Severe engine vibration at idle

Bagator · #1 05-19-2020, 07:46 AM

Truck runs fine at speed, but vibrates and wants to stall at idle. The story begins with a heater hose patch job failure on the way home from work. Smoke billowing from the vents and hood. Was able to limp back home adding fluid along the way. Error codes P0301, P0302, P1000. Replaced coil and SP wires. SP 1 and 2 fire (son held one, got a shock, it was funny - won't do that again) so the misfires are fixed. Other codes B1359, P0500. So began the chase. Truck wouldn't start so replaced the starter. Battery checked out ok. Replaced vapor canister purge valve, ignition switch, idle air control valve, engine camshaft position sensor. Ran K-Seal HG sealant through system. Today, would not start. Think theft device issue because light flashes rapidly.
Something else, I suspect a short somewhere, lights dimmed when attempting to start maybe draining battery too much.
Running out of ideas. Any helpful suggestions please!!!

Bagator · #2 05-20-2020, 07:18 AM

I was able to jump start my truck today and drive it to a mechanic. I will post the results when I get them. Thanks all.

ford4thot · #3 05-20-2020, 11:45 AM

Please do! Good luck

Bagator · #4 05-21-2020, 03:29 PM

Preliminary results are not good. Low compression on #1. If it is valves, he will give me a quote. If it is rings, he says to put it out to pasture. Any thoughts?

wpginterceptor · #5 05-22-2020, 06:05 PM

was just gonna say, check compression! otherwise watch for another motor if you want

Bagator · #6 06-01-2020, 01:16 PM

Mechanic says #1 cylinder valve is leaking/bad. A $2400 repair job. Removing both heads, etc. The truck is older than my son, so I am hesitant to spend $$. Any thoughts?

Bagator · #7 06-08-2020, 10:08 AM

Truck is my garage now. Beginning the process of repairing it ourselves.

Bucky · #8 06-08-2020, 10:20 PM

I had a 2007 Ranger with the 3.0 V-6. I had off and on codes of P301 and P302 (misfires). The problem started at around 145,000 miles. The problem was the valves. It seems they had a tendency of receding on some of the V-6 engines. I believe there was a recall on it from Ford. It was going to cost me about $2,000.00 to have the heads removed and sent out for a valve job. Believe it or not, I had it scheduled to go into the Ford Dealership the following week to have the work done. However, three days before that a 16 year-old kid without a drivers license somehow got a key and stole the truck. It was totaled in an accident that night as he tried to out run a Highway Patrol car. We are still in court over that one.

But the good new is that my insurance gave me $9,600.00 in payment for the truck. I added another $2,100.00 plus tax and license and bought a 2010 Ranger with a 4.0 engine and four-wheel drive. That kid did me a favor! I always wanted a bigger engine to tow my camper with and a 4X4. Now I got it.

Bagator · #9 01-31-2021, 03:09 PM

Final results! Bad battery was causing all these codes. Also discovered that when I replaced the battery I was still having codes. YET, on further inspection, the connector to the terminal was corroded so the power was intermittent.

Me and my son (age 17) decided to replace the head gaskets and anything we broke during the process. A painful yet gratifying experience.

Also, vibration! A coworker pointed out a STUPID mistake. We had #1 and #3 spark plug wires crossed. That caused the vibration.