Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Duratec Maintenance egr part number

lots of jokes here I see

Well the car idles fine now but..............

when I turn the A/c on or the defroster on the idle refuses to stay steady when the car is in park or I am stopped at a light. The idle oscillates some what going up to slightly below 1k and staying slight above 0.5k rpm. I was not having this problem before.

Any thoughts?

Bad IAC.....51.00$ w/gasket From Steve at Tasco Ford....

"Bad IAC....." from slm I doubt it.
idle is fine except when a/c is on must be something else.

any other ideas

Yeah, you have a problem sustaining a load at idle. That has to do with one of four possible areas:
1 fuel
2 spark
3 air
4 compression

You're getting fuel, spark, and air because it runs. IF you can accelerate fine off idle then you could say that your pump is fine and your coils/plugs are fine. The wires can cause issues at any random engine speed so maybe look at those.

A dirty MAF sensor wire may not be allowing your car to sense low levels of air entering the engine so it could be calculating the wrong air fuel mixture.

Your compression could suck in one or more cylinders causing the engine to be unable to sustain a smooth idle.

As far as your idle air control valve issue: You should have just cleaned it and reinstalled it. THe PCV valve should also be cleaned and reinstalled. The throttle body should be pulled and/or cleaned and check the egr passages for excessive crud.
Fu(k, just pull the UIM and LIM and do a proper cleaning as posted in the HOW-To's! Then take a cotton swap and brake parts cleaner to clean the MAF resistor wires then reassemble.
If you still have issues run the compression test. HEll, run that first!

Stop getting yourself ass-raped by these guys first though.

warmonger all shops that I have been to do not want to remove the manifolds to clean. they would rather use solvents to do the cleaning. In fact they always mention how expensive it is to remove the Manifold just to do some carbon cleaning. I live in the city and do not have a place to leave the car while removing parts to inspect clean or replace that is why I have to rely on these rape artrist to do the job.

You might not know it but car ownership is down where I live because of the expense of owning a vehicle new or old (upkeep cost are high parts and service tickets parking etc rent)

WEll, the cleaning is a pain but removing the manifolds is really a 15 minute process if you are experienced.
Pulling the intake pipe, unbolting the EGR (two bolts not the pipe) vacuum lines, pcv, throttle cables, manifold bolts....yep, takes me only 15m!
The lower is even easier and you can leave injectors and fuel lines plugged into it. You just unbolt it and lift it off and lay it on the side over a shop blanket or something. Then you can take and clean them paper towels and solvent.
The upper manifold can usually use a good soaking with solvent overnight, then be sprayed out the next day.
I would imagine a shope could do it in 3 hours, maybe $150-$200 should do the trick. Gaskets can be reused as long as they are still pliable!

You should really follow a how-to and teach yourself to do this project.

Well said, Tom.

I agree.. That is what the how-to's are for.. to enable us to further our own knowledge by building on the steps laid out before us. Don't volunteer any more money. If you can PARK your car for 3 hours.. you could do this..

Check out the how-to's..

Ray

Not to sound like a Pri(k, but, if you already know the answer to your idle issue, why ask the question(s)? You said the IAC was "really carbed [sic] up"...after too long, you can only clean an IAC valve so much before it needs to be replaced. You dismissed my opinion pretty quickly, even though you believed your "shop" broke out a timing light to adjust your timing.

As far as the UIM/LIM, it doesn't sound like you relish the thought of tearing down anything to replace a gasket.....throwing solvents into the intake will only clean so much out(it also isn't so "kind" to your catalytics or valves). I'm really not too keen on performing the UIM/LIM cleaning, but it would appear that I have a vacuum leak(and have a situation very similar to yours).....so I HAVE to do this myself or pay the stealership big $$ to do it for me. BTW, I don't live in a great "spot" to do car repairs here in Springfield either, but I work with what I have. The FAQ's are based on Member's experiences doing the "jobs" themselves....why not give it a try?

(throws on Asbestos suit for the inevitable "flaming")