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Rough Idle and Wet Spark Plugs.

Started by 5ohSHO, February 06, 2018, 06:53:53 PM

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5ohSHO

For about the last 1000 miles my car has had a rough idle, but only sometimes. You can also hear constant a misfire when the car is started for the first time in the morning and is at high idle during warm up. When the car is warmed up and idling I can watch the RPM sometimes drop from around 800 to below 500 and then back up. It does that pretty consistently when I switch from drive to park also. The idle also seems low most of the time when I'm sitting at a light. I was almost thinking I had a vacuum leak, but everything looks good under the hood except for a couple of oily connections on the hot pipes (new ones on order). The car drives just fine with no indication of a misfire even under heavy throttle. I also don't have any codes. I pulled a couple of the plugs today from the front of the engine to check them and the porcelain around the electrode was dark brown and wet and smelled like gas. The electrode didn't really have any build up on it, but the rest of the plug had soot build up on it. The plugs only have about 8000 miles on them as do the coils. I also just replaced all 4 O2 sensors. The plugs I bought are the Motorcraft ones that Livernois sells. I'm kinda wondering if I might need to change to a different heat range plug? Or maybe the injectors might need to be changed? The car starts fine even in negative temps and doesn't smoke at all. The spark plug wells were also clean. The O2 sensors I bought are Bosch brand. Any ideas on what the culprit could be would be much appreciated.

ZSHO

#1
Leaky injector IMO!  How many miles on your PI ? 
I would have a compression test performed!  Z


2013 Performance Package SHO| Livernois Custom Methanol Tune|3-Bar Map|Reische-170-Stat|Full Race Tial-10psi BOV in Black|PPE-Gloss Black Hot Pipes|EPP Dual Intake in Gloss Black|PPE Catted DP|Corsa Sport Cat Back Exhaust|H&R Sport-Springs|CFM Performance Billet Valve Cover Breather In Gloss Black|Llumar 20%Ceramic window Tint|MSD Ignition Coils in Black|Extreme Roof Spoiler|Redline Fluids all around|Gearhead Intercooler|First-SHO With Direct Port Alky-VP-M1-100%-Methanol Injection|LMS-Custom-Dyno-Tuned @ 415whp-465wtq| Best Trap Speed of 115.54 mph|

SHOdded

Might be time to change the pcv valve/separator.  I would have said leaking VC gasket possibly, but usually that results in more noticeable driveability symptoms.

The RPM issue might be a throttle body motor fault, in addition to vacuum leaks.  Were all the plugs wet with gas?  Very unlikely all the injectors have issues at one time.  How do the LPFP and HPFP pressures look during this time?
2007 Ford Edge SEL, Powerstop F/R Brake Kit, TXT LED 6000K Lo & Hi Beams, W16W LED Reverse Bulbs, 3BSpec 2.5w Map Lights, 5W Cree rear dome lights, 5W Cree cargo light, DTBL LED Taillights

If tuned:  Take note of the strategy code as you return to stock (including 3 bar MAP to 2 bar MAP) -> take car in & get it serviced -> check strategy code when you get car back -> have tuner update your tune if the strategy code has changed -> reload tune -> ENJOY!

5ohSHO

The car has 109k on it. I didn't think about the pcv valve. Where is it at on these cars anyways? Both plugs I checked were wet.

5ohSHO

I also don't have a way to check fuel pressures.

SHOdded

Pcv valve is in the firewall side valve cover towards the pass strut tower.  Z has some pics floating around, the latest in ColoradoSHObro's thread I think.

You can monitor fuel pressures and much more using an obd adapter like the obdlink mx and software like Torque Pro.  If you have an SCT tuner, even better data resolution.
2007 Ford Edge SEL, Powerstop F/R Brake Kit, TXT LED 6000K Lo & Hi Beams, W16W LED Reverse Bulbs, 3BSpec 2.5w Map Lights, 5W Cree rear dome lights, 5W Cree cargo light, DTBL LED Taillights

If tuned:  Take note of the strategy code as you return to stock (including 3 bar MAP to 2 bar MAP) -> take car in & get it serviced -> check strategy code when you get car back -> have tuner update your tune if the strategy code has changed -> reload tune -> ENJOY!

