99 F150 P0303 Code...

Hi all -

Apparently my wife has been driving the truck ('99 F150 4.6L, 115K) with
engine codes and the thing hesitating without telling me. I got in this
past weekend and I can't hardly touch the pedal to get it up to speed
without is missing and sputtering under ANY load. I limped down to AutoZone
to get the code(s) read. Got three codes: 1st was a P0303, the others were
a lean fuel mix and the an 02 sensor after the cat (I'm at work and forgot
the exact codes for the other two at home, but I remember what they were
about) The replaced the plugs about 6K ago and the wires about 10K ago.
Used all motorcraft plugs and wires. My guess was that one of the coil
packs was going so I replaced the passenger side coil pack last night but it
didn't fix the problem. Is the coil pack for the #3 cyl on the passenger or
driver side? If it is the passenger side, does anyone have any other ideas
for me to move onto? It's running really bad. I have no idea how long it's
been running like this. She thought it was just bad gas...

Thanks,

IYM

<IYM> wrote in message
news:47dfa479$0$1345$834e42db@reader.greatnowhere.com...
> Hi all -
>
> Apparently my wife has been driving the truck ('99 F150 4.6L, 115K) with
> engine codes and the thing hesitating without telling me. I got in this
> past weekend and I can't hardly touch the pedal to get it up to speed
> without is missing and sputtering under ANY load. I limped down to
> AutoZone to get the code(s) read. Got three codes: 1st was a P0303, the
> others were a lean fuel mix and the an 02 sensor after the cat (I'm at
> work and forgot the exact codes for the other two at home, but I remember
> what they were about) The replaced the plugs about 6K ago and the wires
> about 10K ago. Used all motorcraft plugs and wires. My guess was that
> one of the coil packs was going so I replaced the passenger side coil pack
> last night but it didn't fix the problem. Is the coil pack for the #3 cyl
> on the passenger or driver side? If it is the passenger side, does anyone
> have any other ideas for me to move onto? It's running really bad. I have
> no idea how long it's been running like this. She thought it was just bad
> gas...
>
> Thanks,
>
> IYM

OK - Think I got it..When I replaced the coil pack, the truck was a little
better, but still hesitating/mis-firing badly. Since the code was a 303, I
pulled the #3 plug to see if it was perhaps fouled up from driving that long
with the bad coil pack and misfire. First, when I went to pull the wire
off, it didn't feel like it was on right. Then, when I went to pull the
plug, I thought I wasn't getting the spark plug socket fully on the plug
right because it turned too easy. Turns out it was, and that the plug was
not completely tight! Then pulled the #1 (because it's easy and right
there) to compare the plugs. The #3 had a light brown (almost rusty color)
on it, but otherwise looked OK. Inspected the #3 boot to see if there was
any blackening, but it looked brand new still. The #1 Plug looked like it
should for a slightly used plug - Dark from firing, but not oily. Lightly
cleaned both plugs with wire brush, but swapped the plugs when reinstalling
them. I torqued them both down and put the wires back on making sure they
were fully on. Truck runs great again after test drive.. I know nobody
replied, but maybe if someone googles with the same issue, they may find
this answer to a poster's own question and check to make sure to check the
obvious first before thinking the worst. I'm humbled and learned a lesson.I
guess it's possible I could have gotten distracted or something and didn't
torque the plug or fully seat the boot correctly when I changed the wires or
plug a while back. Just because you do the work yourself doesn't mean your
perfect and can't make a stupid mistake...



IYM