need help with many things, fouled sparks, high rpms, low voltage, low gas milage | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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need help with many things, fouled sparks, high rpms, low voltage, low gas milage

thor1701

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Joined
April 24, 2007
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City, State
fresno ca
Year, Model & Trim Level
96 EB
ok where to start....
i have a 91 explorer eb version 4 l v6

here are my problems
my spark plugs get fouled shortly after i replace them, some of them have what looks like caked on oil with what looks like little pieces of black stuff on them...and the plug thats farthest back on the passenger side, the center part thats normaly supposed to be white, looks like it expanded and kinda exploded

rpms
when i got the truck years ago, the idle rpms were around 500, now they are always at 1000 give or take...also when i drive on the freeway at 65mph the rpms are around 3k to 3.5k, i've read alittle on the subject and seen many people say something about ajusting the bands and replacing the filter on the tranny, no idea how to do that, would be greatfull if someone would point me to a thread telling me how to do that....

voltage
my battery is fairly new, nice diehard from sears, my alt is fairly recent maybe a few years old, anyways, when i put her in reverse, voltage goes way down, as well as rpms, the meter used to stay near 18 volts, now it just hovers in the middle, and when i turn my lights on it lowers and the engine makes a weird wobbleing noise and i can see the lights flickering ever so lightly, i dont know much about wiring to see if something is messed up or not

extreemly low gas milage
i have a 19 gal gas tank, i used to get around 300 mpg, then it went down to 250....now its down to around 160mpg and i dont know wtf to do about it

a/c
ok, last year my ac was fine, this year however, when i turn it on, it cycles every like 10 or 20 seconds, and when it does my truck ends up turning off on me, you can hear it cycle with the hood up, dont know if that is normal or not

coolent
ok im having to fill my radiator every 5 days or so, it tells me when it needs filling when i see my temp go up alittle bit, i dont have a presure testing kit for it or i would have checked it out
i do not know how to find out if my heads are messed up or the head gaskets are going or not, if someone could tell me how to easly and cheaply find this out that would be great, as far as i can tell, there is no oil and water mixing

im very good with doing stuff myself and really cant afford to take it into the shop to have them tell me whats wrong
i have a compression tester, but i have NO idea what so ever how to use it and do it without hurting myself or my truck, so if someone could point me to a thread on how to do it great
also would love to know how to tell if my injectors are leaking not working right or whatever, also, how many do i have?
is there something i can pour into the engine that will help at all?
also if someone is around the fresno ca area and would like to help i would be VERY greatfull

lets see, also, recent parts, radiator i think a few years ago, water pump last year due to it vapor locking on me in the mountians, as well as fan clutch, the alt is a few years old, battery is a few months old, the IAC is a few years old, i do clean it often, also the MAF gets a good cleaning every so often, and the spark plug wires are a few years old, i normaly get Bosch-Platinum 4's but i plan on getting the old auto lite gapable kind

thats it for now thanks in advance for the help
 



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ok where to start....
i have a 91 explorer eb version 4 l v6

here are my problems
my spark plugs get fouled shortly after i replace them, some of them have what looks like caked on oil with what looks like little pieces of black stuff on them...and the plug thats farthest back on the passenger side, the center part thats normaly supposed to be white, looks like it expanded and kinda exploded

Sounds a little like you might have bad or leaky injectors. Also check for vacuum leaks.

:edit, after reading later in your post, I also wonder if you may actually have a MAF issue.

rpms
when i got the truck years ago, the idle rpms were around 500, now they are always at 1000 give or take...also when i drive on the freeway at 65mph the rpms are around 3k to 3.5k, i've read alittle on the subject and seen many people say something about ajusting the bands and replacing the filter on the tranny, no idea how to do that, would be greatfull if someone would point me to a thread telling me how to do that....

for your idle issues, clean your IACV and check for vacuum leaks. Cruising RPMs indicate transmission problems. Is your fluid burnt or dirty?

