Windstar :: 2002 Sport - Rough Idle / Vibration And Smell Of Gasoline
Feb 24, 2016
After all my attempts, I could not fix the rough idle. I have done the gaskets of the gaskets and bolts of the intake manifold (the engine light disappeared), I have changed the bushings of the manifold too (the one one the left side), I have changes the TPS sensor, I have cleaned the MAF sensor...
The rough idle is still there (and getting worse) and there is some smell of gasoline now. I suspect that I have to change sparks and cables, but I wanted to confirm first with you because the whole thing seems complicated as some of the plugs are buried very "conveniently". You could usually feel an ascending vibration while waiting at the traffic light. You can't feel it as much when in neutral, but it is still there.
I have noticed that on the right side of the Intake manifold (under the throttle) there is some sort of greasy substance that always looks wet. I suspect that it is burnt oil, but that think's been there since I bought the car, so I am not sure if it is related in any way.
I haven't changed the oil and air filter since last summer but I doubt that would be an issue. Additionally I realized that I put pure antifreeze when I need to use 50/50. Anyways, those things I will fix this summer anyways. All I want to fix now is the rough idle because these vibrations drive me nuts.
View 5 Replies
Advertisement
I filled up my car at the local gas station. It had been raining non-stop for the past three days and nights. 10-15 minutes later as I'm stopped at a light, the car starts shuddering, almost stalls a few times. Rough idle all the way home.
I limp home, guessing water in the fuel. Next day I go to Advance Auto and buy some fuel additives which are supposed to solve the water problem. The guy there mentions that he's had a number of reports of similar issues from this particular gas station (it's now out of business, go figure). Additives make things better but not fully.
2 tanks of gas later now and the rough idle is much better but not gone. Car seems to have less power and sounds a little bit raspy on acceleration (not noticeable unless driving near a wall which can bounce the sound back). My guess is that one of the cylinders is not firing, maybe needs a new spark plug?
The more worrisome thing is that as the car has started running more smoothly I've also noticed a smell of gas after startup (may still be there when running but I don't notice it then) -- coming from the exhaust. This seems to be in-line with the missing cylinder theory but I'm running blind here as I don't have much experience on this topic.
The car's a 1997 C280. 130K on it. It's old but mechanically the thing has been a tank so far (Inline 6 I think) -- very sturdy and responsive. I'm hoping that this whole ordeal hasn't done permanent damage.
View 6 Replies
I have a 2002 Ford Windstar that only in the fall and winter it has a longer crank time of at least 10 seconds. In the summer it starts as it should within 3-4 seconds. I did notice that the times it did start normally in the colder air is when I turned the key on and listened to the fuel pump prime the system. All other times it doesn't do that and that's when I get the long crank time. Once it is started it runs as normal. Am I looking at a possible fuel filter or pump? I am due to replace the filter as the van has 83,000 miles on it. If this is the possible culprit, is this something that is easily replaced at home?
View 4 Replies
Replaced Fuel Pressure Regulator but still notice smell of gas and sometimes at start up rough idle.
View 7 Replies
Been smelling gas in a 02 vovlo s80. At first, I thought I had tracked it in with from the pump with my shoes. But after washing things up, a week has gone by and the smell persists. I am concerned there may be a leak somewhere. Not sure here. What do you think it could be?
View 4 Replies
1998 Jeep Cherokee sport ... My mechanic tells me that my #1 fuel injector is always spraying and that that is why the jeep runs rough. This is after he already told me that my injectors were clogged and needed to be replaced (which he did). When the car is idling for a while, the exhaust really begins to smell like gas, so this seems to make some sense to me, unlike his previous diagnosis. But now he is telling me that I need to replace the computer to fix this problem.
View 8 Replies
2001 windstar rough idle at warm up, start drive the van with cold engine for about 3-4 ml s, come to a light, stop, van starts rough idling, if I don't put it in neutral and hit the gas it will die ... after that , no problem .
View 13 Replies
Back after months...van has been checked by 2 ford dealer mechanics here in VA , nothing.
Now it's the opposite ...temp outside 90 or higher, drive it for 8 -10 ml, park and come back after 15 min. From shopping, try to start, won't idle, stalls every time I try , after 6-8 attempts, back to normal, all together 3 times, last time was so bad, had a real problem to make it back home, at every stop, it stalled.
Back to the shop ....they drove several times, no show ...it's fine, don't know what to do ????
View 5 Replies
I have 2000 ford windstar with 3.8 engine. I have been reading up on the idle problems with these vans. However, most responses are in regard to the engine stalling and/or it trips a code. My does not do this. Sometimes the idle is rough and other times everything is smooth. I am thinking it may be an egr valve or dpfe valve.
View 5 Replies
My windstar 3.8 engine has idle problems and engine light comes on at times. Code po305 (misfire #5). When I add sea-form to tank and drive awhile, the engine light goes out and the engine idle's normal. Is this an eva problem and what should I look for?
View 11 Replies
It is idling very rough at times, not all the time, when sitting at stop lights/signs. Sometimes it will stall out. 3 times it has stalled in the middle of an intersection while turning. Scary as hell! I Have to stop the van on the side of the road, put it in park, turn it off, then start it again before I can go. This process is getting Old!
While sitting at a stop sign/light, it's like the engine surges up and down. Some surges get low enough that the van will just die. If I step on the gas or put the van in neutral it will quit for a minute. All of the lights in, on, outside of the van go bright/dim with every surge. The battery light will occasionally flash on and off during the surges, but not every time.
