Cleaning Lower Intake & Other Stuff
KPVSR
08-14-2004, 07:57 PM
Okay, I took off the top of the upper intake to have a look. Sure enough the lower intake is coated with a thick layer of crap. At least as bad if not worse than what is shown in the picture the following link takes you to. http://groups.msn.com/FordWindstar/shoebox.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=21 So now i know I need to clean it and perform the work described in the TSB for this problem. My question is:
How bad is it for this crap to fall through the lower intake?
Without taking the lower intake off to clean it I would think bunches of stuff will fall through along with all the carb cleaner running in. The other pictures around the picture in the link look like it was cleaned while still mounted.
Other Stuff
Since I was under the hood I decided to go ahead and clean the IAC. I used carb cleaner on it and it cleaned up faily well. I also decided to use an electronics safe spray cleaner to clean off the MAF sensor wires. After all this I started the van and it idled very bad.
Did I possibly ruin the IAC with the carb cleaner?
The MAF wires looked fine.
One other thing. While I had the upper intake cover off I checked the tightness of the bolts holding down the lower part of the upper intake. This was a big mistke on my part along with a little bad luck. The very first one seemed loose at first and with the first strain of a little pressure the damn thing snapped! In a different post on another site these bolts get torqued to 89#. I put no where near this amount of force on that bolt. I was only using a 5-1/2" long 1/4" drive.
Could this now missing bolt also be causing the bad idle?
Ken
How bad is it for this crap to fall through the lower intake?
Without taking the lower intake off to clean it I would think bunches of stuff will fall through along with all the carb cleaner running in. The other pictures around the picture in the link look like it was cleaned while still mounted.
Other Stuff
Since I was under the hood I decided to go ahead and clean the IAC. I used carb cleaner on it and it cleaned up faily well. I also decided to use an electronics safe spray cleaner to clean off the MAF sensor wires. After all this I started the van and it idled very bad.
Did I possibly ruin the IAC with the carb cleaner?
The MAF wires looked fine.
One other thing. While I had the upper intake cover off I checked the tightness of the bolts holding down the lower part of the upper intake. This was a big mistke on my part along with a little bad luck. The very first one seemed loose at first and with the first strain of a little pressure the damn thing snapped! In a different post on another site these bolts get torqued to 89#. I put no where near this amount of force on that bolt. I was only using a 5-1/2" long 1/4" drive.
Could this now missing bolt also be causing the bad idle?
Ken
DRW1000
08-23-2004, 09:10 AM
Any missing (or broken) bolt on the intake can most definately cause bad idling.
Did you do the intake and IAC/MAF cleaning at the same time. (I.E. is there any tracability as to exactly when the bad idiling started?)
What year is the vehicle?
Did you do the intake and IAC/MAF cleaning at the same time. (I.E. is there any tracability as to exactly when the bad idiling started?)
What year is the vehicle?
DRW1000
08-23-2004, 09:19 AM
ah okay you have a 99. You were also going to do the TSB for the intake. If these bolts are the existing ones then the reason they appear loose is because the rubber has deteriorated. This is why the TSB calls for new bolts. They have green(?) rubber and is of a different material.
Don't panic. Can you grab the rest of the bolt with a pair of vice grips?
If not:
If you are careful an "easy out" should get the rest of the bolt out. You should saturate the bolt with WD40 or something similar and let it sit. Tap the bolt with a hammer to send vibrations to break any rust-bonding that has occured, if any, and carefully drill the centre of the bolt to the size required by the easy-out. Ensure you catch all of the metal bits from drilling.
I once had a cylinder head bolt snap and at first I was very afraid. (LOL) but it came out surprising easy.
Don't panic. Can you grab the rest of the bolt with a pair of vice grips?
If not:
If you are careful an "easy out" should get the rest of the bolt out. You should saturate the bolt with WD40 or something similar and let it sit. Tap the bolt with a hammer to send vibrations to break any rust-bonding that has occured, if any, and carefully drill the centre of the bolt to the size required by the easy-out. Ensure you catch all of the metal bits from drilling.
I once had a cylinder head bolt snap and at first I was very afraid. (LOL) but it came out surprising easy.
KPVSR
08-23-2004, 05:40 PM
I did the work from the TSB (new port seals, new isolator bolts, new valve cover and new vacuum line) last week Tuesday. Everything went well and the van now runs top notch again.
The bolt snapped when I was checking the intake for excessive oil. This indeed was the reason for the sudden bad idle. I pressed down on the intake and was able to get the engine to idle fine. The snapped bolt had about 3/16" of threads sticking out so I was able to get a good grip with NEW vise grips and it twisted out with little effort. I ended up buying a new IAC whether I needed one or not. The new one I got is a different design as well. There is probably a TSB written for that too.
The bolt snapped when I was checking the intake for excessive oil. This indeed was the reason for the sudden bad idle. I pressed down on the intake and was able to get the engine to idle fine. The snapped bolt had about 3/16" of threads sticking out so I was able to get a good grip with NEW vise grips and it twisted out with little effort. I ended up buying a new IAC whether I needed one or not. The new one I got is a different design as well. There is probably a TSB written for that too.
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