voltage
my battery is fairly new, nice diehard from sears, my alt is fairly recent maybe a few years old, anyways, when i put her in reverse, voltage goes way down, as well as rpms, the meter used to stay near 18 volts, now it just hovers in the middle, and when i turn my lights on it lowers and the engine makes a weird wobbleing noise and i can see the lights flickering ever so lightly, i dont know much about wiring to see if something is messed up or not

You need to use a voltmeter and test how much power your alt is making. I certainly hope your voltage was never up to 18 volts though.....

extreemly low gas milage
i have a 19 gal gas tank, i used to get around 300 mpg, then it went down to 250....now its down to around 160mpg and i dont know wtf to do about it

I think you mean miles per tank. If you were getting 300 mpg, aldive would probably rape you. Your mileage problems are related to your first three issues.

a/c
ok, last year my ac was fine, this year however, when i turn it on, it cycles every like 10 or 20 seconds, and when it does my truck ends up turning off on me, you can hear it cycle with the hood up, dont know if that is normal or not

Your truck is dying when the A/C cycles on? Anyways, if it is cycling on and off that much, you may need to charge it a little, also would help to clean your condenser and evaporator. Just blow some compressed air over them at the very least to blow some of the dust out. A hose and soapy water works wonders.

coolent
ok im having to fill my radiator every 5 days or so, it tells me when it needs filling when i see my temp go up alittle bit, i dont have a presure testing kit for it or i would have checked it out
i do not know how to find out if my heads are messed up or the head gaskets are going or not, if someone could tell me how to easly and cheaply find this out that would be great, as far as i can tell, there is no oil and water mixing

You need to determine where you are losing coolant. Any puddles underneath your vehicle? inspect your engine and see if you can find wet spots that would indicate a leak around a soft plug or your water pump. Also check for seepage around hoses.

im very good with doing stuff myself and really cant afford to take it into the shop to have them tell me whats wrong
i have a compression tester, but i have NO idea what so ever how to use it and do it without hurting myself or my truck, so if someone could point me to a thread on how to do it great

Unscrew a spark plug, unhook the power from the coil pack and pull the fuse for the fuel injectors. Screw your compression tester into the hole for the spark plug using the adapter that matches the thread on your spark plug. turn over the engine, or have a friend turn over the engine and check what the gauge reads.

also would love to know how to tell if my injectors are leaking not working right or whatever, also, how many do i have?

you have 6 injectors. An old trick is to use a long screwdriver, or get a stethoscope with a probe and stick it to an injector. You should be able to hear the tick from the injector when it is spraying fuel.

is there something i can pour into the engine that will help at all?

You can use some seafoam to kinda clean the intake and fuel lines, but for the most part, anything you pour into your engine to fix it is just snake-oil.

also if someone is around the fresno ca area and would like to help i would be VERY greatfull

lets see, also, recent parts, radiator i think a few years ago, water pump last year due to it vapor locking on me in the mountians, as well as fan clutch, the alt is a few years old, battery is a few months old, the IAC is a few years old, i do clean it often, also the MAF gets a good cleaning every so often, and the spark plug wires are a few years old, i normaly get Bosch-Platinum 4's but i plan on getting the old auto lite gapable kind

thats it for now thanks in advance for the help

Not in your area, can't help you there Bosch platinum 4s don't belong in any engine. Just go with the plain autolite platinums. These engines love them.

How are you cleaning your MAF just out of curiosity? Are you sure you didn't damage the wires in your MAF?

Hope this gets you started
 






ok where to start....
.now its down to around 160mpg and i dont know wtf to do about it
A Fuel pressure Regulator running high at say, 90psi, will give you about 168 miles on a tank of gas. Psi should be between 30 and 40. There's a "How to" on the full testing procedure.
There won't be code for that since it's mechanical but if it is bad, there will be codes about the MAF and O2 sensor. So don't rush out and buy a MAF and O2 sensor without proper testing of those two items, make that 3 items.
im very good with doing stuff myself

Good. There's a also a sticky on pulling the codes with a paper clip. It would help if you'd do that and post them here in your thread.

