2002 Ford Explorer
2x4
4.6L
V8
200k miles
My 2002 explorer is not starting, it cranks but won't stay running.
Just before it did this to me, I was driving down the road and I heard what sounded like a metal piece falling from the engine.
My dad is a mechanic and he already swapped out the fpr/damper as well as the fuel pump, (this was after the no start) recently before this issue like 2 or 3 months ago swapped the injectors out, ignition coils and even spark plugs. Also swapped out the MAF sensor, now we have ordered a compressor kit (cheap one from amazon) and he is hoping he can track down where it isn't having enough fuel. (He did the Schrader valve check after replacing the fuel pump and there is a noticeable difference in the amount of fuel that is coming out, as in there is far more pressure.) EDIT: So it isn't a fuel issue, thinking it may be a sensor somewhere.
Still, he and others seem to be quite puzzled by the metal rattling I heard while driving and it stopped running/being drivable after it, which I do not think is coincidental. (Honestly, I can't help but wonder if the metal piece pulled some wires loose just enough that they aren't hanging anywhere, but still not quite making good enough contact to allow it to run.)
We also checked that fuel pump cutoff safety switch (the inertia switch... he even tried bypassing it) and we pushed it and it is still cranking but not starting fully. (The relay under the hood was also checked, and it appears to be good.)
One more bit of helpful information is that when my dad hooked up his machine it was throwing all kinds of rich codes, but he cleared them after switching out the fuel pump, and now the machine won't read any codes at all. (Maybe it had something to do with the wires to the PCM?
All of this was done to no avail, and it still won't turn over and stay running.
We do NOT think it was the timing chain as there isn't major damage to anything in the engine bay.
Also, it was not knocking before it did this.
The battery may have died on us while we tried to get it started and it has been sitting for almost a month now due to this, so we think that perhaps the anti-theft is triggered, but we had to tow it to my sisters and we haven't been able to test that theory, but yea still wanted to reach out here for any other ideas, that you all might have about it.
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Thanks for your time!
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