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2005 E450 Ford V10 intermittent misfires

Valpo_Camper
Explorer
Explorer
My 2005 class C is built on a 2004 frame with the Ford V10 in it. It has developed an intermittent misfire this year but not enough to give a CEL.

Google searches tells me that it probably needs new plugs to cure this.

I am planning to replace the plugs despite their low mileage although being original. Rig only has 26,000 miles on it. Should I do coils at the same time or just the plugs?
2005 Gulfstream Conquest LE 28 foot
2018 Wrangler JLU - pulling duty as a daily and toad
2012 Audi A7 - daily fun car
28 REPLIES 28

Lumpty
Explorer
Explorer
Some decent info so far, some not. The E-Series never got the 3-valve heads with the sticky plugs. The doghouse isn't wide enough for that V10 version. Also, an '04 chassis should have the PI heads with added threads. That said, when changing plugs, torque is critical to have them not loosen and spit. The internet consensus when I researched before doing mine was 28 ft-lbs dry.

I will also second the probable issue is a bad coil. I had one go bad on a trip, and got to change it in an Advance Auto Parts parking lot in Virginia Beach after V-9'ing over and through the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel at about 75k miles. A few months and 3k miles later, an intermittent skip at idle after decel started, and I sucked it up and changed all the coils and did plugs at the same time. In an E-Series, definitely not a faint of heart job. Took me 6 hours, and every combination of 1/4" and 3/8" extensions, universals, wobbles ratchets I had. I was able to get the torque wrench on every plug.
Rob

Too Many Toys.
- '11 E450 Sunseeker 2300
- '16 F150 Supercrew 5.0/FX4
- '09 C6 Z51
- '15 VW Golf Sportwagen daily driver
- '86 Civic and '87 CRX race cars

mgirardo
Explorer
Explorer
I purchased this ODBII reader and like way2roll, I use the Torque app. Lots of good info for free. The paid for version gives you more and is like $5.

The unit I linked to is for Android only, if you have an iPhone, you might need to get a different reader. I've used it in several different vehicles and with several different Android phones without an issue.

-Michael
Michael Girardo
2017 Jayco Jayflight Bungalow 40BHQS Destination Trailer
2009 Jayco Greyhawk 31FS Class C Motorhome (previously owned)
2006 Rockwood Roo 233 Hybrid Travel Trailer (previously owned)
1995 Jayco Eagle 12KB pop-up (previously owned)

way2roll
Navigator
Navigator
Valpo Camper wrote:
Well phooey, I need to read up more on my code reader. FOXWELL N630 is what I have. Hooked it up but could not find where to read the cylinder firing. Was not an option I could find in the live data fields.

From what I have read about the plug spitter problem stems back to a loose plug


I got a cheap ODBII reader on Amazon that uses the torque app. Gives you a lot of information including actual live misfire counts. One of the issues with the Ford engines is the high misfire threshold for a code. So it can misfire a lot, enough to cause issues but not enough for a code. Loose plug or fouled coil - at least with a good reader you can isolate the affected cylinder. At this point maybe it makes sense to change all plugs and coil packs.

Jeff - 2023 FR Sunseeker 2400B MBS

Grit_dog
Navigator
Navigator
^Yes some reports were loose spark plugs, but how you know if it was actually loose if itโ€™s not connected to the engine anymore. Some would loosen, but I doubt anymore said hey thatโ€™s loose, letโ€™s leave it and see if it blows outโ€ฆ
The root cause of the early 2V engines (not yours) was only 4 threads in the heads. They were revised to 8 threads and that helped quite a bit, but didnโ€™t totally eliminate the problem.
2016 Ram 2500, MotorOps.ca EFIlive tuned, 5โ€ turbo back, 6" lift on 37s
2017 Heartland Torque T29 - Sold.
Couple of Arctic Fox TCs - Sold

Valpo_Camper
Explorer
Explorer
Well phooey, I need to read up more on my code reader. FOXWELL N630 is what I have. Hooked it up but could not find where to read the cylinder firing. Was not an option I could find in the live data fields.

From what I have read about the plug spitter problem stems back to a loose plug
2005 Gulfstream Conquest LE 28 foot
2018 Wrangler JLU - pulling duty as a daily and toad
2012 Audi A7 - daily fun car

way2roll
Navigator
Navigator
Valpo Camper wrote:
I already have a code reader, will hook it up and see what's going on.


If it's not throwing a code, look for misfire count on each cylinder. It's easy to see which one is the culprit.

Jeff - 2023 FR Sunseeker 2400B MBS

way2roll
Navigator
Navigator
I used to carry and ODBII reader with me and read for misfires that didn't throw a code. I also carried spare coils. It got to the point I could change them in 5 mins. One thing I found did help, put a lot of dielectric grease on them before installing. The deep plug wells on the Fords hold moisture and think that's what fouls them. After doing that I never had the issue anymore.

