Idle help

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Gary Rousseau

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Mar 31, 2015
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Location
West Wareham, MA
Hi, I have a 2004 Ford Explorer Sport Trac 4.0 with 110,000 miles. The problem I have is it idles low and the car shakes and wants to stall. It iniatilly threw codes P0300, P0304, P0305. Changed the wires, plugs, coil pack, and pvc hose with elbows. No difference. Changed fuel pump, no difference. Checked all over for vacuum leaks. Could not find one. Changed MAF sensor, no difference. What do I need to do???
 
Three trouble codes still there? IAC cleaned?
 
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Disconnect the neg battery terminal for 15 minutes. Reconnect and let it idle till motor is normal temp. The ECU might relearn the idle. If not the IAC might need replacing. Sometimes with milage cleaning wont help.
 
Was thinking of trying to replace the fuel pump driver module. Maybe that is going. It does look bad but I do not see any holes in the metal... When we checked the idle air control we were able to move the plunger. Seems to be okay...
 
The IAC is a magnetic coil. Works from varying VDC input.

The coil is a specfic ohm load.

See the link
 
You've thrown a good amount of parts at it. What is condition of basic stuff like battery and fuel filter? Reading your fuel trims in real-time with a scan tool will show how the O2 sensors are working.
 
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40psi was at idle. It went up a little when given throttle. Tested iac as shown in previous post. Even bought a new one to test. They each had same readings. Have a ford fpdm coming tomorrow. This my last resort. If this dont correct idle, off to dealer... And yes changed filter, battery good, cleaned this and that...
 
Sorry I can't be of any help, you are blindly changing parts so fast for no rhyme or reason that it is impossible to help you. So how come, after all the money that you have spent on shotgunning parts at this thing, that you are only going to change one more part and THEN pay someone else to diagnose it? How much money do you think you would have saved by having it properly diagnosed in the 1st place instead of guessing. At my shop it would have cost $90 and then you would have known EXACTLY what the problem was...I'm betting that fuel pump that you didn't need was just a little more than that.
 
Yeah, seems like alot. Have over 110,000 miles so plugs, wires, coil pack, and pcv valve and elbows were needed anyway. As far as fuel pump it was failing (when tested out of truck the flow dropped). The maf sensor was result of 2 garages that both told me that this would solve my problem ( they were wrong, both stated to me they dont know what now, and yes used scanner, remember really throwing no codes, just negative trim). Yesterday car was looked at by another certified mechanic. He went onto his pay per month tech site. He states change the fpdm. This is how all this is happening. I been dealing with mechanics who have many years of experience and own their businesses. They are scratching their heads. The only reason why the dealer came into play is because i have been told maybe one of their techs might of come across this. So far all i have invested is the price of parts. With the maf sensor the only waste of money (65$). Thought i come to this forum with this in the hopes of someone who went through all this and can offer some insight....
 
Gary,



What field was your certified mechanic certified in? I must apologize to you, I thought that you were just blindly swapping parts with no insight. I didn't realize that a garage or a mechanic was guiding you....if you could call it that



Yours is s story that I hear all to often from many customers that come into my shop. After they have been to multiple repair facilities and spent a lot of money they somehow make it to me. Most are reluctant to pay a diagnostic charge, rightfully so, but when I tell them that I guarantee that I will fix their issue or they pay nothing at all they start to see things differently. Find a shop that will give you this guarantee, if they are worth a dam they will have no problem.



Yours doesn't sound like a hard problem to solve. Do you only have an idle issue or are you experiencing problems while driving also?
 
Not trying to play a guessing game, but. I remember one of our members had an idle issue when in gear. He found that the torque convertor lock up, was not releasing. Creating too much load on the motor when in gear. There fore the low and stumbling idle.
 
Today we put on the new ford fpdm. It is running much better. The idle is still bouncing around 700-1000. We decided to disconnect battery for night and see if computer has to re-learn in morning. My mechanics i have known for the past 28+ years ( i am a P.O. And i am tasked with maintaining the fleet. I set up the maintenance. They are helping me). Wish i was told change this and its done.. Believe me they have used scanners, propane, and numerous other troubleshooting tools. Everyone is stumped so far....
 
After all the chasing of the different codes. It has come down to a dead drop on cylinder #5. Certainly not the direction the codes sent us. We removed the head and brought it to machine shop. They found a broken valve spring (replacing all springs on the head). Hope to re-install this Thursday. Will keep you up to date.....
 
Put the head on, timed camshaft as best we can. Still misfiring. Tried putting some seafoam in oil and vacuum line. All of a sudden it was like a snow storm coming out exhaust. It was catalytic particles. Found upper left pre cat to be gone as in a giant hole through it. Ordered the y pipe and changed that. Guess what still a mis on left bank. Ordered the timing kit. Timed engine with that. Guess what still a mis. Did new compression test on left side, 4&5 180lbs, 6 155lbs. Going to try some seafoam in fuel to see what that does now. At this point I have approx $1400 in parts. Thankfully have a friend doing labor. I would sell this right now for $5000 obo as is. Once we finally get it I would be looking for $7000 obo. Anybody out there that has a clue as to what we missed please chirp in. If you want to buy it at this low price knowing you can fix it. You can get a good deal. It had 111,000 miles on it...
 
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