SHOdded

2007 Ford Edge SEL, Powerstop F/R Brake Kit, TXT LED 6000K Lo & Hi Beams, W16W LED Reverse Bulbs, 3BSpec 2.5w Map Lights, 5W Cree rear dome lights, 5W Cree cargo light, DTBL LED Taillights

If tuned:  Take note of the strategy code as you return to stock (including 3 bar MAP to 2 bar MAP) -> take car in & get it serviced -> check strategy code when you get car back -> have tuner update your tune if the strategy code has changed -> reload tune -> ENJOY!

ZSHO

#7
The PCV/Oil Sep is located on TOP of the rear valve cover on passenger side!  Z


2013 Performance Package SHO| Livernois Custom Methanol Tune|3-Bar Map|Reische-170-Stat|Full Race Tial-10psi BOV in Black|PPE-Gloss Black Hot Pipes|EPP Dual Intake in Gloss Black|PPE Catted DP|Corsa Sport Cat Back Exhaust|H&R Sport-Springs|CFM Performance Billet Valve Cover Breather In Gloss Black|Llumar 20%Ceramic window Tint|MSD Ignition Coils in Black|Extreme Roof Spoiler|Redline Fluids all around|Gearhead Intercooler|First-SHO With Direct Port Alky-VP-M1-100%-Methanol Injection|LMS-Custom-Dyno-Tuned @ 415whp-465wtq| Best Trap Speed of 115.54 mph|

5ohSHO

Thanks for the pic! I didn't realize that's what that was. I was thinking of the cigarette lighter looking ones, but I think my Challenger had a similar setup now that I think of it. I was planning on getting a couple of Interceptor gauges soon, but I'll look into Torque Pro and obdlink mx.

SHOdded

The part numbers from the valve cover update to fix the PCV/oil consumption problem
http://www.ecoboostperformanceforum.com/index.php/topic,3836.msg79067.html#msg79067

The original metal valve cover is replaced by a composite valve cover if the TSB has been applied.
2007 Ford Edge SEL, Powerstop F/R Brake Kit, TXT LED 6000K Lo & Hi Beams, W16W LED Reverse Bulbs, 3BSpec 2.5w Map Lights, 5W Cree rear dome lights, 5W Cree cargo light, DTBL LED Taillights

If tuned:  Take note of the strategy code as you return to stock (including 3 bar MAP to 2 bar MAP) -> take car in & get it serviced -> check strategy code when you get car back -> have tuner update your tune if the strategy code has changed -> reload tune -> ENJOY!

pmezo33

#10
Probably not an injector problem if it's affecting multiple cylinders.  Kind of hard to believe you'd get multiple leaky ones at the same time, but i guess anything is possible.  If you had a leaky injector, your o2's would be cutting fuel.  Are your fuel trims in normal range?  I'd assume they are without a code.

And the porcelain part of the spark plug was wet with brown stuff and not the electrode?  You sure it was gas and not oil?

5ohSHO

The plugs already look worse that the ones I pulled out at 100k after I bought the car. The porcelain is brown and they were wet, but not wet with brown stuff. I'm pretty positive it was gas and not oil.

TopherSho

Quote from: 5ohSHO on February 07, 2018, 02:13:06 PM
The plugs already look worse that the ones I pulled out at 100k after I bought the car. The porcelain is brown and they were wet, but not wet with brown stuff. I'm pretty positive it was gas and not oil.

Sniff them .. I bet it will smell more acrid that 'gassy'.  its oil.  You have some blow-by going on or lots more oil in your intake than normal.

2010 non-pp, 98k miles, 3-bar,  .026 plugs, SNOW-KIT STG1, AJPTurbu tune#35, 15.5+psi
Best 0-60 public road 4.35s
Best 1/4 of 12.61 no DA correction

5ohSHO

Figured I'd update you guys with the fix. I did change the Oil Separator and PCV valve, along with new plugs and the problem persisted. Several days after that I noticed that the car was smoking, but only when going down hill with the cruise on. The car down shifted to maintain the set speed and that's when I noticed the smoke and it was a lot. Once on flat ground again it cleared up. It seemed like a very odd thing to happen so I tried it again and the same thing happened. My friend even followed behind and saw it and said it smelled rich. I went ahead and changed all 6 injectors with new Motorcraft ones. The old ones looked terrible. The car now runs and idles great. Unfortunately while I had the intake off I checked out my valves and they are covered in buildup. Anyone know a good way to remove that stuff without major surgery? I was gonna do a write up on it also, but I saw someone else already has a good one on here, but I do have more pics of the job if anyone wants to see something.

Macgyver