Jeff - 2023 FR Sunseeker 2400B MBS

Home_Skillet
Explorer II
Explorer II
Mine had the same misfire, not enough to generate a DTC.
I just changed all the coils and plugs.
No point having another coil go out on a road trip.
2005 Gulf Stream Conquest 31ft
BigFoot Levelers,TST in tire TPMS,Bilstein Shocks,Trans temp guage,Lowrace iWAY

Valpo_Camper
Explorer
Explorer
I already have a code reader, will hook it up and see what's going on.
2005 Gulfstream Conquest LE 28 foot
2018 Wrangler JLU - pulling duty as a daily and toad
2012 Audi A7 - daily fun car

Grit_dog
Navigator
Navigator
Idk how bad the access is on a C van chassis to repair stripped blown out threads. Only did it once on an old 2V class A but removing the doghouse provided good access.
2016 Ram 2500, MotorOps.ca EFIlive tuned, 5โ€ turbo back, 6" lift on 37s
2017 Heartland Torque T29 - Sold.
Couple of Arctic Fox TCs - Sold

Grit_dog
Navigator
Navigator
^What these guys said. Likely one or more of the coils. Very common Triton motor issue, all displacements. Iโ€™d narrow that down, replace the one(indicated bad) figure out how to check that with code reader and keep a spare one or 2 for future quick fixes.
However the bigger issue with the Triton platform is the spark plugs. And there were 2 different issues. Some will shear the threads in the head and spit out plugs (also easy to strip or shear threads off when removing them, especially now that theyโ€™re old and corroded, anything with original crusty plugs is more likely).
Other models the plugs will rust in and stick and the plugs will snap off and stay stuck in the head.
I believe your model year and V10 is a spitter, not a sticker. And being 2004 is a 3 valve motor which has 8 threads vs the original 2 valve heads which had only 4 threads.
Regardless, both engines will spit plugs, the 2V is more likely than the 3V. And some would also randomly loosen due to mis matched mating surfaces. And others would break the spark plug (8 thread heads) resulting in a similar condition to the ones that even more commonly got stuck but not as often.
Iโ€™ve had 2V V10s spit plugs and newer v8 tritons stick plugs. Never had an issue with the 3V V10s and had a few of those too. Adjectivally they are IMO the least bad of 3-4 different bad designs. Few years ago bought a pristine 30k mile Mustang GT (a sticker not a spitter). Car never even saw rain in over 10 years until we bought it. I went after the plugs right away and it was touch and go getting over half of them out without snapping them.

If I was planning on keeping it a lot longer, Iโ€™d first verify and fix the issue with the misfires which is 90% chance the coil packs. Then Iโ€™d analyze whether to get those plugs out of there or not. And Iโ€™d buy repair kit (it common enough that there are diy repair kits available forever now) and know how to use it. And use copper antiseize on ANY/ALL Triton spark plug threads. For different reasons based on what engine it is.
Also good news if it does spit one plug, itโ€™ll still run well enough to get you somewhere besides the shoulder of the road, but with the obvious consideration of it pumping out gasoline vapor 2-4000 times per minuteโ€ฆlol.
Not sure Iโ€™ve ever seen random misfires as a defective spark plug condition in hundreds of 2 and 4 stroke engines. Fix the coils and then if you win big at the casino one night, your luck may be still good enough the next morning to get the plugs out without stripping or breaking any.
2016 Ram 2500, MotorOps.ca EFIlive tuned, 5โ€ turbo back, 6" lift on 37s
2017 Heartland Torque T29 - Sold.
Couple of Arctic Fox TCs - Sold

zigzagrv
Explorer
Explorer
nickthehunter wrote:
More likely itโ€™s the coil pak rather then the spark plugs. If you put a code reader on it it will tell you how many misfires there are on each cylinder. Iโ€™ll bet one or two of them has an exceptionally high number of misfires compared to the others.


^^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^

Get a OBDII code reader, they're cheap. Over 100k miles on my 2002 and still has original plugs. However I have replaced 3 coil packs in that time. Code reader tells me which cylinders are misfiring.

Ron



2003 Gulf Stream Ultra Supreme 33'
F53 Class A
2013 Ford Edge toad

nickthehunter
Nomad II
Nomad II
More likely itโ€™s the coil pak rather then the spark plugs. If you put a code reader on it it will tell you how many misfires there are on each cylinder. Iโ€™ll bet one or two of them has an exceptionally high number of misfires compared to the others.

mleekamp
Explorer
Explorer
I'm not a fan of replacing parts in hope it will cure the ailment. Sometimes we need to, but I'd dig deeper and find root cause. It may not throw a code, but reading data while driving (having co-pilot to help) would be better. Could be a long list of things from plugs, coil pack, and more. Having had a V10 in a C, I've not experienced the misfire issue. Hopefully you can gather more info, perform a few tests first.

**real life example: my friend had intermittent issue with a zero turn not starting, not even turning over. He began replacing parts...battery (twice), starter, coil, some other items...turns out, after all that, he mentions it to me...and after 30 seconds of looking at it, I saw a loose ground to frame. That did it. Not saying yours is that easy...but in this case, $500+ spent and turns out issue was to put the proper lockwasher on the ground to keep it tight.

Issues such as random misfire can be hard to diagnose.