Ford Expedition with slow acceleration, strong vibrations, and gas smell

Ekeoma
Fri, 15 Apr 2016 22:45:40 +0000
Maintenance/Repairs

My 1998 Ford Expedition XLT with V8 5.4L engine has been having issues for about six months. It first started off with a strong gasoline and burnt rubber smell coming from the front of the car within a few minutes of starting the engine. Later, the whole car began vibrating and would intensely shudder every once in a while when idling. The car doesn’t accelerate well from a standstill.
The RPM will climb up to 3000-4000 while going from 0 MPH to 10 MPH, then it will lurch forward a bit and it pick up a little more speed. It struggles again around 15 MPH until it hit 20 MPH when it will lurch again and pick up normal acceleration. Once I try to go 40 MPH or more, the whole will start shuddering loudly and still struggles with maintaining speed. I have not attempted to drive over 50 MPH. The best acceleration I can get is when I take 30-45 seconds to slowly press the gas pedal and work my way up to the speed I want.
I was also following my father in another car while he drove the Expedition and on the highway, I saw sparks come out from the back of the Expedition’s undercarriage when it climbed up an overpass.
When driving over roads that aren’t smooth, or when I accelerate, there is a sound from the back of the car like jangling chains or metal rods. It still makes the sound while the gas pedal isn’t pressed or the gear is in neutral, so I think there is something, but have not seen anything underneath that could jangle around. While looking underneath, I saw that that some areas looked rusty, but not cracked. There is also a black piece under the engine that looked like it was made of plastic. It looked wet and oily and had a 2-3 inch opening in the center. I feel that there was supposed to be some sort of cover there.
I now only drive it when it’s unavoidable, usually once a week or less, and usually distances of 5 miles or less.
I think the problem is with the use of fuel in the engine (fuel gauge fluctuates all the time, especially while driving on hills).
Thank you in advance for any advice and help.

11 posts - 6 participants