spark plug comes out and sets off a chain reaction...

[caballo]

I had my oil changed thursday.

I started a road trip Friday about 2:30 pm. Drove 1366 miles. No problem. Noticed a sound coming from under the hood that sounded like a small exhaust leak. ya know, sp-sp-sp-sp-sp(no biggy I want some LT's anyway). Fluids okay. Driveability okay.

approximately 640 miles into the return, we pullover to sleep on the road side. No problems to this point. 3 hours later (car idling the whole time)Press the gas to go and BRAPBRAPBRAPBRAP!!!! Loud exhause leak, now. We get about a mile and the car loses power and won't restart.

Pop the hood and find the 3rd cylinder (from the front of the car) on the driver's side has ejected the spark plug/coil combo.

Tow to town and replace plug. Car won't run below 4500 rpm and will not idle. First thick white smoke and then light black with a LOT of fuel coming out the tail pipes.

2 codes pulled while running .

9202- fuel sender open circuit?
D262- missing SCP message (Standard Corporate Protocol)

Multimeter the fuel pump circuit (best I could) low ohms= 8.7 high ohms=14.6

I replace the fuel pump. Now it'll run 1500 rpm or above. But won't idle and will only run with the fuel pump fuse removed...

No CODES, Now.

I take it the dealer and he tells me the FUEL RAIL PRESSURE= 89.98psi. and it won't hold pressure when you kill the ignition.

He checked the fuel pump I put in and said it was good, but that there was at least one injector stuck wide open, even though we did a resistance check and they all came back 14.8-15.2 ohms.

He said that there was so much fuel in my crankcase that it's what allowed the car to run with the fuel pump fuse out. He also said the knock that developed was from cylinder wash.

So he recommends changing the oil and the injectors and plugs and removing the ignition fuse and building oil pressure by cranking it. Then it should run fine.

Any input would be great.

2000 4.6/4R70W GT COUPE with a SLP LM CatBack. 81k miles

 

[Dark Knight GT]

Pop the hood and find the 3rd cylinder (from the front of the car) on the driver's side has ejected the spark plug/coil combo.

If I'm not mistaken, that is what most call cylinder number 6, just for refference. If it ejected the spark plug and the coil boot both, then this tells me there must have been an extreme amount of pressure building up on that one cylinder. What exactly is cause is what we need to figure out. On a side note, I'm amazed the threads to the spark plug hole in the cylinder head wasn't stripped. The plug must of just worked its way out in reverse.

Tow to town and replace plug. Car won't run below 4500 rpm and will not idle. First thick white smoke and then light black with a LOT of fuel coming out the tail pipes.

So, it would run, but just if the car was being kept above 4,500 rpms ? You also state here you had white smoke, and then it turned to light black. I'm not sure, but it is possible you had some excessive oil build up in cylinder number 6 that was burning off if you produce signs of black smoke. Also, white smoke if I'm not mistaken can mean coolant/water is inside the cylinder. I'm saying "cylinder" singular, cause I'm guessing it was only the one cylinder(the one the spark plug and boot came out of) that is the problem area, since everything else seemed fine. Chances are, it would run above 4,500 rpms because there was enough air flow, combustion, and ignition spark to burn the gasoline, and what ever else was in the cylinder.

9202- fuel sender open circuit?
D262- missing SCP message (Standard Corporate Protocol)

I don't know what exactly the second code is trying to tell you, but if you have had hard time running the car below 4,500 rpms, strange exhuast output(like mentioned above), and a cylinder that threw out the plug and boot due to excessive pressure, my guess is between this information, along with the first code indicates there is short in the fuel sender circuit, and if that is the case, it could be related to the fuel injector of cylinder 6(the one you were having problems with), and as a result of an open circuit, the fuel injector could have malfunctioned, and injected more fuel into that cylinder than was needed, which caused the fuel puddling, and excessive pressure build up in that cylinder when the fuel was finally combusted.

I replace the fuel pump. Now it'll run 1500 rpm or above. But won't idle and will only run with the fuel pump fuse removed...

Was anything else fixed or replaced before you replaced the fuel pump ?

He checked the fuel pump I put in and said it was good, but that there was at least one injector stuck wide open, even though we did a resistance check and they all came back 14.8-15.2 ohms.

