Well, my acceleration problems have developed. I just got the IID tool in the mail today, went out to plug it in for the first time, and my acceleration problems immediately turned into idle problems. The car idled fine for probably five minutes while I was poking around inside the tool (didn't change any settings or reset anything), then started slightly increasing and decreasing RPM, until the idle became low and rough, and finally stalled. I started the car back up, and it immediately stalled again. I did this three more times to no avail, the last time trying to rev my way out of the stall, which didn't work. The fourth time, it started up and kept going, but had a very rough idle and the RPM was jumping wildly around without me touching the accelerator. I then took it for a drive and it did fine. It's all very intermittent, although it seems to occur mostly when the car is cold.

Throttle body replaced less than 6 months ago
EGR valve replaced less than 6 months ago
MAF replaced a few years ago
I always fill up with premium
Battery is 2 years old, Autozone and Oreilly have tested battery and alternator, say they're great

I HAVEN'T done an injection cleaning. I have the V6, and I picked up the OTC canister kit today to do the cleaning, because the video on the V8 looked oh so easy. Well, turns out the access to the fuel jump hose on the V6 is all but impossible to access, on the back of the engine. Is there another way to do a direct injection cleaning on the V6? Should I just punt and take it to the dealership?

The Facebook hoard are all saying it's the battery, and that I should stick a new battery in. Sadly I'm not MADE of money, and at least the injection cleaner kit I can use on other cars. If I buy a new battery and it ends up being something else, I can't really return the thing, especially because both places say my current one is fine.

 

Is it giving any codes about misfires?

 

Nada, no dash lights at all, should have mentioned that. I do get a few codes through the IID, but nothing to write home about, apparently they're the typical ones? See attached. Note this screenie was taken with engine off.

Also air filter looks pretty clean but apparently hasn't been done in a while, I've definitely seen way worse. Loathe to believe it's the filter. I have one on order anyway.

 

So as long as the system is charging and the battery tested good I'm inclined to tell the facebook folks to stick to meme's.

My knowledge on the V6 is short though, to be honest. Both of mine have the V8. So on the off chance of electrical issues causing it. I would check and make sure the cables are secure and clean at both the battery terminals, alternator and ground.

I would also check to make sure the throttle plate in the throttle body isn't jamming or gummed up even though it's new.

Air leaks in the system behind the MAF can cause rough running and idle issues so I would carefully inspect the air intake track look for any vacuum leaks from brittle 10 year old plastic hose lines etc.

These are all free to do aside from your time but it's where i would start. Then I would probably check fuel pressure etc

 

 

Have you ever cleaned or replaced the pcv on your V6? What brand of egr valve did you install? Any odd rattling noises from the engine?

 

Just messaged the PO about the PCV, not sure on the EGR brand, will check at lunch. As far as the odd rattling noises go, not when its running fine. However, see this link to a video I took. Right at the beginning, you can hear something I had been doing for maybe 30 seconds, a heavy rattle. This is what happened the the very last time I started it described in my first post. (Hopefully this works).

 

I cant tell if that is an engine rattle or some other part vibrating. Check youtube for Ford 4.0L SOHC timing chain rattle. This is the same engine used in Ford Explorers and others. If the cassettes and guides are bad, itll make a rattling noise upon startup and then it might go away. Mine sounded like a diesel when idling. All of my timing cassettes were destroyed. This can allow the engine timing to drift around and up to the chain skipping which can really cause issues.

 

I had a very similar issue just now, and it was a coil.
a coil.

:/