explorer won't idle when cold

All,
My 2001 explorer with 44k miles has been running fine. Today, on the second start of the day (it had sat for 1.5 hours so was cold), it would turn over, start, but then die. If I gave it gas, it would stay started. It continued to do this for several start attempts.

I had to drive with 2 feet, throw it in neutral, and continue giving it gas to get home which was about 2 minutes away.

Once the car warmed up, it idled and seemed to run fine. It would then start and run fine. However, I have not run it again and think I should take it to the shop so I don't get stranded somewhere.

Any thoughts?

One other time it seemed a bit difficult to start, but did eventually. Other than this, it has run fine.

Tom

I actually had that same problem the other day at school. I have a 2000 Explorer. I have been having some problems with my engine lately. I never seem to have time to get it in for service. Regardless, I spoke to a mechanic friend of mine and i told him that problem and also told him that there is a very low, barely audible grinding noise at idle, and when i give the engine gas, a clicking noise is added to the mix. He said that I need to have my distributor and timing chain checked out to make sure that everything is aligned properly. I am no mechanic, so I am going to take it in. I am also going to have them check the spark plugs for me. I have heard of some exploreres having problems like this because there is a faulty gasket that leaks oil into the spark plug. So, if you were to get your spark plugs checked out, and they have crust on them, then you need a new gasket. You might even want to think about replacing your spark plugs anyway. I want to upgrade mine to a better performing set. Hope that helps.