Passenger Side Cylinders Not Firing...

[Smittie]

Took the car in for an oil change this morning.. and was told my battery needed to be replaced:

"How much?"

"$150.00 +"

"No thanks. Will the car start?"

"yes"

Drive away... 1 minute later, notice the engine seems to be running rough.. Pull over and call my buddy, we go buy a new battery for $100.00 at autozone, Replaced that, reflash the Tune to the ECM, no change. engine running very rough. Take it to Jones Ford in Shallotte, NC. Tell them what happened, and tell them it seems like the engine is not firing on at least a couple of cylinders.

5 hours later, they call back, they tell me my clutch is making noise and needs to be replaced for $1,500.00. My response:

"Ok, Besides the fact that I didn't bring it into you complaining about a clutch issue or transmission problem, why is my motor running so rough?"

Response: "Well. 3 of your cylinders are not firing"

"Ok, the million dollar question is, WHY?"

"We don't know. We would have to run addition diagnostics on the motor to determine that."

"For an additional cost? No thanks."

Pick my car up, pay the $100.00 for the useless diagnoses fee that didn't tell me jack , and limp the car home. Started to pull the Coil pack wires to see which cylinders aren't firing and discovered that its not 3 cylinders
down but the entire passenger side that's not working.

Checked plugs. a little dirty but ok. put in a new one just in case., swapped a coil pack from the Drivers side, no effect...pulled off valve cover, no damage to cam, or chain or gears noticed.. No error codes either...

**Stumped**

Blown Fuse? I don't have the equipment to verify passenger side timing, or fuel injectors... but can verify fuel in the fuel rail.

Anyone know a Honest good mechanic near Shallotte, NC that knows an 05 Mustang GT?

 

[Steve491]

So many unanswered questions here, but I find it very hard to believe that your 05 was running perfect before you took it to a shop for an oil change and had these results.
Put a new battery in, swapped a couple of coil packs, pulled off valve cover...??? Damn dude, do a little research before yanking on off and blaming the shop.

 

[Smittie]

1. I never blamed the Oil change shop for messing up my car, was more annoyed for being overcharged for the same battery I bought at Autozone for $50.00 cheaper.. (Chalk it up to timing perhaps)
2. You can find what ever you want hard to believe, I don't care, 4 out of 8 cylinders would have been noticed long before I took it to get the oil changed. (My main concern with the battery issue was they had to jump start the car to get it started again and I was concerned they either reset the PCM wiping out my tune, or shorted something electrical out) My bad for not mentioning that concern.
3. I took it to the dealer and explained my motor was running rough and thought it was missing on at least 2 cylinders or more and wanted it diagnosed. Their response was you need a new clutch($1,500.00) When I asked about the engine misfire, was told we don't know. We have to do further testing for an additional fee. Simple fact is I didn't ask them about a clutch. Nice to know yes, overpriced, hell yes. (My coworker has rebuilt many transmissions in Mustangs and had already planned to help me do this. So to me this was not an issue) I wanted to know why my motor was misfiring and sorry for getting pissed off at that point, but that's not why I brought the car into their shop in the first place.
4. As far as research goes:

allfordmustangs.com/forums/2005-2010-mustang-gt-tech/258690-2005-mustang-gt-timing-issue.html

http://www.stangnet.com/mustang-forums/threads/help-engine-misfire-2000-mustang-4-6.797331/

http://www.moddedmustangs.com/forums/2005-2010/192246-05-mustang-gt-possible-pcm-problems.html

http://troubleshootmyvehicle.com/ford/4.6L-5.4L/how-to-test-the-fuel-injectors-2

http://easyautodiagnostics.com/ford_cop_ign/cop_ignition_ford_1.php

Tested every PCM fuse, relay, diod that I could find.. all tested good.

I haven't run a compression test because the tester I have wont seem to thread properly into the cylinder. There is absolutely no smoke coming out of the exhaust like there would be if I had a blown head gasket.
No oil leaks, or radiator leaks noticed anywhere at all. Motor is clean as a whistle as far as that goes.

Tried to reset PCM, disconnected battery for 30 minutes, then reconnected ran on stock tune, engine ran worse, started to backfire.

I cant verify the timing because I don't have the knowledge or equipment.

I guess the bottom line is, I'm not a certified mechanic but I do like to work on my car as much as I can. I don't have an issue taking it to a shop as long as they answer the questions I ask.

I don't have an issue with a shop trying to make a profit as long as its reasonable. I shop around like most people do and it has always server me well.

I have an appointment at http://www.cartalk.com/nc/shallotte/133345/jims-automotive-svc-repair on Monday. I was told by multiple people that they are honest, reasonable, and have some of the best mechanics in town. (Hope thats true)

If I need to answer any more questions please ask.. I'm not trying to be an a$$, and I apologize if I am coming across as one, I just want my car fixed.

 

[Smittie]

Just wanted to update this...
Had a mechanic friend of mine help with all of this:

Every Coil pack was pulled and tested with a spark tester. Checks out ok.
Fuel injectors pulled and cleaned with sea foam +9 volt battery trick.. Checks out ok
Put brand new plugs, needed them anyways..
Put a noid light on all fuel injector connections. Pulse seems fine.
No error codes on computer. I do smell fuel on the passenger side.
My friend thinks the timing is off on the passenger side.
Heading to Jims on Monday to have them diagnose it.

 

[Smittie]

Haven't verified this yet, but call it one of those gut instincts. The logic to me makes perfect sense..

http://forums.themustangsource.com/f669/variable-cam-timing-solenoid-failed-444457/

Now to see if I can find this part locally tomorrow.. Wish I could find a procedure to test this theory

 

[Smittie]

Well, I connected 12 volts to the VTC solenoid, a few times, and heard it click. Went to start the motor.. Bingo.. VTC solenoid was stuck for some reason. Everything is running great!! Hope all this info helps someone else..

 

[racerraj]

Well, I connected 12 volts to the VTC solenoid, a few times, and heard it click. Went to start the motor.. Bingo.. VTC solenoid was stuck for some reason. Everything is running great!! Hope all this info helps someone else..

Awesome Find!