My truck hasn't always had the smoothest idle but I figured that was just the 3.0 and lived with it. Today I drove the truck for a second to my friends house a minute away and then stopped in front of his house and was idling for a minute and all of the sudden the truck just started shaking really badly, so I shut it off and went and did some stuff for a few hours. Came back and the truck hesitated to start a little and was shaking again when I started it. It goes away above like 1200ish RPM when I rev it. Drove the truck back home and it was acting REALLY weird. Still shaking and didn't want to rev so I just went like 15mph driving it. Pulled in and the exhaust was crackling like crazy, I've never heard it do it that much before. Checked for vacuum leaks and didn't find any, checked out the lower manifold bolts and then were torqued to spec. I really have no idea whats wrong but I need to drive my truck to school and stuff.

This really all started a while back after washing my engine one time. The coil pack was cracked and got water in it so it was really bad. I replaced it with a screamin demon one and it made it normal again other than when I would park the truck after driving and get back in and drive it after a few minutes I found that it would sputter for a second at first sometimes randomly. I have no idea what to do. The only thing I can think of would maybe be a cat or cats clogged somehow? But what gets me is how the truck was idling just fine and then like someone flipped a switch and started idling horribly. I drove the truck last night too and it was fine.

 

My 3.0 did the same. Started missing so I replaced plugs/wires and that helped for about 6 months. Then my truck went to all hell. Replaced the coilpack because it wasn't sparking on cyl1. Got better for 2 weeks then I repalced the plugs and wires again and now it seems okay. Did you only change the coilpack? If that was the issue and it ran like that for a while. Could be bad plugs now. I'd just replace the plugs and wires to be safe.

 

is your CEL on too...sounds like a multiple cylinder misfire to me

 

Check the plugs for a cracked insulator.
Pull each one and look very closely.

 

I did the wires too, screamin demon coil and wires. I was actually just outside messing with it some more and when I disconnect the two furthest back wires on the coil it doesn't change the trucks RPM or anything and it isn't firing on them. All four of the other ones will have an arc that you can see jump from the coil to the wire when you disconnect them while the truck is running. The back two nothing happens, so I guess the coil is bad? It's only like 3-4 months old too. Gonna go pull the plugs out from those cylinders to see what they look like.


No CEL's

 

New parts go bad to man it shouldn't be that way but thats just how things are made these days...

 

Yeah, hopefully its got a warranty.

 

korey i just changed my plugs wires and threw in an sd pack also and when i fired it up it idled for a bit and then shut off ...so i cranked it back up and come to find out it was the maf sensor...wasnt regulating the air properly so it was giving it to much and making it idle funny...did yours have a little lope in it when it was shaking?

 

I'm surprised you have no CEL's. My threw codes like it was at mardi gras throwing beads lol. Best bet is to just replace it all. Coilpack, wires and plugs. It has probably cause some other plugs to go bad in the mean while.

 

yea that surprises me too...especially if its misfiring like that...that usually will cause a CEL to start flashing

 

an injector can cause a miss also.

 

I'm having a similar issue, but mine starts and them immediately dies, unless you floor it, but then it is just on the brink of dying but just barely keeps going. And it sputters really bad, and at first there was a smell of exhaust in the engine compartment. this happened right after i put on my 3" body lift today. I'm about to clean my MAF and maybe that could be it, I have a vacuum leak, and a hole in my intake, but both are being temporarily held with electrical tape, until my new intake tube, and vacuum hose grommet get here. any ideas? i really need this to be running by tomorrow, or I can't drive to school, and i really need to be there tomorrow.

 

Here are some good vids that show how to diagnose them.

YouTube - realfixesrealfast's Channel

YouTube - realfixesrealfast's Channel

One of the best channels on YT.