Rough Idle, Stalling When Cold

[toastedoats]

Hello everyone,
New to the forum here with a bit of a problem with my 2003 Eddie Bauer 4.0

Recently, on cold mornings with a short warm up period, the truck will stall when i shift into reverse. This is currently happening a couple times a week. Some days, it will stall again after backing out of the driveway and placing the truck into drive. Along with this issue, i am also experiencing a slightly rough idle, and every once in a while a slight surge when first shifting out of park

Any help you could give me would be appreciated
thanks
Aaron

 

[JDraper]

Welcome to the board! The most likely culprit for your problem is an IAC valve (Idle Air Control). It meters air to the motor when at idle. It's very common for them to go bad. It's bolted to the side of the throttle body right next to the butterfly valve.

 

[toastedoats]

would it be worthwhile to try to clean it? Or does history show that these are generally a replace-it part and not to bother cleaning? I know that some vehicles respond very well to IAC cleaning

 

[JDraper]

It's worth a shot at cleaning it...worst case is you go buy another. One of the ways to tell if it's the IAC is to unplug it and see if it smooths out the idle or at least runs consistently (good or bad). I've had them go bad on 3 Fords that I've owned, and I had to replace it every time.

 

[aldive]

I too believe the root of your problem is the IAC.

However, I have never had any luck in cleaning an IAC. You may have to replace it.

Good luck .....

 

[toastedoats]

Is the IAC a dealer part or can i get it retail (Autozone, Advance, Etc?) What should i expect to spend?

 

[aldive]

Is the IAC a dealer part or can i get it retail (Autozone, Advance, Etc?) What should i expect to spend?

Both, however, I prefer the dealer part.

I beleive they are arround $100.

Good luck .....

 

[96ExplorerXL4x4]

Welcome to the club toasty! (We're both from www.BonnevilleClub.com)

Interesting info on the IAC, starting to make me wonder....

 

[Mommystrucky]

My 03 is doing almost the same thing...Its at the dealer now. It stalls as soon as its shifted into reverse or after backing up when shifted into drive, or it will try to stall and start shaking and bucking, and then its fine. Its intermittant though so dealer cant figure it out.
It was in to her the rear whine fixed back in nov, then it needed u-joints in dec(the rear repair messed them up) and the night I picked it up was the first time it happened.

 

[bobk723]

Had the same issue of almost stalling on cool/cold mornings when just started. Ford dealer said the computer need to be reprogrammed. They did this and not had a problem since.

 

[toastedoats]

I still havent bothered to have this fixed, it happens so very rarely that i forget about it.

Mommys, let me know what happens with your truck at the dealer

I tend to think that it isnt in need of a computer reprogram, when the transmission was fixed back in the summer they did a PCM update as well.

 

[Exrange]

I had a similar problem with my moms 03 and it ended up being an intake gasket o ring. since that fix it has been fine. Just something else to look at

 

[toastedoats]

hmm.. interesting, do you know specifically what o-ring it was?

 

[Exrange]

They told me it was the gasket between the upper and lower intake and it was an o-ring insted of a gasket.