I have a 2002 F150 with a 5.4 Triton the truck runs great but when I start it in the morning I get a tapping sound along with a miss it through a code that said "miss on start up cylinder #1. This only lasts about 20 to 30 seconds then the noise and the miss goes away and the truck runs great,,does anyone know what this is and what I can do about it?

 

What was the specific code that came up?
A miss can be anything from a injector not working, to the COP ( Coil On Plug) not working, or boot over the sparkplug shorting out, to a spark plug going bad or loose, to also a vacuum leak.
Vacuum leaks and COP are the most prevalent issues , followed by the boot not sealing. It can be a injector but these really don't fail too often. That being said a injector can go bad but are at the bottom of the list.

Considering that you mentioned the #1 cylinder, I would start there checking the connection carefully on where the COP plugs in to the harness , making sure it is fully seated and not loose/wiggly going into the top of the sealed top of the COP. ( I recently found one of mine loose there). Then check the connections to the injectors as well.

Going back to the #1 cyl...I would pull that plug and check the well or hole that the sparkplug sits in for coolant. The alum cross over to the Thermostat housing to heater core lines can spring a slow leak and wick coolant into that well hole shorting out the spark that way too.
Unfortunately if that is what is happening the better fix is to replace the whole intake manifold. Reason one, is that there are 4 bolts that can only be reached with the intake manifold removed. Reason two, Most times one cannot separate the alum from the molded plastic without creating more cracks or braking things more. Reason three, that molded plastic tends to get brittle over the course of time which is generally responsible for reason two & pesky vacuum leaks . Not saying it can't be done....but there is a fair amount of labor to get that intake manifold out and to put it back in with some new gaskets only to find out that it still leaks or and new leak was made in the process or repairing the first, is just plain is aggravating .

Another thing to consider also is how many miles the spark plugs have on them? If they have over 60k miles on them I'd be inclined to put in some new ones in. ( motorcraft plugs and COPS work best on these)
If you're not sure how many miles are on them then new ones are probably due. ( torque the new spark plugs to 28 ft/lbs). Which brings us to the boots, which can decay/degrade over time allowing the spark delivery to go to the side of the spark plug well and not to the spark plugs as intended. ALSO...the spark plug itself can be loose and make some warning noises if your careful to notice. So you need to look things over carefully.

Now for the noise....the noise can be directly related to the miss or it can not. What I mean is that the sparkplug connection could not be all that great or vacuum leak is there only on cold start ups and reseals after a bit and you get a noise with it. Or you could have a leaking or cracked exhaust manifold which happens to go away about the same time the miss does as thing warm up.

 

OK I have an update I drove the truck home from work yesterday it did the usual ticking at start up but the truck had a miss all the way home got up this morning started the truck had the ticking and the miss at start up but when I left the house there no miss until about half way to work then the miss came back so it now seems you are right the tick on start up and the miss are two different things.

 

Thanks guys for your replies I am going to take the truck to a garage that a friend of mine owns that I trust and let him do the testing I feel like the COP is probably the culprit but I don't want to just throw parts at it so I will go that route. Thanks again for taking the time to reply!!

 

If any one of you guys know is there a after market COP set for this truck that doesn't cost a arm and a leg and that's reliable?

 

WELL, that is the tough bill to fill, economical and reliable. Have you looked on RockAuto? Amazon? even Ebay? or Summit racing?
I just replaced (1) COP, yes it was MotorCraft, and paid $44 to my door, That said, I'm sure if you're getting a whole set of 8 they can be cheaper.

They are 2 thoughts here, 1) Get a cheep set and run as long as you can & probably swap them out more often. The problem is that some maybe bad out of the box and some may only last a few months & some may last for some time, its a real roll of the dice.

thought 2), get a quality set and pay more up front and have much less issues ( if any) and not be under the hood as often.

Now if you don't mind the wrench time and being more intimate with your truck, get the cheep set. If you don't care to be under the hood so much or you really depend on your truck day in and day out, then spend the extra $$.

The only aftermarket ones that I'm aware of, that have good reputation are MSD and maybe Denso but they are going to be nearly as expensive or more then OEM, depending where you get them.

I can not recommend Accel COPs

 

http://www.partsgeek.com/catalog/2002/ford/f150/engine_electrical/direct_ignition_coil.html
i have had great luck with parts from here. fast shipping

 

Thank you very much!!

 

your welcome. happy new year hope with it you get your truck running smoothly

 

agreed ken. factory parts no mater what it is work better and last longer. accel and msd their chevy hei coils have cost me many a tow,

 

I have one more question if you don't mind my truck is a 2002 F150 with a 5.4 triton how do I know if I have the dreaded breaking spark plugs in this engine?

 

I show 02 having a standard plug. Not the breaking ones.
They started with the 3 valves.

 

Typically this generation does not break spark plugs , that usually is held to the 1st half of the next generation (04' to like 08') with a 2 piece spark plug & 3v. That said, I'm sure one can break a spark plug.

However, this gen can have spark plug ejection issues mostly due to too low of installation torque spec which should be bumped up to 28ft/lbs.
Unless you have a bore scope to send down the hole to inspect it is hard to tell if your truck previously had a ejection repair. One of tell tail signs is that the spark plug never feels like it is able tighten down. Which means that the threads are striped or nearly so, or the repair of a stripped out thread is failed. Heili-coil is not a good repair for this ....most recommend Time Sert .

Pray-Tell, What makes you thing that you may have a broken spark plug?