It never hurts to try little things first. I've solved a coolant loss more than once by checking the clamps.

Loosen the serpentine belt move it aside so you can spin anything that spins, the idlers, alt, ps pump for the worbling noise. Idlers should be smoooooth. Ford ps pumps are known for being noisy. Hard to check the AC comp for bad bearings with out the clutch engaged.
Listen to it with engine running. which side is nosier? I had a noise coming from the center or Alt side. the pulley on the tension was starting to break off and the pulley was a bit ****eyed.

And everything FIND said

thats it for now thanks in advance for the help

hope this helps
 






Sounds a little like you might have bad or leaky injectors. Also check for vacuum leaks.

:edit, after reading later in your post, I also wonder if you may actually have a MAF issue.

i wish i could find out if it is a bad MAF, i dont wanna spend the money for a new one if i dont need to, i have cleaned it with electrial parts cleaner as stated many times on this website

for your idle issues, clean your IACV and check for vacuum leaks. Cruising RPMs indicate transmission problems. Is your fluid burnt or dirty?

no leaks that i can determine, my IACV is nice and clean, even after i replaced it with a new one it didnt change the idle, i have not checked the tranny fluid to see if its burnt or dirty, the last thing i ever did with the tranny was replace the modulator, that was fun.....NOT

You need to use a voltmeter and test how much power your alt is making. I certainly hope your voltage was never up to 18 volts though.....

no it was never up to 18 lol, but it was like at the 3/4 mark, where would i test it at? i do have a volt meter


I think you mean miles per tank. If you were getting 300 mpg, aldive would probably rape you. Your mileage problems are related to your first three issues.

yes i ment miles per tank lol, yeah wish we all could get 300 mpg :p


Your truck is dying when the A/C cycles on? Anyways, if it is cycling on and off that much, you may need to charge it a little, also would help to clean your condenser and evaporator. Just blow some compressed air over them at the very least to blow some of the dust out. A hose and soapy water works wonders.

yeah i'll give it a charge once i find where i put the damn thing lol


You need to determine where you are losing coolant. Any puddles underneath your vehicle? inspect your engine and see if you can find wet spots that would indicate a leak around a soft plug or your water pump. Also check for seepage around hoses.

no puddles, i've looked EVERYWARE, also inspected hoses, find find anything anyware


Unscrew a spark plug, unhook the power from the coil pack and pull the fuse for the fuel injectors. Screw your compression tester into the hole for the spark plug using the adapter that matches the thread on your spark plug. turn over the engine, or have a friend turn over the engine and check what the gauge reads.

i dont know how to unhook the power from the coil pack, could you explain that one? plus i dont know where the fuse for the fuel injectors are




you have 6 injectors. An old trick is to use a long screwdriver, or get a stethoscope with a probe and stick it to an injector. You should be able to hear the tick from the injector when it is spraying fuel.

ok, new question, where are they located and how do i get to them?


You can use some seafoam to kinda clean the intake and fuel lines, but for the most part, anything you pour into your engine to fix it is just snake-oil.

where would i put the seafoam?


Not in your area, can't help you there Bosch platinum 4s don't belong in any engine. Just go with the plain autolite platinums. These engines love them.

yes i plan on getting thoes

How are you cleaning your MAF just out of curiosity? Are you sure you didn't damage the wires in your MAF?

umm think its CRC electrical parts cleaner

Hope this gets you started[/QUOTE]
 






i replaced the FPR a few years ago, i cant honestly remember why now, was a pain in the fingers to do it, plus the o-ring that came with it never seemed to fit right, and i keep forgetting to put, i dont get any codes of any kind, unless i disconnect the MAF, then it throws a code lol, i do have a code reader for my truck, a must have if you ask me lol, i do have a fuel pressure tester, i just have to find it, havnt seen it in a long time :(
does this website allow links to youtube? i could make a little video of the sound it makes, best describe it, also i'll take a pic of the fouled spark plug to show what i mean, i'll do that tomorror
 






ok here is a little youtube vid i did just now, you cant hear the wobble noise unfortunitly
also here is a few pics of the spark plug i removed from the far back on the passenger side
DSC00128.jpg
DSC00132.jpg
DSC00133.jpg



