2001 Windstar Bucking

[luvkadcl]

2001 Windstar 190,000 miles. Starting bucking at low speed (below 40) and would then run smooth. It was a slight bucking. Then took a long 4 hr. trip and the bucking was very bad at any speed. Sometimes going away at a constant speed. dh put in fuel injector cleaner and it was somewhat better. Didn't buck constantly only with initial excelleration. Two days ago it started bucking worse then the long trip. Engine light was blinking. I could also hear a thumping noise. I added fuel injector cleaner and didn't notice a difference until after 10 min, it did run smoother at a contant speed. Bad bucking at stopping. Dh does have codes from Auto Zone. #5 We just had a major snow storm and it is very cold now. No garage to work in.

Thanks for any help.

[wiswind]

I know that to some....I sound like a broken record....
I have a '96 3.8L, and I am thinking that they may have corrected the problem in later years....but Mine is prone to build up crud inside the "end cap" of the fuel injectors.
I have pictures that somewhat show this.
I have tried MANY fuel system / fuel injector cleaners....
My mechanic handed me a can of Berryman's B-12 Chemtool when I went to him with the problem.....listened patiently while I gave him a list of cleaners that I had tried....and told me to use the Berryman's....
He explained that most fuel system cleaners are detergent based.....and are good, but that some deposits (like mine) needed a solvent based cleaner.

So, in short......give the Berryman's B-12 Chemtool (metal can) a try.
They carry it at AutoZone and other part stores.

Other things that can cause the problem, Fuel filter, spark plugs, spark plug wires, Coil pack..(seems your 2001 is in a coil pack issue range).....then on to fuel pump....but try fuel pump relay before fuel pump.
I would look at the other things before fuel pump ($$$) as they are routine maintenance items, and cheaper than fuel pump.

[serge_saati]

Check also the vacuum line clamp. The one for the vacuum brake system. Windywoo had the same problem.

[Ron AKA]

If the missing (bucking) only occurs when you accelerate slowly at low engine RPM, it may be the spark plug wires that are the problem. Check each wire with an ohm meter for resistance.

[bolts 75]

Originally Posted by luvkadcl

2001 Windstar 190,000 miles. Starting bucking at low speed (below 40) and would then run smooth. It was a slight bucking. Then took a long 4 hr. trip and the bucking was very bad at any speed. Sometimes going away at a constant speed. dh put in fuel injector cleaner and it was somewhat better. Didn't buck constantly only with initial excelleration. Two days ago it started bucking worse then the long trip. Engine light was blinking. I could also hear a thumping noise. I added fuel injector cleaner and didn't notice a difference until after 10 min, it did run smoother at a contant speed. Bad bucking at stopping. Dh does have codes from Auto Zone. #5 We just had a major snow storm and it is very cold now. No garage to work in.

Thanks for any help.

Have a 2001 Windstar 70000 miles. I had similar problems bucking and hesitation at low rpms ~1500. Changed some stuff including EGR valve (helped a bit), EVR, and finally fuel injectors. Problem would go away for a week or so, then come back. Got a couple P0304 codes (cylinder 4 misfire). Finally found a TSB ENGINE/TRANSMISSION DRIVEABILITY ISSUES TSB 06-14-10. It has to do with water leaking down from the cowl panel grille into the PCM connector and also on a transmission connector. Did the procedures and cleaned the PCM connector (which did have a trace on water on it), cleaned the transaxle electrical connectors as well. Then put dielectric grease on all of them for good measure. Put everything back together. Van drives beautifully and shifts much smoother as well. I let everyone know if it holds up or craps again in about a week (at which point it will be crushed).

[stang&fords]

This has been an excellent thread for me and helped me solve the problem I had with my 2000 Windstar that was bucking and stalling. It has 130,000 miles on it and has been very reliable since new until this. It started to buck at any speed. The symptom wasn't the same as a miss. It would act like the ignition would drop for a half second every 10-30 seconds. At a light it might stall when one of the episodes happened unless you were in park or neutral.

The first step was to change the fuel filter. I had 40k on it and it was getting plugged pretty well so reminder to all to change those filters. That didn't solve the problem. It did throw a P1121 code which was the MAF sensor did not match TP sensor. It was only a preliminary code and did not light the CEL. I did clean the MAF sensor as those mentioned. It actually helped to where it didn't do it until about 15 minutes or more of driving and wasn't as bad but no fixed.

I changed the MAF sensor with a Reman $104 from Smyth. That solved the problem. It even seemed to help the occasional surging and intermittent stalling I learned to live with.

[CnlK]

Like stang&ford's post, my 2000 3.8l was bucking, ended up being the MAF. My generic code reader never picked up any codes. Others have had similar symptoms and different solutions. Try cleaning the MAF sensor with appropriate cleaner, if symptoms lessen that's your problem. I found a used one at a boneyard for $60 several years ago. As others have mentioned, coil packs are know to fail, injectors become plugged, inadequate fuel pressure, corroded connections, bad fuel pump relay, can be a tricky problem to solve. A blinking engine light indicates a misfire, post the code and you'll get some more detailed feedback.

[KC79]

i just went through this myself. my 01 windstar 125,000 it started out feeling like the tranny was slipping. would do it everytime i hit 40mph then shift and it stopped. then i had a few days of really bad bucking. my plugs were done a year ago and i was thinking a bad plug. pulled a code for a bad plug but it turned out it was the coil.

[old89lsc]

I just posted my recent experience on a new thread, but long story short my problem was the coil. I guess the question would be how old your coil is?

Is the bucking worse in higher gears 3rd or 4th, at lower RPMS, less than 2,000? If so, my experience is generally that this is a spark problem. Bad bucking during stopping, however, I wouldn't expect to be spark related.

I would recommend a quick EGR test. Disconnect the vacuum line on the EGR valve and plug the vacuum line. Then drive the vehicle. If the bucking goes away, then you likely either have a bad DPFE sensor or a dirty EGR ports. If it doesn't, then at least you can scratch those items off the list of causes. This test is the easiest diagnostic to perform.

The fact that the fuel cleaner improved how your vehicle was running doesn't necessarily mean that your fuel injectors are the problem. It could just mean that they were dirty and made the problem worse. Injector Cleaner helped my vehicle run better when the coil was the problem.

Never give up.