99 windstar running rough and tapping noise in engine

[jonkas]

I am having a similar issue with my 99 Ford Windstar, 3.8 L ... It started misfiring about a month ago ... I took it to AutoZone and got them to run their sensor for the check engine light ... it gave a cylinder 2 misfire ... which recommended new plugs / wires ... so I changed them ... it gave the same error ... which then recommended new oxygen sensors ... so I changed them (all three of them) ... it gave the same error ... so I took it to my mechanic - who said it was the ignition coil ... so I changed it ... it gave the same error ... so he said to switch wires (just to be sure) ... so I did that - and it gives the same error ... we were going to watch the fuel injector to make sure it's firing right ... but none of the sensors (3 different ones) will read the car's computer ... so they think it may be a bad computer ... so I called the Ford Service dealership and asked what they thought - they told me to run a compression check ... I asked them if they could run it through their tests ... they said sure for about $300!!!

Any Ideas?

[vindctar]

What was/were the code(s)?

[chewee]

said codes for ect sensor was only code showing

[chewee]

i finally got it to the third mechanic will let know what finds out/ if not going to dealership

[vindctar]

Sorry chewee, that question was for "jonkas".

Originally Posted by chewee

said codes for ect sensor was only code showing

[Cees]

Start with putting in good fuel. The 87 and 89 should be outlawed.
So 93 only from a good company with cleaning power. Shell or Chevron. One tank will make a big difference already. All the knocking is from predetonation of the fuel. This means that you will have a force of a sledge hammer on you piston before the power stroke. Quess what that does to your engine and your fuel consumption.

[mark v]

This will even cause you more problems in the long run running Fuel that your engine was not designed to burn. Running higher Octane is just a Bandage for the problem, Bandages can get infected and do more damage.

Find your issues and fix them and it will run correctly again.

Originally Posted by Cees

Start with putting in good fuel. The 87 and 89 should be outlawed.
So 93 only from a good company with cleaning power. Shell or Chevron. One tank will make a big difference already. All the knocking is from predetonation of the fuel. This means that you will have a force of a sledge hammer on you piston before the power stroke. Quess what that does to your engine and your fuel consumption.

[BryanF]

Originally Posted by mark v

This will even cause you more problems in the long run running Fuel that your engine was not designed to burn. Running higher Octane is just a Bandage for the problem, Bandages can get infected and do more damage.

Find your issues and fix them and it will run correctly again.

agreed. the van should run fine with 87. if not then something is wrong.

[vindctar]

If your van's user manual allows higher octane gas (say 93), then it'll not hurt to use it and this use should correct knocking:

Is High Octane Gas Worth the Money? | Wanderings.

According to FTC, all octane grades are required to have detergents and if the knocking returns after a couple of fill ups of premium, then (as Bryan said), something needs to be fixed:

The Low-Down on High Octane Gasoline

Nevertheless, as Mark said, it'll be a "band-aid" solution, so the actual cause of knocking should be identified and treated.

Originally Posted by Cees

Start with putting in good fuel. The 87 and 89 should be outlawed.
So 93 only from a good company with cleaning power. Shell or Chevron. One tank will make a big difference already. All the knocking is from predetonation of the fuel. This means that you will have a force of a sledge hammer on you piston before the power stroke. Quess what that does to your engine and your fuel consumption.

[chewee]

there is now 6 months this top notch mechanic has my van. i have to go pick it up this week. pay him for doing nothing at all my van still runs as crappy as it did when i brought it in. the codes did not pretain to what was happening to my van. he tried 3 different computors and still nothing/ i give up!!!! will bring it to ford place when can generate more funds/ i have never in my life owned a vehicle that broke and no one can tell me whats wrong with it. my son is going to remove the catalitic converter to see if maybe thats the problem. if not its going to be parked. totally going back to foreign made vehicles. never had problems with them at all/