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1J9p-Q1e27U

god i hope i did this right lol i dont really post stuff
 






i wish i could find out if it is a bad MAF, i dont wanna spend the money for a new one if i dont need to, i have cleaned it with electrial parts cleaner as stated many times on this website

Read codes. Can be done with a paperclip or a piece of wire.

no leaks that i can determine, my IACV is nice and clean, even after i replaced it with a new one it didnt change the idle, i have not checked the tranny fluid to see if its burnt or dirty, the last thing i ever did with the tranny was replace the modulator, that was fun.....NOT

Bad transmission fluid will smell like burnt almonds.

no it was never up to 18 lol, but it was like at the 3/4 mark, where would i test it at? i do have a volt meter

With your car running, positive goes to positive post on the battery, negative to a ground or negative post on your battery. You want ~13.6 volts

yes i ment miles per tank lol, yeah wish we all could get 300 mpg :p

Don't we all

yeah i'll give it a charge once i find where i put the damn thing lol

Your 91 uses r-12. The kits you find at the store are not what you use to charge it. You need to take it to a professional.

no puddles, i've looked EVERYWARE, also inspected hoses, find find anything anyware

Exhaust have a lot of white smoke in it? Otherwise, keep looking for signs of seepage around your water pump and soft plugs.

i dont know how to unhook the power from the coil pack, could you explain that one? plus i dont know where the fuse for the fuel injectors are

I don't have anything laying around to show which fuse is which. Your owners manual says. To unhook the power to the coil pack..... you know what the coil pack is right? 6 plug wires go to it, on one side of it is a wire harness with 4 wires going into it. unplug that wire harness.

ok, new question, where are they located and how do i get to them?

They are on the fuel rail pointed into the lower intake manifold under the UIM. They are exceedingly difficult to reach.

where would i put the seafoam?

There are probably how-tos on here..... but follow the directions in the can. 1/3 into your gas tank, 1/3 into your oil and the last third gets slowly poured in through a vacuum line to your intake manifold.

umm think its CRC electrical parts cleaner

FWIW, I have only cleaned a MAF on one car one time. EVER. They last an incredibly long time, and usually don't get dirty to the point where you would need to clean anything..... More people wreck parts by needless maintenance than you would think. Not to say your MAF is bad, just saying you shouldn't really have to clean it except once every decade or so.
 






there are no codes at all, i do have the obd 1 reader, everyone should have one lol

tranny fluid smells normal

voltage goes between 14 and 12.5

i did a retrofit and changed it to 134a and i checked it and its charged, i let it run for a while and it finaly stoped cycleing, maybe did it every once in a while, but the indicator says its fully charged

no smoke whatso ever from the pipe, also have looked around the pump, no indications at all of wet or dampness

yes i see the connector, i will do the test prolly monday, as my wife takes the truck to work on the weekends

tho i dont understand what the test will tell me tho, i mean how will it tell me if its the rings, the head gasket? i guess i just dont understand it
really hope its none of thoes that are making my spark plug go bad like in the pic i provided...need to keep it going well at least till feb

can you tell me your method of checking the fuel injectors? i think i found them, how do you check if they are leaking?

and i can never pinpoint the gas smell when i first start the truck, i eventualy need to replace the fuel pump and sending unit, as the sending unit dont work, and i think the pump has some issues, like when im coming off the freeway and make a right or left, and im very low on gas, she cuts out on me and i have to let her sit for a few then start her up and get to a gas station quickly, i will be searching for my fuel pressure tester this weekend so i can hopefuly tell you what it is

and the seafoam in the intake, just hook a hose up to the spot where all the other hoses are located?

