Ford Fairmont Engine Problems

A misfire under load is often suggestive of an ignition or fuelling fault. You can check the performance of the fuel pump to see that it's delivering the volume of fuel it should, but don't ignore things like dirty fuel filters as a cause of poor fuel delivery.

That said, this engine is particularly susceptible to failures of the ignition coils. In fact, most mechanics who know their way around this engine will suspect faulty coils before anything else. It's not a terribly expensive fix even though there is a separate coil for each cylinder, but nine times out of ten, this will be the problem in a misfiring Falcon or Fairmont. The other piece of advice is to ensure you only use the genuine Ford ignition coils rather than a cheaper, knock-off coil.

The battery is being drained, so you need to trace the cause to be able to fix it. You have done the most obvious checks without finding it, but keep looking. If ultimately you can't find it you could install an isolator switch to the battery, which effectively disconnects it and should stop the problem.

The service refill capacity for your car is six litres.

It won’t be the distributor or the spark plugs. If it happens when you turn the key to the start position to crank the engine it could be the starter solenoid.

Those old Fords are renowned for failing body ECUs, but there would have to be an underlying problem to cause three failures in quick succession like that, so I would call in an auto electrician to sort it out.

When you say you have fuel, spark and air. How sure are you? These are not complicated engines and given all three of those things are present, the thing is kind of obliged to run. For instance, while you might be able to hear the fuel pump running (suggesting that fuel is being supplied) have you checked the fuel volume and pressure at the injector rail? Similarly, while there may be power at the coil packs, are the spark plugs actually doing their job?

Beyond that, you need to start looking for an alternative problem and, in engines like this one, you’d probably start with things like the crank-angle sensor which supplies information to the computer to allow the engine to fire. If this – or any other – sensor is dodgy, it can put a stop to play. An electronic scan might reveal more clues.

It sounds to me like the fuel is vaporising for some reason. Have you had any sign of the engine overheating? Check the cooling system to make sure all is well there and the engine is not getting too hot. Also check the fuel delivery system, the fuel pump, fuel filter, fuel lines and fuel return system. Consider putting some fuel system cleaner in the next time you fill up with fuel.

I'd say the transmission cooler failed in the old radiator and allowed coolant into the transmission. Replacing the radiator has fixed the coolant leak, but it sounds like it's too late for the transmission. Try a transmission service, you might be lucky, if that doesn't do the trick you could be up for a transmission rebuild.

This version of the Ford 5.4-litre V8 is not universally admired by mechanics. It can tend to run hot, and it’s quite common for this unit to suffer from stretched timing chains, worn chain tensioners and guides. Any problem in the area of the timing chains can lead to a misfire or stumble, and it can be worse when the engine is hot and the oil pressure that powers the timing chain mechanisms starts to fall away.

The best advice is to have the car electronically scanned. This might pinpoint the problem by throwing up a fault code that a mechanic can decipher (including the camshaft timing fault we’re talking about). Don’t continue to throw new parts at the engine; that’s a great way to waste time and money and still not fix the problem.

Even though the car isn’t moving, putting it in gear, does place some load on the engine. The rule of thumb is that a miss under load will be ignition related. These engines are well known for failing coil-packs which, essentially, provide the spark for the engine. If these aren’t operating correctly, a miss can certainly be one symptom.

But a better approach would be to have the car scanned electronically. At that point, the car’s own computer will very possibly throw up the answer to what ails it. That will save you a lot of time and money changing parts that were not the problem in the first place.