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2002 Escape, V6...
My idle is very erratic and there is a noise coming from the intake that sounds like popcorn popping inside an insulated box. I thought it sounded like a misfire. The check engine light has not come on so it doesn't seem to be throwing any codes. I had a similar problem a few months back. When it happened that first time, I thought it was bad gas. I added some fuel additive and went to a different gas station and it went away after 2 tanks. This time, the problem started after I went to another new gas station. I ran off 2/3's of that tank and went back to my usual station and added the gas additive. It seems worse now. So...
I took it to a mechanic today. When they heard it, they said there was no way it was bad gas. They also ruled out misfiring because they said they would hear it from the exhaust and they said they heard nothing. Initially they were stumped. Then they found a kinked vacuum hose and changed it. They thought that would fix it but it didn't completely fix it. They said it sounded better after the change but something was still happening. BTW, they also checked all the manifold gaskets (spray and look for bubbles) but they didn't find anything. Their opinion was it might be a problem with the engine computer relearning how it should work after I had my battery changed. The asked me if the truck had been shifting funny lately and it has. They said this supported their theory. They think the combination of the kinked hose and the battery being replaced has fouled up the computer and it's searching for the right settings. They said the Ford engine computers are notoriously slow at learning and it could take up to 1000 miles for it to figure things out. They said I should wait a few weeks and drive it under varying conditions to see if there are any changes. I'm not so sure about this since I had a similar problem before the battery was changed...
On my drive to the office after the work was done, I'm hearing a very light odd noise from the HVAC vents in the truck that I had never heard before... I'm wondering if they made things worse...
I just wanted to know if anyone had any thoughts on this advice and what the real problem might be. These are the things I was discussing with the mechanics:
- mass air flow (MAP) sensor: They said maybe. They clean them when they do there fuel injector service.
- idle air control (IAC) valve: Again a maybe but they said cleaning them properly was next to impossible and they were very expensive.
- coil pack: He said that would create a misfire and a code so that could be ruled out.
- spark plugs: Same as the coil pack...
- manifold gaskets: They checked them and didn't find anything.
- clogged catalytic converter: He said it would throw a code if there was anything wrong with the cats. Besides that, he said you can hear when there are issues with the cats. :shrug:
I'm uploading some YouTube Videos. You can see the idle bouncing on one. On the other, you can actually hear the popping noise I'm talking about. I'll post them when they are live...
My idle is very erratic and there is a noise coming from the intake that sounds like popcorn popping inside an insulated box. I thought it sounded like a misfire. The check engine light has not come on so it doesn't seem to be throwing any codes. I had a similar problem a few months back. When it happened that first time, I thought it was bad gas. I added some fuel additive and went to a different gas station and it went away after 2 tanks. This time, the problem started after I went to another new gas station. I ran off 2/3's of that tank and went back to my usual station and added the gas additive. It seems worse now. So...
I took it to a mechanic today. When they heard it, they said there was no way it was bad gas. They also ruled out misfiring because they said they would hear it from the exhaust and they said they heard nothing. Initially they were stumped. Then they found a kinked vacuum hose and changed it. They thought that would fix it but it didn't completely fix it. They said it sounded better after the change but something was still happening. BTW, they also checked all the manifold gaskets (spray and look for bubbles) but they didn't find anything. Their opinion was it might be a problem with the engine computer relearning how it should work after I had my battery changed. The asked me if the truck had been shifting funny lately and it has. They said this supported their theory. They think the combination of the kinked hose and the battery being replaced has fouled up the computer and it's searching for the right settings. They said the Ford engine computers are notoriously slow at learning and it could take up to 1000 miles for it to figure things out. They said I should wait a few weeks and drive it under varying conditions to see if there are any changes. I'm not so sure about this since I had a similar problem before the battery was changed...
On my drive to the office after the work was done, I'm hearing a very light odd noise from the HVAC vents in the truck that I had never heard before... I'm wondering if they made things worse...
I just wanted to know if anyone had any thoughts on this advice and what the real problem might be. These are the things I was discussing with the mechanics:
- mass air flow (MAP) sensor: They said maybe. They clean them when they do there fuel injector service.
- idle air control (IAC) valve: Again a maybe but they said cleaning them properly was next to impossible and they were very expensive.
- coil pack: He said that would create a misfire and a code so that could be ruled out.
- spark plugs: Same as the coil pack...
- manifold gaskets: They checked them and didn't find anything.
- clogged catalytic converter: He said it would throw a code if there was anything wrong with the cats. Besides that, he said you can hear when there are issues with the cats. :shrug:
I'm uploading some YouTube Videos. You can see the idle bouncing on one. On the other, you can actually hear the popping noise I'm talking about. I'll post them when they are live...