when i disconnect the maf, it idles alittle higher and sounds slightly better, i tried driving like that once, she wouldnt go into over drive
 






well i found my fuel pressure tester, i'll report my findings on everything tomorrow, and hope someone around here can tell me what it all means
i do know my fuel pump isnt the greatest, being as my truck stalls when making a sharp right or left turn when im super low on gas, also my sending unit doesnt work as well, i just mainly NEED to know whats fouling my sparks so badly, if its something in the engine itself where i need to take it to a pro to fix, then its not worth fixing all the other stuff on it, i dont want to sink anymore money then i have to into it
 






there are no codes at all, i do have the obd 1 reader, everyone should have one lol

Sorry I missed that earlier.

voltage goes between 14 and 12.5

Shouldn't be dropping that low. Might have a short, or the alternator is going bad.

i did a retrofit and changed it to 134a and i checked it and its charged, i let it run for a while and it finaly stoped cycleing, maybe did it every once in a while, but the indicator says its fully charged

You just did this, or you did this previously?

no smoke whatso ever from the pipe, also have looked around the pump, no indications at all of wet or dampness

I don't know what to tell you, eventually you will find something, it can't just disappear.

tho i dont understand what the test will tell me tho, i mean how will it tell me if its the rings, the head gasket? i guess i just dont understand it
really hope its none of thoes that are making my spark plug go bad like in the pic i provided...need to keep it going well at least till feb

Testing compression will tell you if you have mechanical problems. If you have bad compression, you then perform more tests to figure out what your problems are. My favorite method is compressed air into the cylinder, through the hole for the spark plug. You hear air coming from your crank case, you have bad rings, air in your intake or exhaust (assuming your cylinder is not on intake or exhaust strokes) you have bad valves or seats, air coming from your coolant, you have a bad head gasket, air coming from your valve covers, also bad head gasket.

Though, 99.99999999% of your problems is probably related to those bosch +4 plugs. They are the cause of problems in so many cars I see with those plugs in them, I can't believe people still buy them.

can you tell me your method of checking the fuel injectors? i think i found them, how do you check if they are leaking?

The first test is to listen to them and see if they are operating. This is done with a stethescope or a long screwdriver, then listening for the click. After that you would have to test impendence, or take them out and check their flow. Starting with the simple things is always the best policy.

and i can never pinpoint the gas smell when i first start the truck, i eventualy need to replace the fuel pump and sending unit, as the sending unit dont work, and i think the pump has some issues, like when im coming off the freeway and make a right or left, and im very low on gas, she cuts out on me and i have to let her sit for a few then start her up and get to a gas station quickly, i will be searching for my fuel pressure tester this weekend so i can hopefuly tell you what it is

What kind of fuel smell? Raw fuel? In your cab or from the outside? Your fuel pump is probably the culprit anyways, but I just wanted to be clear on everything.

Just out of curiosity, you don't have any exhaust leaks do you?

and the seafoam in the intake, just hook a hose up to the spot where all the other hoses are located?

Yeah, just pull the hose that goes from your intake to your breather. Let it suck in a little bit there. Don't do it in town or in a crowded area, it will smoke like you won't believe for a little while afterwards.

when i disconnect the maf, it idles alittle higher and sounds slightly better, i tried driving like that once, she wouldnt go into over drive

sounds normal given your issues. You can probably rule out MAF problems.
 






bloody net was down all day :(

may be a short someplace, damned if i can tell where tho

i retrofitted it a few years ago, when i turn it on it cycles often, then as time goes on it does it less, staying on, its not that big a thing anymore, it works, im just worried about the other stuff now

well i found autozone will rent me a radiator pressure tester for 75, so i have wait a week and a half befor i can rent one

changed them with autolite platnum's, they were all burnt in some kind of degree's some had an orange/yellowish tinge to them one had some oil deposits on it, and then the one in #6 cyl, the electrode wasnt exploded like it useualy is, but it was broke cuz i shook the plug and it rattled

