Help, 1997 t-bird V8, has a service light on

mach2race · 09-20-2009, 02:35 PM

1997 Ford Thunderbird V8, Automatic 71,000 miles

Hey guys, just purchased this 97 t-bird for my daughter to drive back / forth to school. Soon as it starts, the servic e engine light comes on, then after 20sec it begins to flash, then after a period of time, it stays on (quits flashing) then the cycle repeats. I took the car to autozone to get the code read. Code says, cylinder #2 misfired. No other codes found. car is running really rough, In my old V8's one cylinder mis-firing wouldn't cause a V* to run so rough. Anyway, at highway speed its not as noticable, but at idle its rough. I know very little about these t-birds and what common problems they might have. Best guess, am i looking at a fuel injector, plug / plug wire, or something else. The engine idles rough at about 600 RPMs. I don't believe cylinder #2.. is firing at all. I don't even know which cylinder is #2. Is there a common issue on 97 t-birds that could e causing this?
Best guess, on how i should preceed?
Thanks guys, i appreciate every-bodies idea's / support
Mach

BroncoJoe19 · 09-20-2009, 02:52 PM

I agree with the old engines you could run with a miss for a month. The newer ones are computer controlled and when you develop a miss in one cylinder the PCM starts cutting off the injectors so that the engine doesn't dump too much raw fuel into the exhaust and burn out the CATs. At least that is my understanding.

TBIRD430 · 09-21-2009, 01:58 PM

Throw a set of new Motorcraft spark plug wires on it 1st.

thunderstruck95 · 09-22-2009, 10:36 AM

mach2race the #2 cyl is the second one back from the front of the engine on the left(pass. side). Pull that spark plug out and see if it is fouled. I would replace the whole set and see if it runs better. Check the spark plug wires for cracks. If more than 5 yrs. old or more than 50k, replace them. Good luck and let us know if this helps.

mach2race · 09-22-2009, 11:54 AM

THanks guys, i will... one question. I hear horror stories about removing spark plugs and stripping out the heads. Is there a trick to doing this? Also, autozone list 3 dozen different spark plugs for this car. Which plugs do i use? some are $2.... some are $7 bucks. I assume an autolite is the right plug, but which autolite. I've been told, these motors are picky about which plugs you install. True? Also, an oem set of plug wires is $100. does that sound right, or is that too much? I suspect the $20 autozone special plug wires would be a waste of time / money?
Thanks guys,
Mach

theoldwizard · 09-22-2009, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mach2race

I hear horror stories about removing spark plugs and stripping out the heads. Is there a trick to doing this?

No tricks for removal on that engine. Make certain to start the plugs by hand and finger tighten them a few turns before applying any real torque.

TBIRD430 · 09-22-2009, 12:23 PM

Stay all Motorcraft.

gygw · 09-22-2009, 08:28 PM

I bought a 97 in may also and had this exact code i pute plugs and wires on and it has had no more problems or codes

mach2race · 09-25-2009, 06:40 PM

UPDATE on problem. My dad tried to do me a favor and take my daughter car, over to a local shade-tree. He tried changing spark plugs, installed a new fuel injector, changed teh plug wire... but still cylinder #2 has a mis-fire. He said the coil was firing, but could not explain why the car has a miss.he did a compression check, and all cylinders have good compression. I'm thinking either a bad computer, or perhaps some type of a sensor. Any ideas?
Thanks guys,
Mach

BroncoJoe19 · 09-25-2009, 06:57 PM

Maybe it is how you have the spark wires routed. It may be causeing an induction missfire.
See this page for more information;
ALLDATA -- Jim Grant's Tech Tips -- '92 Ford F150, Misrouted Plug Wires