foned

First i will say i have very little experience and knowledge in regards to cars in general, im not exactly mechanically inclined.

I have a 2001 Mustang GT, about 8 months ago i had my mechanic at work replace my plugs and boots on my car, I can't remember exactly but a short time after my check engine light came on, and i noticed that when i went to start my car it failed repeatedly, it would start to turn over and die, sometimes it had a sound similar to a small backfire, or sort of like a loud pop, sometimes it would just lug hard and then start. I had my mechanic at work check it out, he said the cam sensor was bad, he replaced it, the light came back on, he looked at it again and basically told me he didn't know what was wrong, that it could be a wiring problem, or computer problem etc. since then i haven't done much about it, i didnt know what to do exactly, and lack the funds to have anyone check into it. but now im being forced, i need to smog my car and with the check engine light on it wont pass.

Through my research i found it could be a problem with the alternator, i took it off and had it tested at auto zone (it was kind of janky the way they tested it, but it tested twice and failed twice) so i replaced the alternator and nothing changed. I had the cam sensor scoped, and was told it was functioning. Now im basically at a loss, except for taking it to a dealership and paying 100+ to have a diagnostic done, and who knows how much they are going to want me to do.

other things -

I cleaned my KNN out and re-oiled it today
I have a vacuum tube on top of my engine that appears to have a hole in it that im going to replace tomorrow
Some of my boots feel as if they could be loose, but i tightened the bolts and it didnt seem to help, so i figured it was just the rubber having give
I checked my fuses, some of them appear to have burn marks on the contact points but don't appear to be bad
I have 98,000 Miles on my car


Any help would be appreciated. thank you in advance.

TripleJay22

I had that same exact problem about 5 months ago when i kept going thru cam sensors, luckly my car is under a full aftermarket warranty and one day it just stopped starting all together and had it towed in and they replaced about 3 or 4 sensors along with the cam shaft position sensor, but long story short it is back in the shop right now because of a ticking noise it was making at certain rpms and they said it is the cam shaft bearings which could of been giving the bad reading to the sensor.

mustangman281

Get your car out of that shop ASAP. These cars don't have cam shaft bearings. Next they are going to tell you they have to change the blinker fluid.

Mustang_NTriangle

I had your same exact problem and it was the cam sensor.

jmac72187

I had that code in my GT and it ended up being the alternator regulator. I have heard of this before also. No idea why it is connected though.

cliffyk

What?

Of course we have camshaft bearings, what the heck do you think supports the two camshafts as they rotate?

This said, I would dispute that camshaft bearings have anything to do with the reported issue...

mustangman281

Show me a picture of a camshaft bearing out of a 4.6l engine.

I don't see any bearings

reznap

Really? Obviously I've never had one apart. It appears this is good info (I looked around on the net a bit) but I thought all cams rode on bearings. Anyway, all my experience is on diesels, someone educate me.

(Not saying I don't believe you, I'm just stupified)

mustangman281

I just did educate you. I build these engines all the time and know everything there is to know about them. Some people only give out advice from what they read off the ford manual dvd and never seen the inside of an engine.

reznap

Thanks! Good advice to the guy about staying away from that shop then...