Trouble Making It Uphill

Maintenance/Repairs
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1

I have a 2005 Ford Crown Victoria It has 340,600miles on it.Yeah I know thats alot.Recently it started having Trouble making it uphill it has trouble making it to 15mph uphill.I Took It to a Mechanic 2weeks ago. I got a New Fuel Pump installed in it.He said Its The SPARK PLUGS because the car keeps misfiring bad like 5 cylinders are msifiring.he said the car needs Spark Plugs,Intake Manifold,Air Filter & Exhaust Work but mainly the uphill problem is the BAD SPARK PLUGS

I just wanted to get an 2nd opinion from more people to see if y’all also think it could be the spark Plugs that’s causing it to Move Slow Uphill

2

Is the Check Engine light on/flashing?

Tester

3

yes it is flashing

4

[quote=“trexxsales, post:3, topic:103256, full:true”]
yes it is flashing
[/quote]That means you need to stop driving the car. You risk damaging the catalytic converter if you keep driving.

5

That’s not good!

A flashing Check Engine light indicates a major misfire is occurring.

And depending how long the vehicle is driven with the flashing Check Engine light, it can cause damage to the engine and the catalytic converter(s).

Tester

6

I would be very hesitant to replace all of those items considering the high miles unless some very thorough diagnostics were done.

How does the mechanic determine that spark plugs are the cause of the misfiring and inability to go uphill? Apparently he’s already made a somewhat expensive guess as to the fuel pump. If he replaced the pump on a guess without checking fuel pressure and so on I would be skeptical of the short laundry list he gave you helping things very much.

What would I do if the car were mine? While the spark plugs are out run a compression check and determine if the engine is on its last legs before sinking money into it. If the engine has gotten tired it will struggle on the uphill and misfires just make it worse. Keep in mind low compression can cause misfires and ruin the converters as Tester mentioned. Good luck.

1 Like
7

I had this problem. After trying everything else, I replaced the fuel pump, which cost $40, which made the difference. Mine was mounted on the engine and run by cam, so I didn’t have to fiddle with the gas tank.

If I thought the plugs were the problem I’d just replace them. What do they cost? $2/each? Doesn’t asking a mechanic cost more than replacing them? The Chilton and the Haines have color pictures illustrating the common problems from which plugs can suffer: inspect them to see if your engine shows any of those signs.

An air filter is also much cheaper than a professional consultation. I haven’t had to replace my intake manifold yet.