new clutch and flywheel=flashing check engine light

[NA-Stang]

If you have an X4, you can do the crank relearn yourself, with it......

Well shit, I have a 3. Oh well. going to call the local Ford Garage and see if they know what im talking about.

 

[NA-Stang]

Ok, one more question...

My flywheel wasn't removed when the clutch was installed. The tech decided it looked good, and just scuffed it up while it was still on the car.

Could the clutch install still be causing my issue? Do I still need to do the relearn?

Maybe I should back up some...

This never happened when I bought the car. Had the transmission rebuilt, new clutch, and LT headers installed (of course with corresponding new tune for them). Then this problem with the flashing check engine light and misfire codes started.

Like a going to a doctor, I guess I should give all the information to get the best answers...

 

[NA-Stang]

I hope my new question isn't getting overlooked due to this thread being so old, and it went to a page 2.

I want to make it to the track soon, and want to clear up this issue before I go.

Anyone out there have any input?

 

[konablue11gt]

You mentioned you had long tubes installed did they by chance install o2 extensions (wiring)? If so take the extensions off and use the oem harness . These extension harnesses have been a known issue on these cars for some time.

 

[NA-Stang]

You mentioned you had long tubes installed did they by chance install o2 extensions (wiring)? If so take the extensions off and use the oem harness . These extension harnesses have been a known issue on these cars for some time.

Nope, we used the oem's and were able to attach them with no extensions. However, we did not know if they were installed on the same side they came off of. I read the numbers on each, and I'm 99% sure they were exactly the same, but I could be wrong. Please correct me if I am wrong.

 

[5lho]

Yes, it's possible. Ford issued a TSB about the O ring on some of these being enough to cause an issue, so, banging around pulling the trans out could make for the CEL.

 

[NA-Stang]

Yes, it's possible. Ford issued a TSB about the O ring on some of these being enough to cause an issue, so, banging around pulling the trans out could make for the CEL.

Sweet. I was hoping for that answer!

So, it is bad for me to drive the car? Just casually? Or should I let it sit until I get the crank sensor relearned?

 

[5lho]

Well, it is primary timing but, I think the worst you might get is some misfire events and thus a few more codes. I would minimize driving it myself.

 

[Silverhorse.s197]

If you have an X4, you can do the crank relearn yourself, with it......

Does this apply to the 4.6 3v in the 08s ? getting ready to do a new clutch and i do have the X4 tuner.

 

[AbdullaGT500]

Does this apply to the 4.6 3v in the 08s ? getting ready to do a new clutch and i do have the X4 tuner.

Nope. Crank sensor on 3v is in the front and out of your way.

 

[NA-Stang]

Ok, so I did the crank sensor relearn, and it is still misfiring.

What the car does...

Under normal driving conditions, the check engine light starts flashing. A noticeable drop in power is noticed for a moment. After about 30 seconds, the light stops flashing.

Then, after 20 or so miles... two, sometimes three codes pop up and stay. Sometimes just P0307 (Misfire in cyl 7) and P0304 (cyl 4). Other times P0300 (Random misfire detected), and P0307 and P0304.

Mind you, it doesn't do it ever time I drive it either.

This all seemed to happen NOT after the clutch install, but after the LT header install. Stock O2 sensors are being used, no extensions. The only other thing that was changed was of course the tune from WMS (previously by BBR)

Could it be unrelated to the header install and new tune? Could it be the cyl 4 and 7 coil packs and/or plugs?

Any help or insight or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.


Edit: Upon doing some more research, Cyl 4 and Cyl 7 are 180 deg from each other in the firing order. Could this info help?

 

[travelers]

Well the first thing to look at is the plugs. Pull them and make sure they are good. Next look at the wiring going to the coils, is it good and the connectors good and tight. If good put those two plugs I different locations and the coils in different holes also but no in the same as the plugs. Wright it down so you don't forget where you put them and drive the car. Also check that you didn't leave any ground wires off when you did the headers. If the misfires moves to either the plugs or coils or both you knew what to replace.

 

[JEWC_Motorsports]

Is the wiring pinched at the top of the transmission? Its a common thing when putting the transmission back in if you arent looking out for it.

 

[NA-Stang]

Ok...

I switched the plugs in cyl 4 and cyl 1.

Put the CP from cyl. 4 to Cyl 2, and put the CP from cyl. 1 to cyl 4.

So, hopefully the code jumps from Cyl 4 to either cyl 1 or cyl 2.

Then we will know if it is a plug or a CP. If it stays at cyl 4. Back to the drawing board.

Now we wait for it to throw the codes again...

 

[wbt]

Is the wiring pinched at the top of the transmission? Its a common thing when putting the transmission back in if you arent looking out for it.

 

[NA-Stang]

Upon a superficial search, I don't see any pinched wires. When I get more time, I plan on looking better.

It seams to me that I would have this happen more often if this were the case though.

