92 ford explorer

Choke???

Choke on a '92 Ford? I thought that only the Honda engine was still carbureted so late in the game (I am talking about my lawn mower...)

I dunno. I have a 92 and there are days I would like to choke it,

Charlie

My 94 may have this problem too. In the two months I've owned it I've seen it 3 times. Once I had to crank it a couple of times before it fired up. All other cold starts it fired right up. Twice on warm starts it has idled roughly at about 500 rpm. Giving a little throttle had no effect (strange, you'd think it would either die or rev up), then after about 5 seconds it took off and ran normally.

I'm thinking IAC or maybe the EGR problem.

-Paul

I know the original post said the gas was switched to a higher grade.

Ford recommends regular gas and points out that higher octane fuel may cause hard starting. This makes sense when you consider that the octane rating is a measure of how easily the fuel/air mixture ignites. The higher the number the harder ignition becomes. If the mixture ignites too easily what you may get is pre-ignition or knocking. Raising the octane level reduces pre-ignition and is required by high compression engines. So higher rated gas may make starting more difficult.

And now a true experience. Two weeks ago I went to visit my son who lives about 100 miles away. Between the trip up and a bit of running around, when it was time to go home I stopped at a Citgo station and filled up (about 3/4 of a tank) Back home the SUV would absolutely not start on the first crank. After getting the fuel level to below 1/4, I filled up at our local Shell station. By the next day, my 92 with 179k and counting started each and every time on the first turn of the key.

Normally I do not like to post the names of companies that I have dealt with, but that is my story and I will stick to it. As ever, your mileage may vary.

Charlie

Take a look at the vacuum connections on the side of the intake manifold, where the big hose from the brake booster attaches to the engine. The connections incude a hose to the fuel pressure regulator, a hose to the auto trans modulator, a hose to the HVAC, a hose to the cruise control servo, and a plug on a spare port. Under certain hard-to-start conditions, you may experience a mild backfire or pop in the intake manifold that will blow one of the hoses or the plug from the fitting. Once that happens, you have an air leak into the intake, and the car will run rough, idle poorly, hard to start etc. Some of the symptoms will diminish as the oxygen sensor warms up.

It's worth a look.

dr bob '92 XLT with plastic wire ties holding all those hoses to the vacuum spider. Ask me why...

That could explain the original poster's problem, if it always idles rough, but not mine, since it only happens once in a while to me.

-Paul