1996 Aerostar is misfiring after replacing the plugs & cables.

[Sooke]

I have a 6 cylinder 4 litre engine, I have replaced all new plugs, and wires. It now idles great at the first 30 seconds,,, then when it slows down to low idle, it starts to miss. I put my hand on the exhaust end of pipe, and it puffs on every odd second or two. Especially under load, it runs rough..... can anyone answer this one for me.... And yes, I checked the plugs and ran the engine and every one has strong spark... being yellow and blue spark. So, I think the coil could be the problem,,,, I hope not because I cant remove it unless I take the intake manifold off. The two bolt behind the coils is up against the firewall... which is impossible to get at..... Thanks, Don

 

[Rick]

When you checked your plugs, did the insulators look the same color on all of them, or was there an insulator that was darker, or sootier than the rest?

Welcome to our forum

 

[Sooke]

Rough Idle on Minivan

Hello, thankyou for the response.... I did check the wires and plugs,,, I changed them a week ago, and the insulators also looked good.... I called a friend of mine who is a mechanic, and suggested to me to change the coil pack,, which he has on hand for me to try.... I will get back to you on that note.... thanks again... Don

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! I've renamed your thread, and moved it into the Aerostar section. Check the firing order. It should be 1-4-2-5-3-6. Do you have a check engine light?

 

[Jose A.]

I've had the same symptoms in mine, it is most likely the coil pack causing the misfire, if you can borrow a substitute to check if any difference, Autozone sells them for $80.00 for the 4 liter.

you can remove & replace the coil pack removing the interior "transmission tunnel" cover, first removing the cup holder for clearance, and if still not enough clearance, remove the ABS module under the center console.

 

[Sooke]

1996 Aerostar Coil Pack

Hello,,,, thanks for the reply, I did actually replace the coil a couple of days ago.... only to find out that with the new replacement made no difference at all.... I was very surprised.... now the code reader is telling me I have lean fuel mixture with air,,,, and also poor exhaust recirculation.... I think its the egr that may need replacing or cleaning.... so yesterday, I went to the wrecker and took three intake sensors,,, (map) I think,.,., and one more to get off the butterfly intake,,, so among these four things,, I hope I can rid of these faults.... before I waste more money on new ones..... Could it be also the catalytic converter being plugged? I also wont rule out fuel filter.... thanks ,, Don

 

[Jose A.]

that darned EGR, it's a total fraud! hahaa! I was told to remove the black box with two hoses leading to the exhaust, (mounted above the EGR Valve in the 4 liter), and clean any crud off it and the two hoses, supposedly that will clear the Code. I just haven't gotten to it.

I was also told the missing/misfiring could be a failed intake gasket, and of course, a bad coil pack. There is an excellent article on how to test the coil pack step-by-step:

http://easyautodiagnostics.com/ford_coil_pack/ford_coilpack_tests_3.php

and for the EGR:

http://easyautodiagnostics.com/ford_egr_test/ford_egr_valve_1.php

I think if the cat was clogged it would turn red hot.

 

[BrooklynBay]

There is no MAP sensor. You're probably referring to the DPFE sensor.

 

[Sooke]

Egr May be the Problem

Hello, been working on the van this afternoon.... tried to remove the one inch pipe fittings below the EGR and into the exhaust... will not budge due to rust and heat making it solid... I had it off once to redo the heads 4 years ago.... My question is would the pipe be plugged up and should the EGR be replaced? I went to the dealer and was told that ford never made the EGR and was contracted out whom of course is long gone out of business.... I hunted around different wreckers for years... but no luck. Any ideas to rectify this misfire and sluggish running,,,, Thanks. Don

 

[BrooklynBay]

Don't get an EGR from a junk engine. WWW.RockAuto.Com should have a replacement. There's a discount coupon code in the vendor section of this site.

 

[Jose A.]

you can also find the EGR and any other Sensor at any Autozone store.

 

[Sooke]

Stumped Again on my EGR

Been at this EGR on my 1996 ford Aerostar all day.... I want to remove the pipe fitting which is a 26mm size open end. Problem is the open end wrench will not turn a very rusted fitting off. Tried to find a 6 point open end... but no one has one to sell.... I even considered cutting the pipe to put on my box end of my wrench,,, I was advised against it, because it will always leak no matter what I do to replace that section of pipe... unless I can find another new one,, but no one has it in stock as well.... really frustrating here... I even heated up the EGR flange section where the fitting goes into,,, it will not budge.... I used a long pipe to fit over the wrench and its rounding off my fitting.... My one resource is to get one off the wrecker, and its extremely rare to find..... any ideas? Thanks,, Don

PS, I used penetrating fluid all day long..... still made no difference...

 

[Sooke]

1996 Ford Aerostar Still misfiring

This is the rundown on what was done on my van.... new plugs, wires, coil, changed out on used sensors like map and maf sensors, throttle body sensors, egr cleaned out. I am down to purchasing the low idle control since it has trouble idling down after 15 seconds, no matter how hot the motor is. But, other than that, it still runs the same before I replaced all those items, which is misfiring, and very weak and sluggish when put into gear,, but will idle fine on its own,,, except you can hear the misfiring especially holding my hands in front of the exhaust pipe as it puffs out every odd second.... final conclusion personally,,,, I have a code 171 which mean air fuel mixture very poor.... possibility of a plenum gasket leak,,, which has been replaced 4 years ago.....it never had been a problem other than the low idle control which I just discovered. Right at the moment, I am putting in fuel injector cleaner and will top it up with premium gas and run it for 2 weeks...... If that doesnt do it,,, I think its going to the wreckers and sell it for a 100 bucks.... can anyone out there have ideas? Really appreciate your thoughts on this....... Regards, Don

PS,, I double checked the spark plug wires,,, they are on right in the right order......

 

[depup]

possibly a bad coolant temp sensor does your temp guage work properly