01 3.8 Idles Low & Rough

I have an '01 Ford Mustang, 91k miles, 3.8 V6. Recently, it had an engine misfire and I had that fixed. Then I had a faulty EGR valve and had that replaced. Fuel system clean, EGR sensor also taken care of. Tune-up in September, 05, done by a very trustworthy professional. THE PROBLEM: My car idles VERY rough and only at about 600. Most of the time, it idles so low it seems as if it's about to stall out, then it'll get a wave of luck and not. I don't really trust mechanics as I'm new to the city I'm living in, but any help or ideas of what the problem could be may possibly help me be a little more ready for whatever happens next and when I do take it to a mechanic. Thanks!

Reply to
sooneralison
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each cylinder has its own sparkplug (duh) coil and wire. The wires get brittle and start to leak to ground, especially in the back part of the engine. Our Mountaineer had rough idle, (terrible when damp) and started lacking accelleration when I finally took it in for a checkup, I like to do my own work, but this one stumped me. They put it on the "computer analyzer" and in 2 minutes knew exactly which cylinders were not firing properly, changed those "coil/wire assemblies" and it's been fine since.

The only problem I had with it is that each wire was nearly $80. Fortunately they only changed 3 that time. We started saving for the other 5 cause it's only a matter of time (assuming we don't decide to get a new one while the gas prices have many people afraid to buy a SUV) Who knows, but at any rate, a good computer diagnostic test ought to fix it for you without buying extra parts you don't need.

John

Reply to
nobody

Idle air control valve, most likely.

Esp if there's also been starting/cold idle problems. Easy to tell, (easy to remove and fix)get a spray intake cleaner, take it off and spray it out like crazy... likely it will work okay for a while, then happen again or the symptoms will change (meaning WHEN the idle problems happn) So you will want to replace it.

Wonder why this happens mostly on V6's?

Reply to
Backyard Mechanic

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