Trouble cold starting; any ideas?

[dng]

Car: 2000 Grand Marquis, well maintained, 77,500 miles, V8

Problem: Trouble when cold starting, I have to give it some gas to get it running or it will stall out. The worst it has gotten is once had to keep giving it gas even while on the road for the first few minutes of driving after getting it started because it kept wanting to stall.

Things tried so far to fix problem: Replaced spark plugs, ran several bottles of fuel cleaner through several tanks of gas, rechecked spark plugs to make sure they are installed properly, changed fuel filter

My guess of what the problem could be: Fuel pump, Mass air flow sensor, O2 sensor, idler.

Hopefully I included any information that would be helpful in figuring out my troubles. If I did leave something out, just let me know. Thanks for any advice or suggestions!

[way2old]

Probably the Idle Speed Control Motor. it is located on the top, center rear of the engine. It is bolted to the throttle body. It looks something like this

[dng]

Thanks for the info! Do you know of any way to test the motor to make sure it's bad? I would just hate to replace it if that's not the trouble since it runs $100+. Also, do you have any idea of how difficult of a job replacing the motor would be? It seems to me that it would not be too bad since it's not buried deep in the engine, but you never know. Thanks again for the help!

[way2old]

You can try tapping it with a screwdriver before you stasrt it and see if it helps. Or you can remove it and clean the inside where the pintle is and see if it helps. You may clean it ang get a few more months out of it. It is easier to replace when it is warm outside as when it is zero degrees. Your nvehicle is in the range where they fail also. Autozone has them here for about 55$

[dng]

It definitely was the idle control valve. I took it off on Friday, cleaned it with carb cleaner, but it back on, and the problems are gone. The inside of the valve was completely black before I started, but the carb cleaner cleaned it up very well. I used an entire can, but I wanted to be sure that I got it as clean as possible. I still plan on replacing the valve before the snow starts falling, but at least cleaning it showed me that was the problem. Thanks for the help, and for saving me the bill from the mechanic!

[way2old]

Thank you for the follow up. Those seem to be rare.

[[email protected]]

Hope you got it fixed.

Ive seen it where on a cool morning it doesnt start and after fooling around a few hours it starts.

Reason. It got warmer outside

If your coolant temp sensor is stuck open your car will start in warm weather and when it is colder will not.

Once it starts and chugs for a minute will run fine because it is open already.

The oposite is it will start fine and run crappy and quit when it gets warm.(stuck closed)

Next cold morning will tell ya if you are in a colder climate.

Good Luck

[rhandwor]

I purchased a 36,000btu/hr propane heater at a garage sale for $30.00 it makes a big difference on a cold day. The propane company made me install it on cement blocks 18 inches off the floor level.