Rough Idle on Cold Start

[scott6672]

Explorer Rough Idle On Cold Start (Post #1)

I have a 98 Explorer XLT 4WD, 104k miles. Been having rough idle on cold starts. The idle will occillate from 400 - 1100 rpms, sometimes stall and now with colder weather here in the NE I need to baby the accelorator for a few moments or it will stall.

So far I have done a complete tune up, IAC valve has been replaced. Is the next step a possible vacume leak at the manifold??

It runs fine after start up and gets 21+ mpg on highway.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Scott

[BrettSkii]

I am having this same problem now. I just replaced my IAC with no change in my Idle at cold start. I am taking my explorer in for service tomorrow morning. I don't have time to mess with it right now. I will post an update with what they find.

[scott6672]

Originally Posted by BrettSkii

I am having this same problem now. I just replaced my IAC with no change in my Idle at cold start. I am taking my explorer in for service tomorrow morning. I don't have time to mess with it right now. I will post an update with what they find.

The manifold gaskets needed to be replaced. The vehicle runs fine now and cold starts are no problem...only a little rattle noise when it first starts but no complaints at all.

[BrettSkii]

I just talked to the Dealer this morning. The Intake manifold gaskets need to be replaced. They are reprogramming the PCM and inspecting the Cam chain tensioner and guides front and rear (01M01). The cam chain inspection is a General Recall Campaign 00M12. This covers the tensioner and Intake manifold gaskets to 72,000 miles of 6 years after the start of the warrantee. Most of this work should be covered under the factory service plan. The dealer is checking for the Throttle Body Plate Sticking, which is 99M02. These are all Technical Service Bulletins Listed by Ford On their Oasis reports they print out at the dealer. If you ask for one they should print it out for you or you can get an unofficial copy at Alldata.com. For my specific vehicle the URL was http://www.alldata.com/TSB/20/982015D1.html
I used Google to find this site using the keywords: 1998 intake gasket recall ford explorer 4.0.
These recall plans are only good if you tell them symptoms that apply to the individual recall campaign. They will not voluntarily let you use these like a safety recall. The symptoms to describe for my particular problem is rough Idle at cold start and a ticking noise. This will describe the cam chain tensioner and a vacuum leak i.e. bad intake gasket.
As I mentioned before I replaced my IAC at a ripping cost of 118 dollars with no results and no returns on electronic parts. So I hope this will help someone. If you have any questions of need more info reply to this message. If you want very specific info you can call Ford Motor Company Customer Relationship Center at 1800-392-3673. The web site to find this Contact info is:
http://www.fordvehicles.com/help/contact/