i'll have to try that screwdriver thing eventualy, tho i think they all work at least
my idle now stays at around 1100 rpms
i miss when it used to be 600 rpms, but if it ever gets that low, truck shakes like mad and most likely will stall

raw gas smell, always from the outside, i can never tell if its coming from the front or back
and i dont think i have any exhaust leaks that i can tell

yeah i think i did that with something a while back, hooked a hose up to the vaccume tree on the intake, had to keep the gas on or it will stall, yeah lot of smoke, think it was all white, no black, but this was years ago

well nice to know i can prolly rule out the maf

i did read something the other night on testing the IAC, that if you disconnect its plug while the engine is running, its supposed to stall, and if not, then you have a leak someplace, well i did that for the hell of it, and it stayed running, not very well but it stayed running, reconnected it and the idle smoothed out

ok
did the compression test
i must say
NOT fun
here are the findings
cyl #1 91 psi
cyl #2 180 psi
cyl #3 180
cyl #4 180
cyl #5 180
cyl #6 120
and #6 was the one with the broken electrode
i dont have access to an air compresser to be able to do the other test on it and i will see about doing a fuel pressure test tomorrow and see what comes up
 






ok
did the compression test
i must say
NOT fun
here are the findings
cyl #1 91 psi
cyl #2 180 psi
cyl #3 180
cyl #4 180
cyl #5 180
cyl #6 120
and #6 was the one with the broken electrode
i dont have access to an air compresser to be able to do the other test on it and i will see about doing a fuel pressure test tomorrow and see what comes up

I wouldn't worry too much about fuel pressure and all that noise. Re-check cylinder 1. If the numbers you gave are accurate, then I'd say this is your problem. You want all those numbers to be within ~10% of eachother.... The closer the better. Low pressure on two cylinders indicates a problem.....
 






when i was finished checking them, i went back to #1, and checked it again i got the same reading
what could be the issue? and why only that one and #6 be off? and the rest of them are at 180psi
also is 180 normal?

and would bad fuel pressure cause bad gas mileage?
i dont have rough idle at all, i've seen video's of other explorer's with the normal idle around 600rpms, no shaking or anything weird, if my truck ever gets down to 600, it acts like its about to die
 












Like I said, I wouldn't worry about everything else until you diagnose your compression problems. Those are likely the cause of everything.
 






well other then the compression test i have no other idea or way to test it further, i dont have a compresser to shoot air in it, and i have no idea what it means for thoes two cyl's to have diffrient numbers when the rest are all at 180, wich i assume is good
 






finaly did the fuel pressure test, 32 at key on, 32 at running, 42 with it runing with vac hose off, and 38 when key off
no idea if thats good or bad
 






you have low compression on 2 cylinders, you have to find out are the valves the curplit or the piston rings, in any case, you have what is considered base engine damage.


i would re do the test on all 6 cylinders to be sure.

next step would be a leakdown test but you dont have a compressor, that leaves very little options remove heads, and check. if they are not leaking its engine. piston/rings/washed bores etc.
 






blown head gasket would cause low compression on cylinders, & could be contributing to your coolant leak. If you are leaking coolant into the cylinders it may burn it off out the exhaust, but you will get some leaking into your engine oil.
 



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yes i had a diagnostic done, and they told me i had un metered air, caused by the break booster, got that taken care of, no change in anything, anyways they said they think i have alot of carbon build up on top of the piston's wich they said is causing higher rpms and they said the compression on the cyl's, were higher then normal, and yes they said something is wrong with the gasket, said there was moisture under the oil cap as well as moisture down where the oil hole is, tho there is no water in the oil on the dipstick.....anyways i will buy one of thoes expensive head gasket fix stuff for it beacuse no way i can afford to take the heads off, and its just not worth it anymore, i hope to get a newer explorer come income tax time, so i will get that, as well as run alot of sea form in the intake so hope it will burn off the carbon
hopefuly this will get rid of the damn gas smell when i start her up, also STILL nothing coming from the tail pipe
 






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