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Old 12-04-2014, 08:25 PM   #1
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Loping engine when warm.

My 1999 escort 2.0L sohc is having idle issues. It idles perfectly after a cold start. When the engine warms up, the engine starts to lope, and often dies. I've searched for leaks and replaced parts that are the most obvious possible reasons. Also replaced some parts that were questionable. The head was cracked and the gasket blown. It was obviously like that for quite some time. There was only a leak between the coolant and cylinder.
So far I've replaced: fuel pump, fuel filter, timing belt, timing belt tensioner, water pump(trashed), thermostat, cts, radiator fan switch, head w/gasket, radiator cap, iac valve, ccrm, pcm/ecu, tps, cleaned maf sensor, cleaned intake, cleaned injectors, new injector o-rings, spark plugs, coil, checked and cleaned pcv valve. Knock sensor is ordered, and O2 sensor will be installed soon. I've started throwing money at it, and I'm about ready to scrap it. Any help is appreciated.

Forgot to mention: The loping goes away with the headlight and/or A/C on. The car previously would overheat without the cooling fan switching on, hence the cooling parts being replaced.
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Last edited by TooManyProjects; 12-04-2014 at 10:29 PM. Reason: forgot more symptom info.
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Old 12-07-2014, 06:26 PM   #2
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Re: Loping engine when warm.

Replaced the O2 sensors today. Engine still lopes when warm. When i disconnected the wiring from the fuel pressure regulator, the engine smoothed out. Could the fuel pressure regulator be the problem? Or is it something affecting the ecm/pcu system. Still no light or codes.
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Old 12-08-2014, 04:59 AM   #3
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Re: Loping engine when warm.

See if you can borrow a Fuel pressure gauge and an oil pressure gauge from Autozone or a similar store.

Hook them both up.
Measure the Oil pressure where the oil pressure sensor normally connects to the engine.
Measure the fuel pressure at the fuel injector rail.

I realize that what you have said so far might be indicating an electrical / sensor issue, but there are still a LOT of variables that could cause this. I'd especially focus on Fuel pressure, since you previously mentioned that disconnecting the fuel pressure regulator wire temporarily solved the problem.

But the bottom line is that right now all we really know is that it runs well when it's cold, and it doesn't run so well when it's hot. That could be a LOT of things!

What exactly do you mean when you say that the engine "lopes"?
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Old 12-08-2014, 06:09 AM   #4
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Re: Loping engine when warm.

The engine doesn't run at a constant rpm. The gauge shows it going from 1,000 rpm to about 800 rpm back to 1000 rpm, back and forth, over and over again.
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Old 12-08-2014, 07:40 PM   #5
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Re: Loping engine when warm.

Ok, the term I have always heard for the issue is "breathing" because the car kind of sounds like it is breathing when it slowly revs up and down.

Have you checked for vacuum leaks and cracked hoses? I've seen cracked hoses cause this on a 99 Escort.

Make sure you check under the intake manifold near the firewall. It's not easy to see back there!

Also, are you sure that your cleaning of the MAF was successful? One time I cleaned one twice and it did no good. The 3rd time I had to actually scrape a crispy black coating off the sensor. After that it worked perfectly ( and still is to this day )
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Old 12-11-2014, 02:06 AM   #6
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Re: Loping engine when warm.

I've checked everywhere for leaks that i could. I replaced the o2 sensors and knock sensor as well. I pulled the whole steering column and replaced it since i couldn't get just the ignition switch, without drilling or grinding to free it. The engine has also been shutting off when warm, as if turned off using the key. When the stores open, I'm going to buy and replace the oil pressure switch. The light doesn't stay on, but from what I've read, the computer may shut off the fuel pump if it doesn't receive a signal from the oil pressure switch.
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Old 12-12-2014, 12:22 AM   #7
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Re: Loping engine when warm.

Man, you have to stop working blind.

You need to start doing pressure tests and electrical tests to verify what is happening.

For example, check the voltage/signal to your ignition coil.
When the engine dies does the signal to the coil die with it?
If it does, then track down the electrical problem. If it doesn't, check some other issue, like fuel pressure.

Check the fuel pressure at the fuel rail. When the engine dies, is it because the fuel pressure dropped first?

Something very specific is making the engine die. You have to do some testing to figure out what it is.
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Old 12-14-2014, 02:09 AM   #8
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Re: Loping engine when warm.

I didn't replace the oil pressure switch. I let it heat up again trying to diagnose the problem. The motor suddenly shut off again. I couldn't hear the fuel pump prime so I checked the fuel pump fuses and even swapped the relay module back to test it. Still nothing. I cleaned the negative battery terminals and found that one of them had broken off. Replaced both ground terminals, cleaned battery connections. It started right up. It still lopes when warm, but doesn't stall as easily. I may buy a couple cans of air and spray a few components (can upside down) tomorrow to see if the heat is causing a fault in an injector or the coil pack. I re-checked all the vacuum hoses and intake gaskets for leaks, but didn't find any.
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