Help Needed with my 2000 SOHC

[djsmooth56]

will start by saying i have attempted to do as much research on this problem before i started this thread. after all my searching, i still do not have a clue where to start fixing my starting issues. here's what i know and the symptoms i have:

2000 Explorer XLT 4.0 SOHC with 97,000 miles i have owned for 1.5 years
sometimes, seems very random, when i start the truck, it will rev up to aprox. 2000 rpm and then drop to near 300 rpm and, unless i put my foot on the gas, it dies. then i can restart it and it is runs fine. when the truck experiences this dying, and i restart it or put my foot on the gas, the engine will sometimes sound like a diesel. a loud ticking sound comes from the engine compartment.

this start up and dying happens randomly no matter what time of day and what temperature it is outside.

lately, (cold weather now) it has been dying on start up and then when i restart it, it sounds like its missfireing or not getting enough gas. it runs like this for a minute or two and then it runs fine. if i drive it for a while and then shut it off for a hour, it will do the same missfire thing but only for a minute or so.

last winter (first winter with the truck) the dying and rough idle only occurred some of the time, but this winter it dies every morning and runs really hard.

from what i read, my problems could be the result of the 00M12 recall fix, problematic IAC, EGR valve, MAF or any combo.

i have attemped to clean my MAF and IAC and after doing so, noticed little or no change in is performance.

if someone could please help me diagnoise the problem so i can get this thing running good. i am willing to spend the necessry money, but i dont have the time to do the work myself. let me know your ideas about the problem and what i can do to solve it.

thanks

 

[djsmooth56]

Updates

Update 1
i started it this afternoon (25 degrees F outside) and my check engine light came on. i am going to get the code run soon and maybe that will point me in a direction. i am still open to ideas. its really pissin me off that it wont work corectly.

Update 2
well i finally got the beast into the shop last week and he found a couple fuel injectors that were bad and a lot of carbon build up in the intake manifold. he cleaned the carbon and replaced the injectors and then said he tried and adjust the idle up a little to prevent the dying. well, it did'nt fix much. the gas mileage might have improved slightly (i was in 4wd for most of this tank cuz of snow) but it still stalls randomly on start-up and also still sounds like a diesel some of the time.

I did mention to the mechanic that i thought it was the intake manifold o-rings but he did'nt think so. should i take it to another mechanic and get another opinion or just live with it till spring and sell the pos? any ideas?

 

[ExplorerDMB]

wonder if your IAC valve is acting up.

-Drew

 

[jaxon]

had a 2001 x-sport with the same problem one week out of the dealership. intake manifold was leaking, they replaced the seal and everything was good.

 

[djsmooth56]

the check engine light came on yesterday so i had a buddy run the code and it came up p0174-Bank 2 System too lean. from what i read, this is probably a sign of me needing the 00M12. i dont have any time to change it right now (its finals week) but hopefully over chirstmas break i will tear it down. is there anything else i should be replacing at the same time when i do the 00m12?

 

[aldive]

The symptoms that you present lead me to think the IAC is involved.

Good luck ........

 

[Bill MacLeod]

the check engine light came on yesterday so i had a buddy run the code and it came up p0174-Bank 2 System too lean. from what i read, this is probably a sign of me needing the 00M12. i dont have any time to change it right now (its finals week) but hopefully over chirstmas break i will tear it down. is there anything else i should be replacing at the same time when i do the 00m12?

When the cel comes on and you pull codes indicating a lean condition, then you have solved the mystery. Its sucking un-metered air into the engine.

My 99 had the exact same problem 2 years ago. As the temps get colder, the symptoms get worse, until it trips the cel. B!tched to the dealer and had mine fixed under the 00M12 campagne. No further problems other than a slight rattle on start-up.

 

[djsmooth56]

well its going back to the shop after the crap it was giving me this weekend. friday, i started it up and it reved up high and then dropped to a stumble for a couple of minutes. i then drove about a mile and the check engine light came on. i kept on driving and when i got to a main road and got up to 55, i noticed my engine temp was way hot. the temp dropped as i slowed down and then would rise and fall with my driving. i was feeling like the idle was too high, so i tried putting it in neutral while going 55 and the rpms jumped to about 2500 rpm and stayed there until i came to a complete stop and then dropped down to normal. somebody suggested that it was possibly related to my timing chain or something. i am not really sure where to start, but i figure the mechanic might have a better idea of where to go with it. is there anything i should tell my mechaic to do? should i just go get the 00M12 kit and bring it to him? hopefully he will figure it out. i'll post an update as soon as i hear anything.

 

[djsmooth56]

got it back from the shop and he replaced the thermostat. he said it was stuck open and making everything else go nuts. starts like a champ most of the time, but still stalls out sometime on initial start-up.

 

[Mbrooks420]

On open t stat is common, and doesn't cause anything else to happen, except for the motor coolant to constantly cycle and run cool. How did he try and adjust the idle? You can only do that with a scanner. If it is still stalling out, you likely have an IAC that is shot. Next time it runs "way hot" I'd shut it downunless you feel like replacing the head gaskets, and likely having to rework or replace the heads. I don't see a t-stat tricking the truck into a lean condition. Is the mechanic "old skool"? It sounds to me he doesn't know what he is doing, and is just throwing parts at it.

 

[djsmooth56]

the check engine light came back on yesterday on my way home from work. i just checked and my IAC arrived this morning. i'll put that on tonight and see if it makes a difference.

 

[djsmooth56]

sorry for the delay, i've been busy round here moving back to school. anyways, i installed the new IAC and it accomplished nothing. no change. the light has stayed off for now, but it still runs like crap first thing in the morning and throughout the rest of the day, it randomly (not every start) rattles/ticks like its a diesel for the first 5 minutes.

also throughout all this stuff that it has been doing, my MPG has been really bad. i mean i cant get more then 14mpg with 60-70% highway. any ideas? thanks in advance.

 

[Mbrooks420]

I may have read somewhere that they extended the 00m12 recall until 100k. I'd look into that.

 

[djsmooth56]

just got it back from the shop today, again (different shop than the first one). $260 dollars later and still no solution. the mechanic said that he checked for any vaccuum leaks, checked the fuel pressure, cleaned the throttle body, and checked the air filter. all of these checked out just fine. no problems with any. he ended up checking a plug and found that it was gapped way too big and was pretty corroded. he pulled all the plugs and changed them all and replaced some of the wires. he also changed the fuel filter.

i picked it up on monday morning and he had it in his shop when i got there, a little suspicious i thought because i know that its worst problems happen in cold mornings. anyways, it ran fine when i picked it up but soon after i was driving it and stopped at a stoplight and felt that it was idleing strangle. it seemed to idle normally, and every once in a while, it would what i would describe as a engine miss. did'nt think too much of this but it continued to do this all over the place when i would sit and idle. then today, the F@#$ check engine light came back on. i guess i hit another dead end. any ideas?

 

[c4exploder]

I had the same symptoms with my 2000 sport 4.0 sohc.... One of the codes said "lean condition". So I replaced the intake manifold seals(uper and lower) $30 seal kit form my ford dealer. It took less than an hour. Haven't had a problem since.

By the way.. the seals I took out didn't look bad, but did feel a litle brittel.