Thanks for the input

 

[86GT351]

dealer IDs can do it or the Modis by Snap On with all of the updates can do it as well.

 

[NA-Stang]

So, when I moved the plugs and plug wires, I hit one of the trip monitors, put it to 0, so I can track the mileage between codes.

At mile 20, the check engine light flashed...

Im at mile 325. Nothing more. No flashing. No codes.

What the hell? This couldn't be something that just resolved itself!!

 

[Jake Ebright]

driving home from getting my new flywheel and clutch installed, i got a random check engine light flashing. it did this prolly 6 times in a 45 mile trip. no codes, even while light was flashing. seems that power would drop off as this was going on.

did a search on clutch/flywheel installs but no definite answer on what to do?

do i need to get the crank position sensor reflashed, or something that needs to be reset? i asked the guy that installed it and he had no answers?

thanks

What happened with my mustang

60K miles clutch started shuddering a little at first then horribly coming out of 1st and reverse

No matter how much gas you gave it or how quick you let the clutch out, it felt like when a beginner driver is learning to drive stick and stalls the car out—that kind of shuddering.

The ford dealership said it’d take 1 whole month for them to get to the repair on my car and that I’d have to leave the car with them for the entire month.

Obviously, I couldn’t go without a car for that long, so I did some research and found a highly rated private mechanic shop near-ish me.

They diagnosed the problem and installed a brand-new clutch and flywheel (regular ford replacement clutch and flywheel—i.e., not a fancy performance one)

No check engine light initially, within 24 hrs check engine light came on

Went to mechanic. Hooked up scanner #1 (Zurich ZR15S)

I took a picture of the code: P0304 (meaning cylinder misfire in 4th cylinder) to look up later even though mechanic told me not to worry about it.

I looked it up and seemed like it was potentially pretty dangerous

Did some research on ford forums and found discussions about people having had a similar error code (as well as other P03 codes for other cylinder misfires) specifically following clutch and flywheel replacement. These forums mentioned crank relearn and misfire monitor neutral profile correction as potential solution.

Went back within the hour with that limited info and mechanic was initially very hesitant to believe that that was the issue or the solution to the problem—he had never heard of a crank relearn on a mustang, he said.

Understandable: he’s reacting as a doctor would if you came in and started spouting off things you think are wrong with you from having looked at web md—i.e., he’s the professional and people who come in with that type of commentary usually have no idea what they’re talking about.

However, he looked on scanner #2, higher tech looking and didn’t see an option for crank relearn.

Might’ve been a snap on scanner (?), not positive on that, but it definitely looked more like this one:

Mechanic cleared code, said maybe it was a glitch since I wasn’t experiencing any engine misfire.

Went home. No problem till next day, check engine came back on.

Later that night, I actually felt the engine misfire (before I experienced it, I wasn’t sure exactly what that’d feel like, so I wasn’t 100% sure if I’d even be able to recognize it, but once it was actually happening, I knew immediately). The feeling was like a vibrating ratatat when depressing the gas pedal, and when I felt that immediately looked at the check engine light and saw that it had began blinking. That all lasted for about 10 seconds, then it was fine again, though the check engine light was still on.

So, then I was worried, so I did more research: texted mechanic that there was a lot of talk about check engine light problem after clutch and flywheel replacement on mustang forums. So, despite me not being a professional mechanic, asked him to look into it again with the key terms crank relearn/misfire monitor neutral profile correction.

See official ford technical service bulletin (TSB) outlining the problem:

Had car towed to shop just to be safe since I’d experienced an actual engine misfire the nigh before

He hooked up the Snap On scanner above and when I got there, he said he thinks I might be right. Cleared the check engine light, then ran the profile correction.

Link vid to people running that profile correction:

Been 2k+ miles and running like a top now, no check engine light has come back, and the car is running great. Note: for a few hundred miles (about 500 or so) after clutch and flywheel replacement, there was slight shudder (nowhere even near what it was like when I first brought it in) in shifting out of first and reverse. However, have read others experienced the same break in period post clutch and flywheel replacement, and shudder went away completely by 1k miles.

Turns out then whenever transmission is removed from engine, the computers inside the car need to be recalibrated.

See 2:06 for what it looks like when your transmission Is separated from the engine to access the clutch and flywheel for replacement:

Bottom line: super easy fix, just have to know about the “misfire monitor neutral profile correction” process and send them this doc/insist that your mechanic hook his scanner up and run it, even if he’s understandably skeptical because he’s never heard of it.

 

[14stanger]

Sounds like you need the crank sensor relearn. When I did my mcleod install the same thing happened until I performed the relearn.

A form post that helped just converted the clutch in my 3.7 to 5.0 since I had to repair the leaking rear main. Put that 500 miles on to break in, 501 jump on it and boom immediately got misfire codes. Pull over, CEL went away. It was cyl 1 and 5 so the likelihood of opposite banks having the same issue was slim, it has to be a commonality. Did the relearn and have not had any probs