Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Duratec Maintenance Post to end my other posts

I have been looking around some other posts, and I have come back to the high idle questions, I know my idle comes down after about 30 seconds on start up, but I have never really watched it inbetween shifts while driving. Well not that I don't look at it, but have never made an attempt to watch for irregular rpm. When I cleaned my EGR passage ways, they were clogged tight. If they were this dirty, would it be safe to assume that the EGR valve itself could be that clogged and so could the IAC valve? Would that not have an affect on the gas mileage? I'm thinking about maybe getting a bottle of cleaner again and filling up the tank this afternoon. Any suggestions or thoughts?

Maybe you gas milage is bad because you have to drive up/down hills every day. Might not be, just a suggestion.

yeah I have thought of that too. I think I'm going to just go on the high way and empty half the tank. to see if thei mileage does change at all. If the weather gets any better today I hopefully will make the trip out to AutoZone. Last night I took my girlfriend out to eat and that put around 20 miles highway on too. So between that and Autozone I'll see if there is a spike in gas mileage. For some reason though I am still doubtful..Cause even when I bought the car, in the first week I had it we put around 80-90 miles straight highway on it just getting it and taking a trip out to a mall. And even the I don't think the mileage was great cause I remember it only went like 220 some miles and it was just above the E. and I took somewhere around 11-12 gallons of gas. And that is the only time I don't have written down what the mile and gas was. So even if it was 230 on 11 gallons, that is only 20.9 mpg. So I don't know.

Oh remember something else, Someone at my school said that with the newer cars and the electronic fuel control if one of the plugs isn't ignitning enough gas, the car will over componsate by dumping in more fuel. I think he meant, that if the car thinks the cyclinder isn't producing enough power, the car puts in more fuel because the chip thinks its because lack of fuel to actually burn. Which would cause mass build of crap in the EGR passageways. Just another thought to put out there lol

yeah the plugs are 15-20 bucks, but I doubt I'll be able to get the back 3 on my own...so it would plugs + whatever to get them put in

i'm not a mechanic and i have big hands and i got at the back three no problem without removing the coilpack either, just use the extension. Your first time doing them it will take about an hour. After that you can do it in a half hour

I agree the back three can be accessed easily with the aid of extensions. The hardest thing is removing the plug wires because of the cramped quarters but it can still be done without much trouble. I just did this last week because I was experiencing the same problem as you. I pulled my plugs and checked the gap, made sure all were .054". I also cleaned the MAF sensor and IAT sensor with 3M non-chlorinated brake cleaner, even thought them didn't look dirty. At the same time I reinstalled my factory airbox and added fuel injector cleaner during my last two fill-ups. In late summer I had done a complete UIM/LIM cleaning so I didn't bother checking them. The result for me has been greatly improved milage, I expect to get between 310 and 340 miles on this latest tank of gas which has been a 50/50 mix of highway/city driving and for the most part keeping the RPM below 3000. That is good for me considering the colder weather we are getting now. FWIW I also changed from Sunoco Ultra 94 to Shell 91 octane fuel as a test, I am happy with the results so far.

Hey guess what! it finally isn't freakin raining today! Hooray! lol Anyway besides finally my driveway is not longer a mud puddle I might take the trip today. Also considering cleaning the MAF and IAC Sensor. I'll have to search to find out how...I haven't done that before. So it sounds like a good bet. Still kind of iffy on the spark plugs. I'll take it to Auto Zone, clean the MAF and the IAC and see if it changes.

i just changed out the spark plugs this weekend, you don't need to remove the coil pack. I had to remove a bolt off it though, to remove one of those pieces that is attached to coil pack.. can't explain it but i took a picture so i'll try to post that up later to help those that haven't changed plugs yet.

you just need to pull the plug wires from the coil pack and move them around so you have enough room to access the spark plugs. you need an 8" extension.. i used a 6" and a 3" together. there's enough room to get there, the hardest challange is getting a good grip and pulling plug wires out by the boot. with patience it'll come out. you don't need small girly hands to be able to do this. it took me an hour or so to finish this, in the dark and in the cold.. so it's definitely doable. i encourage everyone to just try.
i'll try to post a link to pictures later if they help any.

also cleaned by throttle plate so it doesn't stick anymore.. what a difference it makes.