Help, Friggin' Help!

[MyrtleBeachFord]

Not sure whether any of you have read any of my past postings regarging the issues with my 93 Ford Explorer, but I'll reiterate ...

A while back I was having some idle issues (i.e. fluctuating, revving by itself), poor gas mileage, etc.. Since then I cleaned the IAC, cleaned the MAF, changed PCV, changed the CPV and checked all vacuum lines.

Some of the symptoms went away, but the issue that is still occurring is a very strong odor coming from the tailpipe, black smoke coming from the tailpipe, the CEL comes on and off, right before the CEL comes back on when driving, there is a thud and jerk in the engine, and the idle fluctuates by itself, revving at some times by itself.

I know I'm running rich, so I recently changed the Fuel Pressure Regulator and the Fuel Filter. NOTHING HAS CHANGED.

I do not have a computer to look up the codes and Advanced Auto Parts will only get codes from vehicles newer then 95. What other possibilities are there? I really thought the FPR would do the trick, but clearly it did not.

Any suggestions?

Jeff

 

[JDraper]

Could be a stuck injector. Pull your plugs and check to see if any of them are heavily fouled or wet with fuel.

Edit...moved the thread to a more appropriate forum.

 

[Positive Vibes]

I was thinking the same thing as Draper. Check your plugs and if the wires are old I would replace those.

 

[l1k2gadd]

Before you go troubleshooting everything under the sun and spending all kinds of money hand-over-fist, not knowing what bad part you are hunting for GO BUY A CHEAP CODE SCANNER. I have seen the code scanner (made by ACTRON), close to the one I have, at WalMart in the automotive section. I got mine there in the late 80s to early 90s and I believe they are only about $30.00. They're nothing real elaborate but I have used mine on all of the vehicles I have owned, so far, up to the '93 XLT and my daughter's '93 Limited. Since the models sold today are being sold in this year it will more than likely have more codes available in the troubleshooting section of the manual than my older one does. I've seen posts that poo-poo'd this type of scanner, but it hasn't failed me yet. Big deal, I have to count the series of "beeps" and / or "l.e.d. flashes".

I took a break and went to GOOGLE and got this AutoZone link for you...

http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBroker/?UseCase=C003&UserAction=answerQuestion&Parameters=Ford

copy and paste it to your address bar and click "GO". This page has the same type of scanner I use. $29.99.

Your idle jumping up sounds like the same problem my mom had with an 1989 E150 Club Wagon van. Only thing is I troubleshot it time after time and got NO failure codes out of it.

One day I was messing with it in her yard, clearing the memory (which had no entries in it), shutting it off, turning it back on , and so on... then I got a "TPS" (Throttle Position Sensor) failure code as a Primary failure code. The TPS is at the underside of the throttle plate on her van so I cursed it because I now had to find someone with a replacement gasket for the throttle plate. I went and bought the TPS and found someone that had the gasket and went to work on it. When I got done, SUCCESS! She hasn't had the problem anymore.

Black smoke to me, like you said, means it's running rich, but the idle racing is another thing.

REMEMBER, when you plug the code scanner in, following the directions on how to plug it into your Explorer's maintenance port under the hood, when the code scanner starts beeping there will be TWO sets of codes it will display, visually and audibly. The first set of PRIMARY FAILURE CODES will repeat itself once, then you will get a SEPERATOR CODE of one beep, and then you get the SECONDARY FAILURE CODES. A good rule of thumb is you replace what comes up FIRST in the failure codes because one bad part can make a bunch of them not do what the computer is wanting to see them do. It's a cheap investment and will work on Fords from 1980 at least through 1994.

 

[JDraper]

You can pull the codes without a code scanner. There is a connector under the hood that you jumper. The computer then flashes the check engine light in a sequence to give you the codes. Go buy a Haynes manual ($15-$20) from somewhere like Pep Boys. It will tell you how to do it, and what the codes mean.

BTW, this only works on the OBD 1 computers, i.e. pre 1995.

 

[Maniak]

Here is a page that talk about getting the codes with an analog volt meter if you don't have a code scanner (which are cheap to buy)

http://www.corral.net/tech/maintenance/eecivtest.html

~Mark