View 14 Replies
This is a little odd. Over the last two years or so the van had developed a rough idle issue. When left to idle in Park or Neutral the roughness would usually lead to the engine stalling after a few minutes.This happened both in and out of gear but only when the engine was still cold, idle returned to normal once normal op temp had been reached. Cleaning the IAC got rid of the problem... sort of. Now it idles fine in Park or Neutral but when in gear and engine/tranny still cold it is still very rough.
When waiting at a traffic light with my foot on the brakes the van shudders as it tries to lurch forward, the shaking is very noticeable even to those outside the van. This has become so bad I shift it into Neutral every time I need to stop at a traffic light, and it instantly settles into steady smooth idle at 800 rpm. However once the engine is warm everything returns to normal. Another thing I noticed is that when in gear and cold the roughness only occurs with brakes applied. Feels like whenever the roughness in the engine occurs the transmission attempts to override the brakes, which causes the lurching.
While the problem only lasts 5 to 10 minutes until op temp is reached it is nevertheless very annoying and driving me nuts. My main concern is that it may eventually cause damage to the transmission to be tugged at and jerked around in such a way. I am running out of reasonable explanations as tho what may be causing this and have begun elaborating more esoteric theories. My latest one is that since this only happens when the brakes are applied then the tiny voltage required to activate the brake lights is somehow causing some other electric part to fail, and that the rough idle is somewhat related to this. Shows you just how desperate I'm getting.
View 14 Replies
I have a 2002 Ford Windstar. Just replaced a TPS, went to town was coming back home, and all of a sudden it started to spit and sputter while in gear. But, in neutral she runs alright. I use mid-grade gas. I put in two cans of Seafoam in the tank. Wrecker operator smelled the exhaust and told me the it was too rich. My question is and this sounds stupid, could the previous owner. Had never replaced the fuel filter or if they did replaced it, that it was installed backwards. I drove it almost 20 miles before it died. I figured that the fuel in the gas line emptied and it refuse to go. And since it only runs good without strain on the engine...
View 7 Replies
Why does my 1990 honda accord smell like ammonia and has a poor idle...
View 2 Replies
Yesterday I started up my Phaeton after it had been sitting for about almost a week. When it turned over it had a rough idle and also a fuel smell, as I drove it the idle went away. However I have never had this happen before and the fuel smell concerned me.
View 4 Replies
Was driving home just now when my car (2003 Dodge Caravan SE) started acting strange. Stopped at a light, it started going back and forth a little, like the transmission was stopping and starting. As I drove I noticed that it kept doing that when I had the accelerator pressed slightly. When I pressed the accelerator more fully, the problem seemed to mostly (not completely) go away.
When I got home (after driving like that for about 2 miles), it seemed worse. When I stopped the car and had it idling in Park, the engine died. I was able to restart the engine, but it seemed like it was having trouble staying on (though it did for a minute or two until I turned it off).
When I got out of the car, I noticed a bad smell coming from the engine, like burning. Also noticed a loud sound, like knocking. My first thought was that I didn't have any oil. So I checked the oil and the transmission fluid. Both were fine. After about an hour I restarted the car, and it wasn't doing it anymore. Maybe because the car had cooled down?
What this might be or what else I can check?
View 1 Replies
I own a 1996 Buick Regal with 132k miles on it, 3.1L six cylinder. The other day I was doing some general maintenance and noticed that the exhaust smelled like sulfur (rotten eggs). Now, I am loosely familiar with the causes of such a thing but not well enough to diagnose it properly the first time. The car has been idling rough since I got it (almost a year ago now), I have a feeling that it could be the O2 sensor causing the rough idle and the sulfur smell but I am not completely sure. I should have one of those fancy three-part injector cleaners done?
View 6 Replies
I own a 2001 Buick Century Limited that has 208k miles on it. A couple days ago I started the car up at a friends house and noticed that it had a loud rough idle and that the check engine light came on. When I drove the car home, the CEL would flash when I accelerated and I could smell something burning. When I released the gas pedal and coasted, the flashing CEL would return back to a solid state but I could still smell the burning. When I would accelerate, the CEL would start to flash again. Whenever I was stopped at a stop sign, the flashing CEL would again be solid and there would be a loud rough idle along with the same burning smell. Am I looking at an engine replacement or an easy fix? One problem or could it be multiple problems?
View 9 Replies
Ok new issue that started yesterday only get it at idle. Runs great above idle no real power loss or change in fuel econ. Haven't really had a chance to test much. I was thinking maybe a injector issue but I don't know
View 14 Replies
I just bought a 92 Toyota Celica for something to play around with. It's got just over 200,000 miles and everything seems to run alright except there is a really rough vibration at idle. The vibration is so bad that it's almost visible. You can still feel the vibration in drive but it isn't nearly as bad.
Any clue at what could be causing the vibration? I'll try to get a sound clip or video uploaded ....
View 5 Replies
Since my V6s very rough ride only occurred on cold mornings (fixed with a new driveshaft early this year), I wonder if some of the newer owners will be complaining of this problem soon, now that we're embarking on fall.
The symptom was strange. On cold mornings, between 30 and 50, the Touareg would feel as though it was riding on extremely rough pavement.... over 50 it was fine, and then, after about ten minutes of driving, it went away at all speeds.
View 7 Replies
