day for two weeks and it runs fine once it is at a sustained speed. It also idles fine until it is put in gear.

The tiny oil leak was just because I pulled the valve cover gasket off several times before I figured out where TDC was.
It was nicked and kinked.
That's what I get for trusting the Haynes manual completely!

Ask me about the Chilton manual that instructed me to tighten head bolts on a 350 small block Cevy at 103 ft lbs!
The text from the diesel engine was inserted in the gasoline section! I almost followed the instructions!

The miss definitely seems electrical.
In fact, once when the hood was open during a sudden un-expected downpour the miss actually got worse.
I was having to jumpstart the car during a light rain which got heavy before I closed the hood.

I am leaning towards the plugs being the wrong type.

I will try that.
I also need to put in a new fuel filter.

But who knows?

DB




Here's what happened to my '98 CSVT ... and how it was fixed.

I had the engine "bucking" problem at low/no throttle similar to your problem and described in previous posts. It began with uneven accel and a change in the exhaust note, gradually worsened into a severe and re-creatable misfire-like condition (that did cause it to throw codes -- ultimately irrelevant -- and light up the CEL three times), then got to the point where the engine began to flat-out quit under load.

Because the car was at 54.8k, the basics were covered first: replaced fuel filter (Purolator), plugs and wires (Motorcraft). No money wasted -- but no fix, either.

Long story made short: the conscientious guys at the independent repair shop I've been using since my relo to Pittsburgh (Vince's Automotive on Rte 19 in Perrysville, for CEGer's in Pittsburgh) first rescanned the codes, then found a TSB that looked like a possible match with my problem: erratic engine performance triggering multiple codes. It was a match -- A 7-volt wire at the right-rear of the engine compartment, feeding power to 4 sensors, was being chafed at the right-rear engine lift mount; its sheathing had been worn through. Every time engine movement (or Dave, the tech at Vince's) brought it into contact with metal, the four sensors would freak, causing a misfire and/or kill the engine.

Sheathing was repaired; the chafing point of contact was covered with a short section of (I think) neoprene tubing; and the problem is gone.