The words in bold "one injector stuck wide open" goes along with my theory that cylinder number 6 was running very rich with excessive fuel pressure due to a faulty injector on that cylinder.

He said that there was so much fuel in my crankcase that it's what allowed the car to run with the fuel pump fuse out. He also said the knock that developed was from cylinder wash.

If what I'm guessing so far is true, then yeah, you probably had too much fuel in the combustion chamber, and it lead to cylinder wash, which gave you that knock and excessive pressure build up that led to the ejection of the spark plug and boot on cylinder 6.

So he recommends changing the oil and the injectors and plugs and removing the ignition fuse and building oil pressure by cranking it. Then it should run fine.

Hopefully, he will turn out correct. I agree with this statment, and say change the oil to remove any contamination it might have recieved, and change the plugs definately. I don't know if I would bother changing all 8 injectors, as it was only one that was giving you a hassle. I would definately pull the others though, and give them a cleaning and a quick look over, just to make sure they are fine. The comment about building up oil pressure is standard procedure to make sure the oil pump is still pumping oil and maintaining significant pressure on its own. I don't know that it is neccessary, but it couldn't hurt to give it a shot.

 

[caballo]

So, I've decided to buy some injectors. Planning ahead... do I have to recalibrate my MAF if I step up to 24's or 36's?

 

[Dark Knight GT]

If the stock MAF meter is calibrated for 19lb/hr. injectors, and you upgrade to 24 or 36lb/hr injectors, then yes, it will. BTW, why exactly would you upgrade to 24 or 36lb/hr. fuel injectors ?

 

[jstreet0204]

My first concern would be that you hydrolocked it. With that much fuel dumping in, hopefully the spark plug blowing out saved a rod or bearing. Don't bother uping the injectors. You'll need a tune for that, and you need to be more concerned about the condition of your bottem end right now. Good luck with, and I hope I am wrong.

 

[mity2]

if there was fuel in crankcase, that makes me think may be crack on piston(prolly from hydro lock) to let all the fuel pass through. thats not good sign. Ya i wouldn't bother with injecter yet.
Do u have mechanic you trust? i would think about planning to take engine out and look in to bottom end for any crack of anysort

 

[fordrngr]

Just FYI the third cylinder on the drivers side is number 7 in a Ford V-8.

 

[Dark Knight GT]

Just FYI the third cylinder on the drivers side is number 7 in a Ford V-8.

You sure. I thought the last two cylinders up at the front were cylinders 7 and 8 ? I thought this because I read threads about the "coolant mod", and on the intakes, it shows the coolant mod being attached to the end of the intake, right where the first two cylinders at the front of the motor are.

 

[jstreet0204]

You sure. I thought the last two cylinders up at the front were cylinders 7 and 8 ? I thought this because I read threads about the "coolant mod", and on the intakes, it shows the coolant mod being attached to the end of the intake, right where the first two cylinders at the front of the motor are.

 

[Dark Knight GT]

Thanks for that model J-street. I appreciate it.

 

[69Rcode_Mach1]

If that exhaust leak was big enough it could have definitely damaged a valve. You may want to look into that too, from the description you gave it seems like another possibility.

 

[AdRock]

If that exhaust leak was big enough it could have definitely damaged a valve. You may want to look into that too, from the description you gave it seems like another possibility.

But it wasn't an exhaust leak, it just sounded like one. He was hearing the gasses passing by the spark plug as it was backing out.

 

[69Rcode_Mach1]

Oh okay I thought that his manifolds were leaking. That is a fast trip to a burnt valve.

 

[cougar694u]

Stick with the stock injectors, but do a compression test on that bank (cylinders 5-8) and compare the other 3 vs #7. If you do have a bent rod, cracked piston, or anything allowing fuel/combustion to make it into the crank case, it'll probably show it in the compression numbers.

As far as why the spark plug working its way out, my cougar's done that one to me before, but my guess there was I didn't tighten it enough.

If you can start it, unplug the #7 injector from the wiring harness while it's running. If it seems to run the same, stuck injector. If it drops the cylinder (doesn't run on it), then it may not be stuck. I don't think ohming it out will tell you if it's stuck.