02 V6 has ISSUES!!!

[ImpalaMan]

I did figure out the problem. THe timing of the cams was set perfectly. The issue was a crack in the fuel injector "adapters" that go into the heads. Once I got all new ones from the Ford dealership (really sucks nobody else carries them), reinstalled the intake manifold and it cranked right up and ran smooth. Still has a tad of an idle issue, but all the vacuum hoses on this vehicle are original. some are showing cracking/wear signs which tell me that if I replace all of the hoses, that everything will smooth out. But the explorer runs great once you get past idle. It doesn't stall out or anything, just gets a tad low on the rpms when you come to a stop sign/light before it comes back up. So, marking the living hell out of the timing chain for that head, the sprocket and the sprocket to the cam worked out perfectly. Keeping the timing chain snug through out the removal/install of the head was also a big help I think. All in all, thanks for the help guys. Definitely helped me weed out some possibilities that could have turned this into an engine pull. hehehe.

-ImpalaMan

 

[Javadog123]

Good job! Always feels good to get things running good again. Especially after investing a bunch of time and effort into it.

 

[ImpalaMan]

Hey everyone...I'm back. Here is what's new with my friends 02 Explorer...

Rough Idle. Seems that anything under 2000 RPMs is almost a lost cause, it will dance around 650-800 RPMs at idle, but it will die if it isn't reved up driven. No fuel leaks or anything like that, fuel pressure is good. Once it's past 1500-2000 RPMs when you are driving, it runs like there are no issues. Smooth, good power, etc.

At idle, when it's struggling you'll hear a vacuum noise almost like a leak, but then it stops and the engine smooths out a bit. Almost like the IAC and EGR are having an arguement. The vacuum hoses/clamps have all been replaced. The intake plenum gaskets are still new from when I replaced the head gasket a few months ago. There are no codes being thrown so this is definitely something mechanical. I keep wondering if the plastic intake plenum developed a small crack when the engine got hot originally before I began working on this vehicle. It had a rough idle problem back then to, but it is having a problem just starting (when she is running the car). When I go over there to check it out, it starts right up, but has a rough idle with the afore mentioned vacuum noise when the engine acts like it's going to die. Any help is always appreciated as I am stuck trying to figure this out.

-TheImpalaMan

 

[vipersinu2]

that what my truck was doing, I had a bad mass air flow sensor. I tried 3 autozone sensors and did not fix problem I had to get a ford sensor. and that fixed the problem.

 

[Javadog123]

I'd check the compression just to be sure that's not the problem. Overheated and running rough at idle sounds like a Malibu that I had for a couple of weeks. It as a compression issue.