X6StringerX
Explorer Addict
- Joined
- June 19, 2006
- Messages
- 1,400
- Reaction score
- 12
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2011 Lincoln MKS EcoBoost
My fiance has a stock 2005 2.0 Duratec ATX with 101k miles and starting a couple of a days ago, it's been acting weird. She first told me on Friday that the gas pedal felt kind of hard to press while she was on her way home. I had her double check that there were no obstructions under the pedal and she said it all looked fine. She shrugged it off and figured it was just "one of those things". On Saturday, it was snowing pretty hard, so I told her that I would drive over and she could follow me home. When I got there, she said her car wouldn't start. I immediately thought it was the battery since it was frigid out, but she said it cranked fine... just wouldn't start. I parked the Explorer and hopped in the Focus. I cranked the car the 1st time and sure enough, it wouldn't start. I cranked it the 2nd time and it fired right up. It could have been my imagination, but at the very beginning, for just a half of a second or so, the engine seemed to idle funny. I told her to drive the Explorer and I drove the Focus back to my house. Over the course of the 29-mile drive, everything seemed just fine. I didn't even think of the pedal issue she had mentioned earlier, but I would have surely felt something if it was acting up. I was listening for odd noises and such anyway, so I was paying closer attention than usual. When I pulled into my driveway, I decided to shut it off and start it again. It started fine 2 different times. I noticed that she had a full tank of gas, so I thought she might have gotten a bad tank with water. That was Saturday and the car wasn't started or driven again until this morning. She called when she got to work and said that when she put the car in park, it died. She restarted it and it died again. It started and ran fine until she arrived at work.
After doing some reading, I figured the first thing to try was to clean the throttle body based on the symptoms and some "common fixes" that are posted on a couple of Focus boards I frequent. I stopped by the parts store on the way to her work and picked up a can of CRC Throttle Body Cleaner. When I arrived at her work, I tried to start the car and it started and idled fine for me. I left her the Explorer and brought the Focus back home. When I got here, I started removing the necessary bolts to get to the throttle body. When I pulled the intake tube off, there was fluid inside. I have a pretty bad head cold, so I couldn't smell it to determine what it was, but the fluid itself appeared to either be motor oil or possibly a mixture of condensation and motor oil. There was some varnishy buildup inside of the intake tube that looked just like the typical varnish found on a throttle body. I decided to go ahead and remove the throttle body completely so I could give it a good cleaning. In effort to track where this mystery fluid was coming from, I unplugged a hose that goes from the back driver's side of the valve cover to the intake tube and there seemed to be an ounce or two in the hose, but it seemed a little more watered down than the fluid that was concentrated in the intake tube. Could this be a PCV valve issue? Speaking of the PCV valve, does anyone know right off where it is located on a 2.0 Duratec?
I fired it up after I reassembled everything and it idles and drives fine. I shut it off and restarted it a couple times and there doesn't seem to be any problems as far as drivability or idling goes... no codes or anything either, but I know there shouldn't be any fluid in the intake tube.
UPDATE:
I started the car a couple more times this evening and took it for a short drive. Everything seems to be functioning fine, but I still want to figure out the fluid thing. I'm leaning toward the PCV valve... I just need to get over this head cold so I can poke around in the engine bay a little more.
After doing some reading, I figured the first thing to try was to clean the throttle body based on the symptoms and some "common fixes" that are posted on a couple of Focus boards I frequent. I stopped by the parts store on the way to her work and picked up a can of CRC Throttle Body Cleaner. When I arrived at her work, I tried to start the car and it started and idled fine for me. I left her the Explorer and brought the Focus back home. When I got here, I started removing the necessary bolts to get to the throttle body. When I pulled the intake tube off, there was fluid inside. I have a pretty bad head cold, so I couldn't smell it to determine what it was, but the fluid itself appeared to either be motor oil or possibly a mixture of condensation and motor oil. There was some varnishy buildup inside of the intake tube that looked just like the typical varnish found on a throttle body. I decided to go ahead and remove the throttle body completely so I could give it a good cleaning. In effort to track where this mystery fluid was coming from, I unplugged a hose that goes from the back driver's side of the valve cover to the intake tube and there seemed to be an ounce or two in the hose, but it seemed a little more watered down than the fluid that was concentrated in the intake tube. Could this be a PCV valve issue? Speaking of the PCV valve, does anyone know right off where it is located on a 2.0 Duratec?
I fired it up after I reassembled everything and it idles and drives fine. I shut it off and restarted it a couple times and there doesn't seem to be any problems as far as drivability or idling goes... no codes or anything either, but I know there shouldn't be any fluid in the intake tube.
UPDATE:
I started the car a couple more times this evening and took it for a short drive. Everything seems to be functioning fine, but I still want to figure out the fluid thing. I'm leaning toward the PCV valve... I just need to get over this head cold so I can poke around in the engine bay a little more.
