Cleanin of some vitals.

I was bored today and decided to do some clean up on some vital stuff on the Explorer.Its a 98 4.0 OHV

The stuff I used


Tools needed are a regular screw driver,8mm and 10mm sockets,1/4" drive
so as not to over torque anything.

First off disconnect the battery,using 8mm sosket.




I'm starting off with the IAC(idle air control)In my case mine is in need of replacing but I thought I'd clean it up anyways.

Disconnect the electrical connector,I'm usin a picke here just to point out where to push to release the connector




Time for the 10mm socket


...and here we have 1 carbon'd up IAC


Time for cleaning,I used gumout carb jet spray



I use compressed air to dry it out,and then reinstalled it.

In my case I have the howling intake issue so I removed the breather cap to keep the noise away but is on just for the picture.

Now onto the MAF(mass airflow sensor)


Remove the air intake hose and the connector


10mm socket for the 4 bolts,



The sensor part is actually 2 little wires inside this small hole



I used a eletronic spray cleaner and just sprayed it till I had clean stuff comin out,mine wasn't to bad only took a few shots,I let it sit for a bit and then reinstalled it.
I reconnected the battery for this next 1
Start the engine,it'll run a little ruff at first cause the intak hose is off the throttle body but it will smooth out

Its time for a throttle body/upper intake cleaning.While its running spray the cleaner all around the throttle plate and work the throttle to keep it runnin after you see that the cleaner coming back out is clean its time to stall it using the cleaner.Just spray it in till it stalls,then hold the throttle wide open and spray the rest of the can into the throttle body after it stalls.Let it sit for a good 15 minutes to 1/2 hour then fire it back up,its gonna be hard to start and may take a few tries,but hold the pedal to the floor and it will take off,be warned it will smoke and it will smell awful so be sure to do this outside of a garage.It will begin to smooth out after a couple times of goosin the throttle.
Reconnect the air intake hose,and I suggest take it on a short drive.! reason to clean any garbage out that is left in the intake and the other is to teach the computer that it has a clean MAF,it will have to relearn the the amount of air it senses.
My end result was a smotther idle better than anything I have done to it so far,and also way better throttle response.
The followin I did a while back its called the swiss cheesed air box mod,which allows more air in.Future upgrade will be an air intake kit,and hi flow exhaust.
All I did was drill a bunch of 1/2" holes in the box,elininate the restrictive air horn and the plastic shield behind the headlight to get as nusch air in as I could,but be sure to only drill the holes on the headlight side and fender side,this will preven suckin in the higher temps frome the engine.




You can see in this pic how much smaller the air horn is compared tp the actual opening


......and where the plastic shield was that I removed


The number spark plugs I use,these are a double platinum.


Its no mustang,but she sure does alot better,and even gets almost 20mpg for a 4x4 at average speeds of 75 on the highway.
I hope this helps someone will ing to do there own work at home.
I personally recomend the throttle body and intake cleaning about every 6 months.
Good luck.If ya got any questions just ask.

Dood the post is cool, but don't spray all that evil **** on the ground, it all ends up in our water

My 97 has a sticker inside the throttle body opening that warns against using cleaners because of the special coating to minimize buildup inside. I just wipe mine with a rag.

Don't all of the newer ones have the coating?

hey..... you said you removed the breather cap on the iac because it made noise... what kind of noise was it making?

I bet it was something like this

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=85293&highlight=IAC

why does it make that awful sound?, is that common on the 5.0 too?

dogfriend said:

My 97 has a sticker inside the throttle body opening that warns against using cleaners because of the special coating to minimize buildup inside. I just wipe mine with a rag.

Don't all of the newer ones have the coating?

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Yeah,once cleaned the coating is gone,and needs done on a regular basis.

hostile413 said:

why does it make that awful sound?, is that common on the 5.0 too?

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Low pitch howl,whistle,check out the WOOOO thread.Not sure exactly what the cause is but removing the dust cap makes it go away.,more common in hot conditions.I elected to keep mine off,as I said my IAC does need replacing.But as of right now the whistlin/howling was the only issue I had.My idle is the smoothest its ever been.

spindlecone said:

Dood the post is cool, but don't spray all that evil **** on the ground, it all ends up in our water

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It was on my garage floor and was evaporated in a few minutes,I clean the garage floor with enviromentally safe cleaner.I have a well near by and watch what goes on the ground.

I wrecked my IAC cleaning it, luckily a new one only cost about $30.

gtrz said:

I wrecked my IAC cleaning it, luckily a new one only cost about $30.

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Mine is weird I have no idling issues at all,just the howling intake when its hot hot.Matter of fact after the above was done like I said above she's smoother than its ever been

There is actually an easier and more effective method of cleaning out the sludge and carbon buildup in your TB and intake...

Go to your local parts store and get a can of Seafoam fuel system cleaner, it's in a white and red metal can. Start your Ex up and pull the vacumn hose off of the brake booster and stick it in the can of Seafoam and let it suck up half a can, then shut your engine off and let it soak for 5-10mins and fire it back up. It will smoke like heck for about an hour but that stuff cleans like no other!

Seafoam Deep Creep in a spray can works awsome for cleaning out the intake

No not the brake booster vacum line we discussed this already on a previous thread. Use the IAC hose on the air inlet tube, works awesome. SEAFOAM BABY.....

Bill for god sake please clean your engine bay with a good de-greaser.

Still feel the PCV line is best

Lazzman said:

No not the brake booster vacum line we discussed this already on a previous thread. Use the IAC hose on the air inlet tube, works awesome. SEAFOAM BABY.....

Bill for god sake please clean your engine bay with a good de-greaser.

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Its only dust.........I clean it once in a while.I live down a dirt road so it doesn't take long to look like that.
Nice to have a engine that doesn't leak a drop of oil with over 105k on it.

Green98XLT said:

There is actually an easier and more effective method of cleaning out the sludge and carbon buildup in your TB and intake...

Go to your local parts store and get a can of Seafoam fuel system cleaner, it's in a white and red metal can. Start your Ex up and pull the vacumn hose off of the brake booster and stick it in the can of Seafoam and let it suck up half a can, then shut your engine off and let it soak for 5-10mins and fire it back up. It will smoke like heck for about an hour but that stuff cleans like no other!

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I wanna do the seafoam treatment but where I bought my stuff at was out of it so I elected to do it with ye old spray can.
Wish I could find BG products down here that stuff is the best.
When I do I'll update here.Theres a few good pics here alrady on where to perform it from.I was told from a Ford tech at where I used to work at to use either the PCV or booster hose.

What's that black nob on that IAC ?

Mine doesn't have one...

Evil Republican said:

What's that black nob on that IAC ?

Mine doesn't have one...

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The black "knob" is the vent filter for the IAC. Its supposed to keep dirt out of the area where the piston moves back and forth. Yours must have fallen off or been removed by someone.

Edit: Or you have the other type of IAC valve. His pictures show a 2nd Gen.

Or it could be an aftermarket replacement, after 01 even the OEMs had no vent, most likely the reason they fail so often