02 March, 2015

2004 Ford F150 5.4L 3V P0012 came back!

Okay I am stummped, I WILL figure this out, but right now here's the situation...

I have recently replaced the VCT solenoid on bank1, while I was in there I noted a considerable amount of oil sludge in the upper valve cover area where the bore the VCT solenoid fits is... I have since changed oil and am running the recommended quantity of Marvel Mystery oil. Since this engine holds 7 qts of oil I replaced 1.5 quarts regular oil with the MMO. This is of grave concern since I change my oil WELL within the MFG recommended interval, and ONLY use MFG recomended oil grades and brand name filters, although one brand I have since discovered is a complete dud. I won't go into details for fear of legal issues, but let's just say I will only be using OEM filters from here out, the biggest name in filtration that most people recognize right off the bat is cutting too many corners and putting out crap that can ruin your engine! Play it safe with your expensive engine and stay OEM!

I was able clear the P0012 code, but it since come back, same bank, and today a distrubing addition of distinct hesitation, and "chugging".  I let the truck sit for a couple of hours, and started it back up, the hesitation / chugging went away, although I still have the P0012 code...

Due to the presence of the sludge in the engine, and the fact that the symptoms come and go, I can clear the code, and get 100 - 400 miles before it throws the code / symptoms again, I suspect there is EITHER a defective VCT that plugs open or closed too easily, OR there is a good amount of foreign material in the system from the sludge....

I am using the MMO to help clean up the engine internals / get the sludge the heck out, but I know this stuff takes time to work, it's not like a harsh solvent based engine flush, it is much more gentle on the engine, and unfortunately the sludge. it takes it's own sweet time...

Due to the bad habits of the design of this engine, there ARE other possibilities, most notably faulty cam phasers and / or timing chain tensioners. That gets DEEP into the engine into a system I honestly have NEVER had to repair, and have limited familiarity with...

I am going to likely attempt to clear this issue doing a solvent flush / oil change most likely this upcoming weekend. Failing that, I will have to quadruple down to get the Saturn fixed and back on the road so that I can take the truck out of service, fix this issue, and a nagging noise in the front end...

So I am off to do some research into effective engine flushes, I used to use the Wynn system when I worked as a pro mechanic, but that was a LONG time ago, and that is not something that at least last time I checked, was available to a driveway mechanic... I will keep you posted!


2 comments:

  1. I've been tied up with other issues that I should have blogged about, mostly surrounding the Saturn and a poorly designed plastic intake manifold and A/C issues.... I am finding the root cause of the problem to be one of oiling. The VCT solenoids don't function correctly on the passengers bank due to oil starvation. I have an idea how to fix this, and will be tackling it soon, and video taping the process to share with you folks!

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